130 CANARY ISLANDS. 



the women wore bonnets made of skins, adorned with 

 feathers. Their shoes were made of raw skins like those 

 of the natives of the other islands. 



The Canariaiis had among them religious women, called 

 mnifarias, a number of whom lived together in one house, 

 and were held sacred ; and criminals who fled to any of 

 them were protected from the officers of justice. The 

 magadas were distinguished from other women by their 

 long, white garments, which swept the ground as they 

 walked. The houses in which they dwelt were called 

 tamo^antctn Alcoran, (houses of God.) The natives had 

 temples of worship called alinogaren, (holy houses,) which 

 they daily sprinkled with goats' milk. They believed that 

 their God, Alcoran, dwelt on high, and governed every- 

 thing on earth. They adored him by putting their hands 

 together, and raising them towards the sky. 



In the island there are two large rocks, one in the dis- 

 trict of Gaidar, which the natives called Tirmac, and the 

 other in Telde, called Vinicaya. They went to these rocks 

 at the time of public calamity, in procession, accompanied 

 by the magadas, carrying branches of palm-trees and ves- 

 sels filled with milk and butter which they poured on the 

 rocks. They then commenced dancing around them, sing- 

 ing mournful songs or dirges, called by the Spaniards /r/.? 

 enchrJias. From thence they went to the sea-side, and all 

 at once, and with one accord, struck the water forcibly with 

 their rods, all shouting at the same time with a very loud 

 voice. 



The Canarians had nobility among them, who were 

 distinguished from the populace by the peculiar cut of 

 their hair and beards. It was not sufficient to entitle a 

 man to nobility by being the offspring of noble or rich 

 parents, but it was necessary for him to be declared noble, 

 formally, by Xhefacag, a person of great rank, and next in 

 dignity to the ffitmiartcnie, or king. It was his duty also 

 to decide diff*erences among the natives, and to regulate 

 the ceremonies of their religion ; in fact, he was a priest, 

 and also a judge in civil aff*airs. 



The Canarians were remarkable for their good govern- 

 ment, regularity, and strict administration of justice. 

 When a man committed a crime deserving death, he was 

 apprehended and imprisoned, where he was tried, and im- 



