Bimbaches

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Bimbaches or Bimbapes were the first known residents of the Canary Island of El Hierro . They settled on the island at least since the time of the Roman Empire . From around the 4th century AD until the 14th century they lived without any external contact. After the subjugation of the Bimbaches under the rule of the Crown of Castile in the course of the 15th century, the measures of the new rulers resulted in the indigenous people no longer existing as ethnic groups at the end of the 16th century .

First settlement of El Hierro

There are various hypotheses about the first settlement of the Canary Islands . On the basis of new archaeological finds, it is now assumed that the Phoenicians at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC Visited the islands. There are different archaeologically secured documents for the time of the settlement of the individual islands. On the island of El Hierro there are only a few finds where the exact times of origin have been determined by radiocarbon studies . The oldest sample is from the 2nd century AD. The settlement was not a one-off process, but a process in which settlers came to the Canary Islands from various areas under Roman rule around the Strait of Gibraltar . With the Roman Empire crisis of the 3rd century AD, the connections between the island of El Hierro and the Mediterranean culture were broken. Since the Old Canarians had neither tools for building seaworthy ships nor nautical skills, there were no connections between the inhabitants of the Canary Islands. In the following 1000 years up to the 15th century, El Hierro developed its own culture of the Bimbaches.

Appearance

Bimbaches depicted by Leonardo Torriani in the late 16th century

In historical representations, the descriptions of the appearance of the Bimbaches differ widely. Archaeological finds suggest that the native males of the Canary Islands were about 1.70 m tall, larger than the average of the Castilian conquerors. Light eyes and hair did occur, but were rather rare.

language

The language of the Bimbaches had the same origin as the languages ​​of all ancient Canarians, they are often summarized under the name Guanche . These languages ​​showed similarities with the Berber languages ​​of North Africa. The separate development of languages ​​resulted in significant differences between the languages ​​on the various islands. Apart from some geographical names and the names of native plants, there are hardly any remnants of the native language to be found in the language of the inhabitants of El Hierro today.

society

In 1400 there were about 2500 people on the island of El Hierro. The social system of the island of El Hierro was only slightly hierarchically structured. It was based primarily on the extended family system, in which there were differences according to age and gender. The ethnological sources report the existence of a "king". He was a personality who, as the "head of the first family", united the related groups. His primacy was accepted and observed by all members of the group. The head also acted as a priest who presided over the celebrations and rituals.

religion

The indigenous people of El Hierro believed in three deities. A male was called Erahorahan (Eraorahan, Eraoranzan) , a female was called Moneiba . They lived in heaven. A third, subordinate deity was named Aranfaybo , had the shape of a pig and lived in a cave called Asteheyta . Among other things, she was given the ability to let it rain. She was able to mediate between humans and other deities. Special festivals were celebrated in her honor.

At the archaeological site of El Julán ( El Pinar ) there are buildings which archaeologists call “sacrificial altars” and popularly “hornillos” (small ovens). They are small frustoconical buildings, surrounded by a base made of flat stone slabs in dry stone style . Inside there is a cavity in the style of a cremation furnace. There remains of goats, sheep and young pigs have been found, which were probably offered as sacrifices.

Various rituals are known with which the Bimbaches asked for rain. This happened in various places that were considered sacred. The cult of the Garoé , a sacred tree that gave water, played a special role in this context .

funeral

Most of the burial sites on El Hierro Island are located in open caves on steep slopes. On El Hierro, there is no evidence of corpses being dried or mummified before the burial. A bed of stones was built for burial, on which the body was placed so that it had no contact with the earth. Then it was covered with a layer of stone or wood, but most often only with earth. Finally, the entrance to the cave was closed with a stone wall. The common burial site was common among the Bimbaches, although there were occasional individual graves. Human remains have been found at some burial sites with traces indicating that the bodies were cremated. Grave goods, which were seldom found, give certainty that the Bimbaches believed in a life in the afterlife. They provided the deceased with everything he needed in life, such as vessels, stone tools and food.

Dwellings

Some families of the Bimbaches lived in natural caves, often on the edge of Barrancos. In general, the natural shapes of the caves have not been changed. Only a stone wall made of dry stone was added to make the entrance a little smaller. There is no abundance of natural caves on El Hierro. The existing caves are rarely located in such a way that they are suitable to form a village. There were huts or houses that stood together in several. They were round and partially embedded in the earth. The walls were made of dry stone . Nothing has been preserved from the roofs, which were apparently made of natural materials. The round residential buildings described by Abreu Galindo in the 16th century with a diameter of 6–8 m, in which 20 or more adults are said to have lived with their children, have not yet been found.

Economy and nutrition

The most important economic activity of the Bimbaches was livestock. It is believed that the first settlers brought goats, sheep and pigs to the island. As suppliers of milk and meat, the animals were not only important for nutrition. The skins were made into clothing, blankets and water bags. Tools and jewelry were made from the bones. The sea was the other great source of food. The fishing took place exclusively in the shallow water of the coast when the tide started. The piles of clam remains (concheros) found near dwellings indicate a very high proportion of all types of seafood in the diet. There is also evidence of bird hunting. Among the land animals, the El Hierro giant lizard (Gallotia simonyi) made up part of the prey. It does not appear that the Bimbaches' agriculture had reached any significant level.

Items of everyday use

Ceramic objects

The Bimbaches used a raw material from the clay pits in the Meseta de Nisdafe (700–1200 meters above sea level) to produce their ceramics. The production was entirely by hand with almost no tools. There was no potter's wheel. A lump of clay was pressed in with the hands in the middle and the side walls were modeled up until the desired size was reached. The Bimbaches decorated their vessels by pressing lines and points into the fresh clay with the help of pointed objects or with their fingertips or fingernails. After air drying, wood was ignited in pits in the earth and the vessels were placed in the fire. Burning wood was also poured inside. With this type of burning, little oxygen was supplied, which resulted in the typical gray or black coloring of the vessels of the Bimbaches. Since the starting material is not particularly suitable, El Hierro's ceramic articles were extremely fragile. So far not a whole vessel has been found and only in a few cases has the crumbled objects been reconstructed.

Objects made of stone

Since there are no minable metal deposits in the Canary Islands, the tools of the Bimbaches for cutting, scraping, sawing and grinding were made of stone, mainly basalt , trachyte and phonolite . To make sharp tools, a stone was hit, from which a piece with a smooth edge splintered off due to the structure of the material. A few hand mills made of porous basalt were found that already had an opening for filling in the ground material.

Objects made of bones

Awls made from goat bones are the most common tools found. They are between 5 and 11 cm long and very pointed. Sometimes the tips were hardened in the fire. They were used to pierce holes in the skins that were to be sewn together for clothing and water bags, but also to open mussels and other molluscs and to extract edible parts from the shells of the seafood.

The Bimbaches used the bones of goats, birds and fish to make artificial pearls and pendants that were used for magical purposes or as personal jewelry.

Objects made from shells

Archaeological excavations uncovered the shells of large limpets, showing traces of their being used as vessels for dyes. In other cases the edges of the mussels were smoothed. It is believed that they were used as spoons. Polished disks made from clam shells were pierced to be used as artificial pearls and pendants. The shells of sea ​​snails were left in their natural shape and pierced to be attached to a string or leather strap as a pendant.

Objects made of wood

It is known from written sources that the Bimbaches used wood for the manufacture of household appliances and vessels. However, the low durability of these materials meant that the items have not survived to our time. Some wooden stretchers were found which were intended for the transport of the corpses and their storage within the burial grounds and which later became part of the structure of the graves.

Objects made of fur

The skins of the sheep and goats were made into clothing. The sleeping places of the Bimbaches were covered with goat skins.

Petroglyphs

On the island of El Hierro, petroglyphs , rock carvings from prehistoric times, have been found in many places on the island of El Hierro . Their time of origin cannot be clearly determined using scientific methods. An attempt is therefore made to assign the motifs in time by comparing them with other artistic representations. Some petroglyphs show geometric figures such as circles, ovals, spirals. The podomorfos (footprints) are of particular interest to those who represent representational objects , because they can be used to establish relationships with other cultures.

The first alphabetical rock inscriptions on El Hierro, that of El Julan, were discovered in the 19th century. There are an unusually large number of rock inscriptions on the island of El Hierro. Today it is assumed that most of the inscriptions were not made before the 1st or 2nd century BC. BC until at least the 8th century AD, i.e. also at the time when the Bimbaches lived in complete isolation on their island. The meaning of the characters has not yet been deciphered.

Decline of culture

During the 14th century, European traders came to the island of El Hierro to catch people who were sold as slaves in different parts of Spain . In 1402 400 people are said to have been enslaved on the island. In 1405 Jean de Béthencourt spent at least three months on the island, according to Le Canarien. Through an interpreter he had brought with him, who was said to be the brother of the ruler of the Bimbaches, he invited him to negotiate with his people. When they arrived at the agreed venue, 112 Bimbaches, among them King Amiche, were captured and z. Some of them were sold as slaves or taken to other islands. This action is justified in Le Canarien with the fact that it was able to break the resistance on the island without fighting and that there was space for 120 settlers.

After the fiefdom of the island of El Hierro passed to Hernán Peraza (El Viejo), the latter undertook a new conquest of the island, in which the Bimbaches had to surrender and then all, if they were not already, were baptized. Under the rule of the Peraza-Herrera family , new colonists from Castile were settled. A report from 1632 found that while there were still indigenous people, the language had disappeared since the beginning of the 17th century.

literature

  • María de la Cruz Jiménez Gómez: El Hierro y los bimbaches . Centro de la Cultura Popular Canaria, La Laguna 1993, ISBN 84-7926-090-4 (Spanish).
  • Antonio S. Almeida Aguiar [et al.]: Patrimonio histórico de Canarias, La Gomera / El Hiero . Ed .: Armando del Toro García. tape 2 . Dirección General de Patrimonio Histórico, Viceconsejería de Cultura y Deportes, Consejería de Educación, Cultura y Deportes, Gobierno, Las Palmas 1998, ISBN 84-7947-226-X (Spanish).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Pablo Atoche Peña: Excavaciones arqueológicas en el sitio de Buenavista (Lanzarote) - Nuevos datos para el estudio de la colonización protohistórica del archipiélago . In: Gerión . tape 29 , no. 1 , 2011, ISSN  0213-0181 , p. 59–82 (Spanish, [1] [accessed May 25, 2017]).
  2. ↑ Pablo Peña Atoche: Las Culturas Protohistóricas Canarias en el contexto del desarrollo cultural mediterráneo: propuesta de fasificación . In: Rafael González Antón, Fernando López Pardo, Victoria Peña (eds.): Los fenicios y el Atlántico IV Coloquio del CEFYP . Universidad Complutense, Centro de Estudios Fenicios y Púnicos, 2008, ISBN 978-84-612-8878-6 , pp. 322 (Spanish, [2] [accessed May 25, 2017]).
  3. ↑ Pablo Atoche Peña: Consideraciones en relación con la colonización protohistórica de las Islas Canarias . In: Anuario de estudios atlánticos . No. 59 , 2013, ISSN  0570-4065 , p. 527 f . (Spanish, [3] [accessed May 17, 2017]).
  4. ↑ Juan Francisco Navarro Mederos: The original inhabitants (=  everything about the Canary Islands ). Centro de la Cultura Popular Canaria, o.O. (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Santa Cruz de Tenerife) 2006, ISBN 84-7926-541-8 , p. 34 .
  5. ↑ Maximiano Trapero: Problemas de bilingüismo histórico en la toponimia de Canarias . In: Alegría Alonso González (ed.): Actas del III Congreso Internacional de Historia de la Lengua Española: Salamanca, 22-27 de noviembre de 1993 . 1996, ISBN 84-7635-182-8 , pp. 1113 (Spanish, [4] [PDF; accessed July 28, 2016]).
  6. ^ Antonio M. Macías Hernández: La “Economía” de los primeros isleños . In: Antonio de Béthencourt Massieu (ed.): Historia de Canarias . Cabildo Insular de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 1995, ISBN 84-8103-056-2 , p. 53 (Spanish).
  7. ^ Antonio Tejera Gaspar: Sociedad y cultura indígena . In: Antonio de Béthencourt Massieu (ed.): Historia de Canarias . Cabildo Insular de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 1995, ISBN 84-8103-056-2 , p. 96 ff . (Spanish).
  8. ^ Antonio S. Almeida Aguiar [et al.]: Patrimonio histórico de Canarias, La Gomera / El Hiero . Ed .: Armando del Toro García. tape 2 . Dirección General de Patrimonio Histórico, Viceconsejería de Cultura y Deportes, Consejería de Educación, Cultura y Deportes, Gobierno, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 1998, ISBN 84-7947-226-X , p. 295 ff . (Spanish).
  9. ^ Antonio Tejera Gaspar: Sociedad y cultura indígena . In: Antonio de Béthencourt Massieu (ed.): Historia de Canarias . Cabildo Insular de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 1995, ISBN 84-8103-056-2 , p. 97 f . (Spanish).
  10. ^ Antonio S. Almeida Aguiar [et al.]: Patrimonio histórico de Canarias, La Gomera / El Hiero . Ed .: Armando del Toro García. tape 2 . Dirección General de Patrimonio Histórico, Viceconsejería de Cultura y Deportes, Consejería de Educación, Cultura y Deportes, Gobierno, Las Palmas 1998, ISBN 84-7947-226-X , p. 308 (Spanish).
  11. ^ Antonio S. Almeida Aguiar [et al.]: Patrimonio histórico de Canarias, La Gomera / El Hiero . Ed .: Armando del Toro García. tape 2 . Dirección General de Patrimonio Histórico, Viceconsejería de Cultura y Deportes, Consejería de Educación, Cultura y Deportes, Gobierno, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 1998, ISBN 84-7947-226-X , p. 250 (Spanish).
  12. ↑ Hans-Joachim Ulbrich: Death and the cult of the dead among the natives of Tenerife (Canary Islands) . In: Almogaren . No. 32–33 , 2002, pp. 110 ( [5] [accessed December 12, 2016]).
  13. ^ Antonio S. Almeida Aguiar [et al.]: Patrimonio histórico de Canarias, La Gomera / El Hiero . Ed .: Armando del Toro García. tape 2 . Dirección General de Patrimonio Histórico, Viceconsejería de Cultura y Deportes, Consejería de Educación, Cultura y Deportes, Gobierno, Las Palmas 1998, ISBN 84-7947-226-X , p. 259 ff . (Spanish).
  14. ^ María de la Cruz Jiménez Gómez: Habitat . In: Armando del Toro García (ed.): Patrimonio histórico de Canarias, La Gomera / El Hiero . tape 2 . Dirección General de Patrimonio Histórico, Consejería de Educación, Cultura y Deportes, Las Palmas 1998, ISBN 84-7947-226-X , p. 263 (Spanish).
  15. ^ María de la Cruz Jiménez Gómez: Habitat . In: Armando del Toro García (ed.): Patrimonio histórico de Canarias, La Gomera / El Hiero . tape 2 . Dirección General de Patrimonio Histórico, Consejería de Educación, Cultura y Deportes, Las Palmas 1998, ISBN 84-7947-226-X , p. 263 (Spanish).
  16. ^ Teresa N. Ruiz González: Poblado de los Juaclos . In: Armando del Toro García (ed.): Patrimonio histórico de Canarias, La Gomera / El Hiero . tape 2 . Dirección General de Patrimonio Histórico, Consejería de Educación, Cultura y Deportes, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 1998, ISBN 84-7947-226-X , p. 300 (Spanish).
  17. ^ Antonio M. Macías Hernández: La “Economía” de los primeros isleños . In: Antonio de Béthencourt Massieu (ed.): Historia de Canarias . Cabildo Insular de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 1995, ISBN 84-8103-056-2 , p. 66 (Spanish).
  18. ^ Antonio Tejera Gaspar; José Juan Jiménez González; Jonathan Allen: Las manifestaciones artísticas prehispánicas y su huella . Ed .: Gobierno de Canarias, Consejería de Educación, Universidades, Cultura y Deportes (=  Historia cultural del arte en Canarias ). Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 2008, ISBN 978-84-7947-469-0 , p. 153 (Spanish, ulpgc.es [accessed June 28, 2016]).
  19. ^ Juana Covadonga Hernández Suárez: Cerámica . In: Armando del Toro García (ed.): Patrimonio histórico de Canarias, La Gomera / El Hiero . tape 2 . Dirección General de Patrimonio Histórico, Consejería de Educación, Cultura y Deportes, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 1998, ISBN 84-7947-226-X , p. 271-274 (Spanish).
  20. ^ María Isabel Francisco Ortega: Industria Lítica . In: Armando del Toro García (ed.): Patrimonio histórico de Canarias, La Gomera / El Hiero . tape 2 . Dirección General de Patrimonio Histórico, Consejería de Educación, Cultura y Deportes, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 1998, ISBN 84-7947-226-X , p. 275-277 (Spanish).
  21. ↑ María de la Cruz Jiménez Gómez: Adornos . In: Armando del Toro García (ed.): Patrimonio histórico de Canarias, La Gomera / El Hiero . tape 2 . Dirección General de Patrimonio Histórico, Consejería de Educación, Cultura y Deportes, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 1998, ISBN 84-7947-226-X , p. 283-285 (Spanish).
  22. ↑ María de la Cruz Jiménez Gómez: Industria de Huesos, Concha, Madera y de la Piel . In: Armando del Toro García (ed.): Patrimonio histórico de Canarias, La Gomera / El Hiero . tape 2 . Dirección General de Patrimonio Histórico, Consejería de Educación, Cultura y Deportes, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 1998, ISBN 84-7947-226-X , p. 279-280 (Spanish).
  23. ↑ Javier Soler Segura: Interpretando lo rupestre, visiones y significados de los podomorfos en Canarias . In: Tapa . No. 33 , 2005, ISSN  1579-5357 , pp. 165–178 (Spanish, [6] [accessed April 27, 2017]).
  24. ↑ Renata Ana Springer Bunk: The Libyan-Berber inscriptions of the Canary Islands in their rock painting context . Köppe, Cologne 2014, ISBN 978-3-89645-942-8 , pp. 11 .
  25. ↑ Renata Ana Springer Bunk: The Libyan-Berber inscriptions of the Canary Islands in their rock painting context . Köppe, Cologne 2014, ISBN 978-3-89645-942-8 , pp. 55 .
  26. ↑ Renata Ana Springer Bunk: La traducción de las inscripciones líbico-bereberes de las Islas Canarias y su presentación en páginas de internet . In: XXII Coloquio de Historia Canario-Americana . tape 22 , no. 25 , 2017, ISSN  2386-6837 , p. 11 (Spanish, [7] [accessed March 9, 2018]).
  27. ↑ Roberto Hernández Bautista: Los naturales canarios en las islas de señorío: Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, El Hierro y La Gomera . Mercurio Editorial, Madrid 2014, ISBN 978-84-943366-3-8 , p. 127 (Spanish).
  28. ↑ Roberto Hernández Bautista: Los naturales canarios en las islas de señorío: Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, El Hierro y La Gomera . Mercurio Editorial, Madrid 2014, ISBN 978-84-943366-3-8 , p. 127 (Spanish).
  29. ↑ Le Canarien: Retrato de dos mundos I. Textos . In: Eduardo Aznar, Dolores Corbella, Berta Pico, Antonio Tejera (eds.): Le Canarien: retrato de dos mundos (=  Fontes Rerum Canarium ). tape XLII . Instituto de Estudios Canarios, La Laguna 2006, ISBN 84-88366-58-2 , p. 261 (Spanish).
  30. ↑ Roberto Hernández Bautista: Los naturales canarios en las islas de señorío: Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, El Hierro y La Gomera . Mercurio Editorial, Madrid 2014, ISBN 978-84-943366-3-8 , p. 130 (Spanish).