The hamlet of Chirche, a great name for a beautiful and traditional location at 880 metres above sea level where barely 200 people live.
This unsightly hamlet of Guía de Isora, near Aripe in the area of El Bailadero and Era Azul, is a hotspot to visit and who ever did it never forgets how rich the caserío is in history and tradition.
This hamlet dates directly from the Guanche period. Archaeological evidence was recovered that solidifies the link with the original inhabitants. It was only later, in the middle of the XVIIth century, that the hamlet developed into how we know it today.
Cochinilla
In Bishop Pedro Dávila y Cárdenas’ ‘Constituciones Sinodales’ of 1737, we read that 17 families lived there with a total of 85 people. Nearly 130 years later – that was then in 1865 – we read in Pedro de Olive’s ‘Diccionario Estadístico-Administrativo’ that this barrio had 161 inhabitants, some of whom were engaged in breeding the cochinilla (Dactylopius coccus), which was used as a crimson dye for textiles.
The louse thrives as a parasite on the disc cactus (Opuntia) and the colour pigment comes from the eggs of the scale insect and, to a lesser extent, from the blood of the parasite. Shortly before the aphids lay eggs, they are manually scooped off the cactus, then the aphids are killed and the dye is obtained after being dried, ground and filtered.
Canarian heritage
Quite a few Hornos de Teja have been preserved in this region. Firing clay into roof tiles in wood-fired baking huts provided comfortable roofs for houses in the wider area.
The Hornos de Brea that made tar and pitch can also still be found in the Tágara Mountains. The pines in the wider area lent themselves perfectly to making the product that fishermen needed to waterproof and repair their wooden boats.
The hamlet of Chirche has been part of the Bienes de Interés Cultural of the Canary Islands since 2008 due to the architecturally great value of its houses. Today, 213 people live there and these residents are pretty much the actors in the annual event Días de las tradiciones.
Chirche is just about the textbook example of Canarian heritage: many buildings and numerous utensils date back to the time of great-grandparents.
Traditional style
A pretty and picturesque rural hamlet, set in a landscape dominated by a rugged landscape, also called malpaís, although nearby are the fertile lands of El Bailadero and Era Alta. Located just 2 kilometres from the centre of Guía de Isora, it has been declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in the Historical Place category, due to its important historical, architectural and ethnographic value, in which some restorations have been carried out, with materials similar to the original ones, to preserve its special charm.
Here you can admire the traditional-style houses, many of which date back to the 18th and 19th centuries, which have been preserved and form part of the rich heritage it possesses, and which, together with the ovens, catteries, cisterns, baskets, cellars, ponds and communal wine presses, form an inseparable part of the beautiful landscape.
Día de las Tradiciones
Chirche, built on the site of an ancient Guanche settlement, has a history very similar to that of the nearby hamlet of Aripe, as it is thought that, because of their proximity, both developed as population centres in the 17th century, with an initial emphasis on cattle breeding, which was later supplemented by agricultural production based on dry crops and fruit trees and, more recently, in the mid-19th century, on the cactus and almond trees that still adorn the landscape.
One of the most unique festivals is El Día de las Tradiciones, held every year over a weekend in the second half of July. A celebration that all the inhabitants of this beautiful hamlet experience with special devotion, bringing hundreds of visitors to this picturesque Isorrean village every year.
Demonstrations and exhibitions
In this particular celebration, time seems to have stood still in the 1940s. During these festivities, the villagers, dressed in the costumes of the time, re-enact the most typical scenes of rural life in the last century: Working in the fields; making and baking bread; roasting wheat and coffee; milking the goats; fetching water from the water spouts, carried in large buckets on their heads; washing clothes in the smoothness of the ravine; coal bunkering; the work of the seamstresses; grinding gofio; and even staging the old school, among many others. There is also an exhibition dedicated to animal husbandry, as well as several demonstrations of traditional sports.
Many of the houses and courtyards are also set in the 1940s, and in some of them there are sales points and exhibitions of handmade products such as trout, liqueurs, honey, bags, fruits and baskets.
Without electricity
The party concludes with an entertaining dance, which is of course typical of the style of the time. A fun festival that also puts you in touch with cultural values and folk knowledge, in an atmosphere full of magic and nostalgia.
Día de las Tradiciones is the day when rural life of the last century is recreated with the typical crafts and traditions of the time.
Locals take visitors back to a time when hard work in the fields and fincas was everyday fare.
Dressed in retro clothes for the occasion, they transport visitors to another world without electricity, away from all the hustle and bustle and noise.
Activities
Wheat threshing, bread making, gofio milling, sewing and stitching, millinery, milking the goat herd, outdoor laundry activities, basket weaving, craft activities such as candy, liquor and honey making and many other staging are on display every year.
You can also taste the freshly baked bread, freshly harvested vegetables and tasty picked fruits. These are the delicacies of the interior. On Sunday afternoon, the procession goes out, followed by dancing to the music of the retro group ‘Cardon Adeje’. An exhibition of (obviously) old prints completes the past and the day.
More information about Chirche [HERE]
Unknown © Photography
The hamlet of Chirche ©
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