Peace and serenity determine life on La Gomera
Today's residents of Gomera are mostly open and friendly. They take care of their guests patiently and helpful. They are more reserved than intrusive.
One of the most striking characteristics of the Canarios is their serenity in every situation. You have all the peace and quiet in this world and you won't be infected by the hectic pace of the stressful arrival or departure: “Don't worry, everything will be fine, we'll take care of that” - Tranquilo, no se preocupe. And so they calmly regulate what needs to be regulated. However, what is not so important can then take a little longer.
A Spanish habit helps to strengthen the nerves - the siesta. Wherever it is possible, daily is starting 13:00, at the latest from 14:00 h the door closed and until about 17:00 h siesta held.
The guanches
The Guanches are the indigenous people of the Canary Islands. In the accounts of the Spanish conquerors, the Guanches are described as blond, blue-eyed and fair-skinned. Scientific studies, for example on mummified corpses, show that there were different ethnic groups in the Canary Islands. This speaks for a settlement of the islands from different regions of origin. The first wave of immigration was probably around 3.000 BC. BC, when desert dwellers from the Sahara came to the islands with rush boats. Excavations show that people also immigrated from south-western Europe. Around 1100 BC The Phoenicians reached the islands from the eastern Mediterranean. Another wave of immigration from North Africa occurred from around 500-200 BC. The Romans also reached the Canaries around 2.000 years ago and called them "fortunae insulae", the islands of the blissful. It is believed that the Vikings also came here in the early Middle Ages (800-1.000 AD).
The Guanches developed their own language - Guanche - and their own culture. The whistling language El Silbo, which can still be heard on La Gomera today, was also used to communicate over long distances. They practiced cattle breeding and agriculture, otherwise lived according to the Stone Age way of life. You did not know metalworking. They made vessels out of clay and wood. They lived in caves or thatched stone huts. The Guanches lived together in tribes and were ruled by chiefs or kings.
In 1402 some of the Canary Islands were conquered by the Norman Jean de Bethencourt on behalf of the Castilian crown. First Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and El Hierro were subjected. La Gomera could not be conquered for the time being. After Bethencourt's death, two families, de la Casa and Peraza, took power on the islands from the middle of the 15th century. They exploited the guanches and enslaved them. From 1478 the despotic feudal lord Hérnan Peraza ruled Gomera, who made no friends among the Guanches and was finally killed by them.
Guanche King Hupalupa
Hupalupa is a legendary Guanche king who opposed the Spanish conquistadores. Hupalupa resided in the fertile valley of Valle Gran Rey in the west of Gomera, which still reminds of him today as the valley of the great king. There are many legends about the Guanche King. It is said of his beautiful king's daughter that, through her clairvoyant skills, she and her father were able to avert harm from Gomera's people. His adversary was the Spanish leader Hérnan Peraza, whom he fought fiercely. In 1487 he planned to kill Peraza. But his plan was thwarted because he was betrayed by none other than his own son. Thereupon Hupalupa is said to have stabbed the king's son in front of his people.
A year later, the Guanche warrior Hautacuperche, who was supposed to succeed the great king Hupalupa, succeeded in overpowering and killing Peraza on the way to his lover, the guanchin Iballa. In the subsequent riots, however, Hautacuperche was killed.
In the Valle Gran Rey there is a large bronze statue of Hautacuperche on the beach to commemorate the uprising against the occupiers.
The legend of Gara and Jonay
According to legend, before the Spanish conquest, the beautiful Princess Gara lived on La Gomera. She fell in love with the penniless farmer's son Jonay, who came from Tenerife. He returned her love and went every day on a raft to the neighboring island to meet his beloved. But the connection did not seem blessed: a priest predicted great disaster for the two. When the two wanted to get married, the prophecy seemed to be fulfilled: a powerful earthquake shook Tenerife. The Teide spewed lava, the sea around La Gomera turned blood red, the island began to glow. The princess's family wanted to prevent the marriage of the two and brought Jonay back to Tenerife.
However, his love for Gara was so great that a few weeks later he set off for La Gomera again. Together, the two fled to the island's highlands and hid in the thick forests.
When both had no more hope for their love and a life together, they took a lance made of laurel wood, pointed at both ends, and stuck it through their chests. The lovers went to their deaths in a deep embrace.
Since that time, the Gomeros say, the beautiful cloud forest and today's national park on La Gomera has borne the name of the two lovers: Garajonay.
El Silbo
With the whistling language El Silbo, the indigenous people of La Gomera developed a language that is unique in the world and with which they could communicate over long distances. El Silbo consists of whistles of different pitches and lengths and is composed of two vowels and four consonants. The index and middle fingers are placed in the mouth to generate sound, and whistling sounds are created with the help of the tongue. The free hand serves as a bell. It's the loudest way of communicating without any additional tools. The residents of distant villages exchanged messages with each other over a distance of up to 10 km. They protected themselves, for example, from attacks by the Spanish conquerors or from pirate attacks. El Silbo was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2009. Part of the Gomerian island population has mastered the language to this day. Those who use them are called silbadores. In the schools on La Gomera, El Silbo has been part of the regular teaching content for some time. A monument at the Mirador de Igualero viewpoint in Gomera's Parque Nacional de Garajonay was dedicated to Silbo Gomero in 2005.
If you want to experience the whistling language live today, it is best to visit one of the many fiestas on La Gomera, which often include demonstrations of this lived tradition. Or prick up your ears while hiking across the beautiful Canary Island and, with a bit of luck, hear some whistled El Silbo messages.
