Tenerife mythology and pronunciations

[ElizabethM]

Good evening everybody

I was wondering if anybody could help me with a couple of questions. I am writing a story set in Tenerife which ties in with the old legends about Guayota. I know that the Guanches in both Tenerife and Gran Canaria believed in lesser demons that took the form of woolly black dogs who came out of caves in the mountains to steal livestock and sometimes people. The different sources I've read seem to agree that in Gran Canaria they're known as Tibicenas, but different sources give different names for what they're called in Tenerife - sometimes Jucanchas and sometimes Guacanchas. Does anybody know which of these two names is correct or why there is two?

Also, can anybody tell me how to pronounce the following words?

Tibicenas
Jucanchas
Guacanchas
Echeyde (where Guayota lived)

Thank you very much. :)

Liz

[karinagal]

Sorry I can't help Liz, but I'm fascinated to see how this works out for you! Good luck - sounds like an excellent subject! :)

[marbro8]

Sorry I can't help Liz, but I'm fascinated to see how this works out for you! Good luck - sounds like an excellent subject! :)i would normally refer to wikipedia for something like this but i can't see that site being very cultural:dontknow: but good luck;)

[LUCKY]

i would normally refer to wikipedia for something like this but i can't see that site being very cultural:dontknow: but good luck;)

Do you think our Malteser Monkey may know some history :flatcap:

[marbro8]

Do you think our Malteser Monkey may know some history :flatcap:yes if it is about the production of wine:D

[Malteser Monkey]

No Sorry I can't help but I think canarybird might or at least will be able to point you in the right direction

[kingbaker]

I thought you'd remember the history personally!!:D:D

[Malteser Monkey]

I thought you'd remember the history personally!!:D:D

Wotchit you ! it's a bit early to start on me !!!:twak:

[canarybird]

No Sorry I can't help but I think canarybird might or at least will be able to point you in the right direction

Well I don't know much more than what I find in books or on Wikipedia as you are probably doing yourself.

I would imagine that there is only a difference in pronunciation between Jucanchas and Guacanchas according to the area of the island where the speaker was from. That's just a guess. They didn't have radio or TV then so it would be normal to have local variations of the same words.

If you have no problem reading Spanish, then have a look at these links:

GUAYOTA (http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guayota)

Guanche religion and mythology (http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitolog%C3%ADa_Guanche)

or in English (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanches#Religion_and_mythology)

Excerpt here:

Religion and mythology
Guanche idol.
Guatimac idol in the Archaeological Museum of Puerto de la Cruz (Tenerife).

Little is known of the religion of the Guanches. There was a general belief in a supreme being, called Achamán in Tenerife, Acoran in Gran Canaria, Eraoranhan in Hierro, and Abora in La Palma. The women of Hierro worshipped a goddess called Moneiba. According to tradition, the male and female gods lived in mountains, from which they descended to hear the prayers of the people. On other islands, the natives venerated the sun, moon, earth and stars. A belief in an evil spirit was general. The demon of Tenerife was called Guayota and lived at the peak of Teide volcano, which was the hell called Echeyde; in Tenerife and Gran Canaria, the minor demons took the form of wild black woolly dogs called Jucanchas[18] in the first and Tibicenas[19] in the latter, which lived in deep caves of the mountains, emerging at night to attack livestock and human beings.

The pronunciation of those Guanche words would be no different to any other Spanish word, according to a Canary lady I asked, although she was not an expert in Guanche history:

Tibicenas ...tee bee THAY na
Jucanchas...hoo CAN chas
Guacanchas...gwa CAN chas
Echeyde...ay CHAY day

Sorry I don't have more information but if you are near the English Library in Tenerife you would probably find plenty of info on Guanche history and mythology. If not then keep looking online.

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Oops I lost the final "s" on the pronunciation of Tibicenas.

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...and the first syllable of Echeyde rhymes with "day".

[junglejim]

http://eldia.es/afondo/2013-07-07/1-guanches-perros-llegaron-juntos-Tenerife.htm

[Happy Days]

A friend of mine who was born in La Gomera told me when she was younger they visited a Guanche museum with her school. I was very interested, but she had no idea where it was or if it still existed. One thing she did tell me was that inside there was a map that showed the path between La Gomera and Tenerife, and that certain blessed people could walk between the Islands.

Have visited La Gomera many times and never seen or heard of this museum, but if it exists I would hope your answers lie there...

[canarybird]

Or try the museum in Santa Cruz (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museo_de_la_Naturaleza_y_el_Hombre)where there is a large collection of Guanche artifacts including mummies.
(Museo de la Naturaleza y el Hombre)