Guayota, in
Guanche Guanche may refer to:
*Guanches, the indigenous people of the Canary Islands
*Guanche language
Guanche is an extinct language that was spoken by the Guanches of the Canary Islands until the 16th or 17th century. It died out after the conquest ...
mythology of
Tenerife
Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...
(the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
), was the principal malignant deity and
Achamán Achamán is the supreme god of the Guanches on the island of Tenerife; he is the father god and creator. The name means literally "the skies", in allusion to the celestial vault (the sky).
Achamán, an omnipotent and eternal god, created the land ...
's adversary.
Mythology
According to Guanche legend, Guayota lived inside the
Teide
Teide, or Mount Teide, ( es, El Teide, Pico del Teide, , "Peak of Teide") is a volcano on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain. Its summit (at ) is the highest point in Spain and the highest point above sea level in the islands of the Atlan ...
volcano, one of the gateways to the underworld. He was said to be represented as a black
dog
The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...
and was accompanied by demons, also in the form of black dogs, known as
tibicena
A Tibicena, also known as Guacanchas, was a mythological creature of the Guanches, pre-Hispanic inhabitants of the Canary Islands. Tibicenas were imagined to be demons or genies who had the bodies of great wild dogs with red eyes, covered by lon ...
s.
According to legend, Guayota kidnapped
(the
sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
) and shut it up in
Teide
Teide, or Mount Teide, ( es, El Teide, Pico del Teide, , "Peak of Teide") is a volcano on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain. Its summit (at ) is the highest point in Spain and the highest point above sea level in the islands of the Atlan ...
, plunging the world into darkness. Humans prayed to
Achamán Achamán is the supreme god of the Guanches on the island of Tenerife; he is the father god and creator. The name means literally "the skies", in allusion to the celestial vault (the sky).
Achamán, an omnipotent and eternal god, created the land ...
who saved Magec and instead locked Guayota up in Teide. Guayota is the king of
evil
Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is general ...
genie
Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources)
– are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic mytho ...
s, and was worshiped on the island of
Tenerife
Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...
in the Guanche religion.
Features
Guayota shares features similar to other malignant deity-inhabitants of volcanoes as in the case of the goddess
Pele in
Hawaiian mythology
Hawaiian religion refers to the indigenous religious beliefs and practices of native Hawaiians, also known as the kapu system. Hawaiian religion is based largely on the tapu religion common in Polynesia and likely originated among the Tahitians ...
, who lived in the
Kīlauea
Kīlauea ( , ) is an active shield volcano in the Hawaiian Islands. Located along the southeastern shore of the Big Island of Hawaii, the volcano is between 210,000 and 280,000 years old and emerged above sea level about 100,000 years ago. Hi ...
volcano and was regarded by the native
Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaii ...
as responsible for the eruptions of the volcano.
In popular culture
Currently, like other aboriginal gods, Guayota remains a typical Canary creature folklore. His evocation is present in many and varied elements of popular culture:
* In the northern city of
Puerto de la Cruz
Puerto de la Cruz is a city and municipality in the northern part of the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. It was formerly known by its English translation, "Port of the Cross", although now it is known by its Spanish name in all lang ...
a pub is named after him: the ''Pub Guayota''.
* In
Granadilla de Abona
Granadilla de Abona is a municipality of Tenerife, located in the south of the island, occupying an area of 155 square kilometers. Its population in 2013 was 43,608. In recent years, the population has greatly increased due to an influx of immig ...
the association ''Bomberos Guayota'' (''Guayota Firemen'') is based.
* There is also the ''Grupo Folklórico Guayota.''
* A
heavy metal band is named after him.
* The 2018 and 2019 champions of Spanish beach ultimate are named ''Guayota''.
* Guayota is featured as the main antagonist in ''Night Broken'' by
Patricia Briggs
Patricia Briggs (born 1965) is an American writer of Fantasy novel, fantasy since 1993, and author of the Mercy Thompson urban fantasy series.
Biography
Patricia Briggs was born in 1965 in Butte, Montana, United States. She now resides in Bent ...
, the eighth novel in her
Mercy Thompson series.
* In the indie video game ''Gaurodan'', Guayota appears as the final boss.
Una lucha titánica entre ciudades humanas y criaturas colosales
/ref>
* In the 2015 book ''The Evil Among Us'', Guayota is mentioned.[The evil among us. 2015. Roma.]
See also
* The Canarian lizard genus ''Gallotia
The genus ''Gallotia'' are the lacertids (wall lizards) of the Canary Islands. This genus consists of a group that has been evolving there ever since the first islands emerged from the sea over 20 million years ago. The endemic species and subsp ...
'' and the species ''Gallotia galloti
''Gallotia galloti'' (Gallot's lizard, Tenerife lizard, or Western Canaries lizard) is a species of Lacertidae, lacertid (wall lizard) in the genus ''Gallotia''. The species is found on the Canary Islands of Tenerife and La Palma.
Both the Gen ...
'' are named after the naturalist D Gallot Gallot is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Jacques Gallot ( 1625– 1695), French lutenist and composer
* Rick Gallot
Richard Joseph Gallot, Jr., known as Rick Gallot (born April 1966), is the current president of Grambling ...
, not after Guayota.
References
External links
Guanche religion
{{Culture of Canary Islands
Evil gods
Guanche gods
Jinn
Volcano gods