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CANARY ISLAND
The name
Where did the Canary Islands get their name? Well, it's not from the Canary, as the bird is named after the islands rather than the other way round. Most people seem to think the islands are named after dogs, but we have our doubts. Here are the different theories.
The most common explanation of the name is that it comes from the Latin name Canariae Insulae, meaning "Islands of the Dogs". The story is that Mauretanian king Juba II, a firm ally of the Romans, sent an expedition to the Canary Islands that found "vast multitudes of dogs of very large size".
Pliny the Elder recorded Juba II's discoveries in his Natural History, written in 77 AD (see below). He specifically referred to the big dogs on the island of Canaria.
It sounds great except for one thing; there is no evidence that the islands were covered in big dogs at this time. Juba II also said that the islands were uninhabited (although his expedition reported finding huts) but we know that the original Canarians were in the Canaries during Juba's reign.
The historian Agustín Millares Torres, in his "General History of the Canary Islands", said the derivation of large dogs that in these islands were [incomplete]. According to his research, these dogs took part in the myths, funeral customs and even gastronomy of the natives (Guanches) of the islands. Demons appeared to these people as big fleecy dogs, known as "Tibicenas" in Gran Canaria and "Irnene" on the island of La Palma. In the funerary cults, the dogs appear mummified beside their owners guides to the afterlife. The dogs were also consumed in small amounts, as has been proven in archaeological discoveries
In the aftermath of conquest, the presence of these dogs of molosser morphology on the islands is well documented, especially in the cedularios of the councils of Fuerteventura and Tenerife. The first quote after conquest dates from 1501, which allowed the puerqueros (pig farmers) to have "one of the larges." In many periods, these dogs were used to kill the wild dogs that attacked cattle. Success was credited by the presentation of the skins of the heads. In others periods, many of these dogs were ordered to be killed for the damage they did to cattle. At one point, residents were given the opportunity to kill loose and wild dogs without punishment. In other occasions the dogs were ordered to be bound. And still other times, due to the damage caused by these dogs, their possession was banned for anyone who was not a farmer or a hunter. All this occurred between the 16th and 18th centuries.
In addition to the traditional role of cattle dog, the Perros de Presa Canario have been used for dog fighting. Until the 1950s it remained a common practice in all of the islands. There exists ample testimony from former fans. The owners agreed on whether the fight had to be witnessed in silence or if they could incite the animals. No spectator could touch or bother the dogs in combat. The most widespread method was to place the animals within a circle marked on the ground, face to face. The fight began when the collars were removed. These were not organized public events. Instead, they emerged sporadically at the challenge of the owners. However, practically the whole neighborhood participated in the show once it became aware of the fight. The fights were banned in the mid-1940s, but lasted for another decade. From that moment, due to tightening by the Francoist authority for the eradication of dogfighting, the Perro de Presa Canario was relegated to counted breeders that kept the breed alive and prevented its total disappearance.