This year the traditional group of Los Diabletes will be taking to the streets of La Villa de Teguise as is the tradition, warns Olivia Duque the councillor for culture at Teguise Ayuntamiento.
The name Los Diabletes translates to the Little Devils and the tradition dates back to a mixture of beliefs from the 15th Century. These masked he-goats can be a bit scary when they approach you in the street shaking their bells (esquilas) and bopping you with their pouches (zurrones)!
A group of 14 Los Diabletes will be out in force on the streets of La Villa de Teguise during the weekends over the carnival period. The devils will leave from the Plaza de La Mareta where the big white tent is situated at 11:00 on Saturdays and 16:00 on Sundays,. You can also find the Diabletes at the carnival processions through the towns of Lanzarote.
The Mayor of Teguise, Oswaldo Betancort invited people to come and witness one of the oldest traditional in the Canaries, he also warned that whoever receives a “zurronazo” from the Los Diabletes received a symbol of fertility and virility!
Francisco Hernández, the official chronicler for Teguise extracted the history of Los Diabletes. This popular tradition is a mix of aboriginal belief with elements of Castellan and and connections to witches born at the end of the fifteenth century, when the first black slaves reached Teguise and practised their superstitions. The Diablete figure in Teguise is the figure of a goat where as it was a ram on the island of El Hierro and later the Los Buches de Arrecife.
The dances performed by the witches and devils were interpreted by the shepherds and took place during the nights between Christmas and Epiphany, especially the night of the 31st. Also the Roman Saturnalia took place from the 17th to 23rd December in honour of Bacchus and Dronias. During that period of time, all pagan rituals were Christianised and there the Misas de Luz took place in the early hours of the morning to triumph over darkness.
The shepherds who years before had danced in the Gran Aldea with their bodies clothed in hides tanned by seawater, they returned as slaves and servants to dance at the Feast of Corpus Christi dressed as devils by the fire and carts.
Their leather masks were marinated with butter and fat and were paid for by the lords and then the Cabildo General. On the day of Corpus everyone wore their best clothes for the procession. Next to the Blessed Sacrament was the justice, regiment and scribes before the Diabletes and drummers.
The town council of Teguise took over the responsibility of not buying the clothes for the Diabletes, but to pay the dancers and drummers which is recognised in the history books of Teguise. The amount paid to each was half a real. The tradition of the Baile de los Diablietes is to dance slowly a little at a time until reaching the Carnival.