Tradition / Region: Guanche Mythology, Spanish Mythology
Alternate Names: Guacanchas
Category: Dog
The Myth
In the traditions of the Guanches, the ancient inhabitants of the Canary Islands, there were feared creatures known as Tibicenas.
They were imagined as great wild dogs, enormous and terrifying, with glowing red eyes and long black fur. These beings did not roam openly across the land but lived deep inside caves within the mountains. Some caverns were believed to be their lairs, and certain caves were still known by names connected to them.
The Tibicenas were said to emerge at night. When darkness fell, they crept out from the mountain depths and prowled the land, attacking livestock and sometimes people. Because of this, they were feared as dangerous spirits rather than mere animals.
In Guanche belief, the Tibicenas were not independent creatures but were the offspring of Guayota, a malignant being associated with darkness and the underworld. This made them part of the world of demons and hostile spirits, tied to the hidden places of the earth.
Different islands knew them by different names. On Tenerife they were often called Guacanchas, while on Gran Canaria they were more commonly known as Tibicenas.
Thus the Tibicena was remembered as a cave-dwelling demon in the form of a great black dog, a night hunter of the mountains and a servant of the dark powers beneath the earth.
Gallery
Sources
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Tibicena. In Wikipedia, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibicena
Interpretive Lenses
Religious Readings
- Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
- Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
- Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
- Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
- Marxist Deep Dive