CANARY ISLANDS. 137 



Rambla and Laguna, in which he could raise 7,000 fight- 

 ing-men. One of the brothers, named Acaymo, was king 

 ofGuimar; another, called Atguarona, of Abona ; and a 

 third, Arvitocaspe, of Adexe. The names of the other 

 five are lost ; one however, reigned in Tegueste, another 

 in Ycod, another in Centejo, and another in Daute. The 

 royal dignity, in the Guanche language, was called qncbccJii, 

 and was elective. In summer the king resided in the moun- 

 tains, but in winter he removed to the sea-side. When he 

 changed his place of residence, or travelled, the elders of 

 his tribe assembled, and carried before him a sceptre and 

 a lance, with a kind of flag upon it, to give notice of 

 his approach to all who might be travelling upon the 

 road, that they might pay him their customary homage, 

 which consisted of prostrating themselves before him on 

 the ground, wiping off the dust from his feet with the cor- 

 ners of their garments, and kissing them. The natives 

 were divided into three classes, the nobles, the gentlemen, 

 and the peasants. The first was called achimcnscy, and 

 belonged to the house or family of the king ; the second 

 class was called cilhiciquico, and included the gentry or 

 yeomanry ; and the third was called achicarnay, and in- 

 cluded the peasantry or servants. The Guanches often 

 had disputes among themselves about their flocks and pas- 

 tures, which frequently ended in wars. Their war imple- 

 ments consisted of darts made of pine wood, sharpened and 

 hardened by the fire like those of the natives of other 

 islands. They also had a weapon like a spear, which they 

 were so dexterous in throwing, that they scarcely ever miss- 

 ed their aim. When an enemy approached, they alarmed 

 the country by making a smoke which was repeated from one 

 district to another. The women always attended the wars 

 with provisions and other necessaries, and in case that any 

 of the men were killed, they carried them off and deposited 

 them in caves. Their manner of holding their courts 

 of judicature was by assembling to some plain in the 

 island, in the middle of which they placed a large, square 

 stone, and on each side of the plain they placed several 

 stones of an inferior size and height. On the day appointed 

 for holding the court, the king was seated on the high 

 stone, and the principal elders, or council, were placed on 



