Dácil

Princess Dácil was a Guanche princess of the kingdom of Taoro on the island Tenerife (in the Canary Islands), best known for her marriage to a conqueror of the island.

Biography

The "Calle Princesa Dácil" in Las Palmas is named after her.

Dácil or Dácila was born in the ancient Menceyato (kingdom) of Taoro (Tenerife, Canary Island), during the early second half of the fifteenth century. She was daughter to Mencey (king) Adjona and Caseloria and granddaughter of Bencomo. She had five brothers: Bentor, Ruiman, Rosalva, Chachiñama, and Tiñate. Dácil was admired throughout the island for her beauty. Her future was mapped out for her to marry Duriman el Montañes (Duriman of the Mountains). However, with the arrival of the Spanish Captain Fernando García del Castillo, a Castilian officer of a Spanish Cavalry unit, Dácil gained another suitor. Captain Fernando García del Castillo was taken prisoner and placed under the care of Princess Dácil so that she could see to his wounds suffered in Battle of Aguere. According to several historians, Captain Fernando García del Castillo acted as a diplomat providing services between the Guanches and invading Spanish people, and was honored with some estimates by the King of Taoro.^[1] Rumors began to surface that Captain Fernando García del Castillo and Princess Dácil were lovers. They were knowingly believed to have talked alone, a practice strictly forbidden by Guanche law. The Guanche, Duriman El Montanez, who was promised Dácil in marriage felt spurned, and further fed accusations her of being alone with a man, who, was, in addition, a Castilian, and, therefore, the enemy of the Guanche homeland. Duriman el Montañes asked Bencomo to arrest Princess Dácil (Bencomo's granddaughter). Bencomo complied with the law and imprisoned Dácil for many months. When she was released, Dácil was able to convince Bencomo that she had never met Captain Fernando García del Castillo alone, in fact, she had many witnesses to attest that she was always accompanied when meeting with the Castillian captain.^[2] She later married the captain in the Iglesia de la Concepción (Church of the Conception) of Los Realejos. She was baptized as Mencías del Castillo. The date of Dácil's death or place of burial are not known.

Personal life

She was described as blonde, freckles and green eyes (Like many other aborigines of northern Tenerife).^[3]

Influence on the Canary Islands

• The marriage of Dácil and Castilian was considered as the bond of brotherhood between the Guanches people and the Spanish people, though that was not real brotherhood in practice by part of the Spanish conquerors and settlers, which, enslaved the Guanches and subjected them to their culture and language in the early sixteenth century.
• The poet Antonio de Viana (1578 - 1650?) picked up the story of Dácil into one of his best known poems in the Canary Island, in the book La Conquista de Tenerife (1604) (The Conquest of Tenerife (1604)), which produced that many people who met the princess through the poem the considered him unique to poetry. However, as the historian once said canary Bethencourt Alfonso, "this princess plays important role in the poem of Viana; figure that was not imaginary, well she was of flesh and blood."
• Moreover, his name is one of the many names Guanches that, fortunately for the Canary Island, is not lost, since there are still people who have it in that archipelago.
• She is also a of historical figures more remembered of archipelago.

References

External links

• http://elguanche.net/Ficheros/batallaacentejohupalupa.htm. La batalla de Acentejo (The Battle of Acentejo) (In Spanish).
• http://es.globedia.com/batalla-acentejo-derrota-imperio-colonial. La batalla de Acentejo: la derrota de un imperio colonial (The Battle of Acentejo: the defeat of a colonial empire) (in Spanish)