A Tibicena, also known as Guacanchas, was a

mythological creature A legendary creature (also mythical or mythological creature) is a type of fictional entity, typically a hybrid, that has not been proven and that is described in folklore (including myths and legends), but may be featured in historical accou ...

of the

Guanches The Guanches were the indigenous inhabitants of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean some west of Africa. It is believed that they may have arrived on the archipelago some time in the first millennium BCE. The Guanches were the only nativ ...

, pre-Hispanic inhabitants of the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

. Tibicenas were imagined to be

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...

s or genies who had the bodies of great wild dogs with red eyes, covered by long, black fur. They lived in deep caves inside the mountains. Some existing caves on the Canary Islands are still referred to as Tibicena lairs, such as "Cueva del Tibicena". According to myth, Tibicenas attacked livestock and persons, particularly at night. Guanche mythology posited Tibicenas as offspring of

Guayota Guayota, in Guanche mythology of Tenerife (the Canary Islands), was the principal malignant deity and Achamán's adversary. Mythology According to Guanche legend, Guayota lived inside the Teide volcano, one of the gateways to the underworld. He w ...

(the

devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...

or malignant deity). Inhabitants of

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

called them Guacanchas and inhabitants of

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that co ...

called them Tibicenas.

Sources

* Cioranescu, A. (1977)- Galindo A. (1632), ''Historia de la Conquista de las Siete Islas'', Goya, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, p.149 African demons Guanche mythology Jinn Mythological canines North African legendary creatures {{Africa-myth-stub