Various authors such as Sedeño, Torriani, Cubas or J.J. Jiménez, have left us in their writings testimonies of the great celebration of Weñesmed (Guanche New Year's Eve), of which all agree that it was the main festival of our aborigines.
Weñesmed is a tradition "where the Guanarteme spent cattle, gofio, milk and butter, which was all that could be given. And here everyone showed their value by showing off their graces in jumping, running, (...) fighting and the other things they could achieve", in addition to great dances, banquets, weddings and disputes were arranged.
The indigenous calendar was a closed and complete cycle, and because they counted the year in twelve months and these by lunar phases, they required nine days to complete it, coinciding with August 15, which is the day the Sun reaches its zenith; having also already collected their "sementera" (harvest), this gave reason for the celebration of Weñesmed. For this reason, the first inhabitants of the Islands held parties for nine continuous days even if it was between enemies and there were wars. "At that time they did not fight, celebrating with each other", relate various treaties.
After the conquest, the church introduces the prayer to the Virgen de Candelaria, which falls on August 15, with the intention of suppressing its essence, replacing its original meaning with another foreign one.
Celebration on the Island
Weñesmed began to be celebrated on the Island 28 years ago, being a pioneer in this sense in the Archipelago, although it had already been celebrated previously in various African regions such as Tangier, Egypt or Morocco by the natives of these populations who had "amazigh" origin. Currently Weñesmed is commemorated in numerous points of the Canarian geography such as the south of Gran Canaria, several towns of Tenerife, and even also in areas of La Palma and La Gomera. In this sense, and as related by the president of the Cultural Association Canarias-Morocco "Kahina", Salvador Hernández, the celebration each year has a greater number of followers, who try to ensure that this important legacy is preserved and can be transmitted to future generations of Canarians.
Salvador Hernández himself detailed to this newspaper the ritual that takes place during the celebration of Weñesmed, in which the participants make a bonfire in the shape of a triangle in whose center a stone monolith is mounted. There they break the old "gánico", which is the bowl they have used throughout the year to drink milk with gofio, while praying the following expression in the Guanche language: "I swear by the bone of the one who brought me into this world that I will maintain the traditions of my people until the day of my death".
Hernández also explained that the Guanches performed this ritual to ask nature that the following year there would be better harvests, that the cattle would be stronger, that there would be more food or that people would be happier. In this sense, he added that Weñesmed was a meeting in which insult, fighting and abuse were prohibited, and in which everyone was obliged to bring food or drink.
Finally, the president of the Cultural Association "Kahina" announced that this year the commemorative events of Weñesmed will begin next Sunday, August 14, starting at 9:00 p.m., and that they will take place in different places on the Island, although traditionally the participants of this celebration usually concentrate next to the Zonzamas site. There will be exhibitions of Canarian wrestling, stick game, talks about the latest findings and discoveries in aboriginal matters, and of course, there will be good food and wine from the land. "Each attendee comes provided with typical Canarian food, which he shares with the rest of the people who meet at the celebration, in an act that becomes an authentic day of coexistence and brotherhood", said Salvador Hernández, while calculating that in this year's Weñesmed could exceed 500 participants. In this sense, Hernández stressed that in recent years more and more families prefer to celebrate Weñesmed in their respective homes, where they prepare a copious dinner, and await the arrival of the new year.
Salvador Hernández, who announced that throughout the next year will begin to be taught on the Island classes of "amazigh" language, encouraged all citizens of the Island to participate in the festival of the Guanche New Year, as well as made available to all interested the telephone number of the Association he chairs, so that all those who wish can expand knowledge about the roots and traditions of our ancestors. The information telephone number is 678 361 066.