A ritual firmly rooted in the past

The Fiesta de la Rama in Agaete (Gran Canaria)

The pilgrims dance ecstatically, non-stop, the sweat pouring from them while they shake palm branches above their heads. The sun, like on any August morning, is high in the sky and the path that runs from the Agaete Valley to the sea appears endless. Only a few kilometres separate the centre of this small town in the north of Gran Canaria from the Puerto de las Nieves ('snow port'), but, as the hours pass, the pilgrims have only advanced a few hundred metres. "Agüita, agüita, la rama está sequita" (roughly translated as "shake, shake, the branch is dry").

The pilgrims sing and dance to the frenzied sound and rhythm of the band and the inhabitants of the town of Agaete throw water from their windows and roof terraces on the crowd of passing of ravers that have taken over the town. The 'papahuevos' (the name given to the giants and bigheaded dwarves that are a regular feature of local Spanish festivals) dance along with the pilgrims as they head towards the beach. On arrival, the younger ones jump into the sea and strike the waves with their branches, making an unforgettable racket. These days, the branches are brandished and the dancing takes place in honour of the Virgin of las Nieves (the snows) in early August. But it hasn't always been that way.

According to the writings of the historian Pedro Gómez de Escudero, who followed the Castilians during the Canarian War (1478 - 1483), the priests of the old Canaries "called the people of the village and lead them in a procession towards the sea, with staffs in their hands, and carrying branches from the trees, and, as they advanced, they looked at the sky and raised their voices, holding up both arms and asking for water for their seeds. And saying 'Almene Corán', that in their language meant God make me worthy, they beat the water with their staffs and branches and, with this plea, the great Lord provided for their needs". Other contemporary and later historians also refer to these rituals of penance being practised with the intention of provoking rains.

Based on these texts, many have stated that the Fiesta de La Rama (Festival of the Branch) is a surviving aboriginal ritual that, although still celebrated in modern times, has been logically subjected to Christianisation following the Castilian conquest of the area. Nowadays, under the protective wing of the Virgin Mary, the Canarians have kept an ancient tradition alive that represents a direct line to their ancestors. It is this ancestral character that has enabled the Fiesta de la Rama to become an authentic Canarian national festival.

For the less religious, the festival begins in the old quarter of Agaete and ends at the Las Nieves beach where they dance 'La rama' to the tribal sounds and rhythms of the local band. But for the more traditional pilgrims, this age-old festival begins the previous day. Some of the braver ones climb the San Pedro trail, to Pinar de Tamadaba to cut the branches, and in a procession that begins more than a thousand metres above the sea level, make their pilgrimage down to the beach.

Ethno-historical sources (documentation dealing with ancient societies) seem to connect this ritual with the religious festivities celebrated by the ancient Canarians. Other authors, however, do not believe that the current Ramas festival (also celebrated in other parts of northern Gran Canaria) has a historical connection with the aboriginal traditions. The anthropologist, Alberto Galván Tudela, states that in order to understand the Rama of today, it is necessary to look to more recent history, and although he does not deny the aboriginal basis of the celebration, he believes that the current incarnation of the festival is based on a modern a reinterpretation of the traditions. Whatever the case, the ancestral origin of the ritual, whether connected to the religiousness of the pre-conquest Canarians, is clearly evident. As Galván Tudela comments in his book, 'Las fiestas populares canarias (Popular Canarian festivals)', the people of Agaete say that their festival is "the same as ever" and nobody remembers or can say that the ritual of dancing 'la rama' began in any given year or even any particular century. What we do know, however, is that the Rama festival has undoubtedly become one of the most important and characteristic references for the Canarian people as a whole.