awara Mythology: the devil Irueña 
Explain the presence of evil in the world is as old as humanity itself. The men of the past, lacking insight into the causes and interconnections of things, discharged over the demons or evil spirits responsibility of evil in the world. They attributed all the misfortunes and above all, disease.
Belief in hell is, therefore, a phenomenon common to all ancient peoples. Very little is known about them. His appearance, always strange, we know only through its name or its iconography. They were beings from another world, with features often blurred, poorly defined, but always negative. They are superior to the human scale and act beyond the categories of space and time that limit human actions. Interact with humans for better or for worse, for they are endowed with attributes that affect people immediately.
overnight is manifested in the domains of Ayur (Moon), in different ways, with dog black hair profile favorite among awara: "... these palm appeared to them the devil, in shaggy dog \u200b\u200bfigure, and called him Irueña" (Fray J. Abreu Galindo, XVI century). Could not be otherwise for a people who depended on livestock herds to survive. Stray dogs were the only animals that refugees in the night, attacking the goats, sheep and pigs. Thus, his malignant association.
According to the linguist and historian Ignacio Reyes yrguan "refers to an entity or deity evil (devil): - * i-rug-An> iruggwan> irggwan, sm pl. [R · G] 'devil, genius, spirit evil '. It is the etymological basis of which, by deformation graphs in textual transmission, the name came Yurena.
Irnene, Irven, yruene, Irueña, yrguanes, hirguan, Yuren, Yuren, haguayan haguanran and they are all variants referenced to voices reflected in the Canary Islands that seem to refer to the same thing, although other names are used, remains ever constant the idea that these demons were hairy or woolly appearance. Specifically for the island of Tenerife is above the word "gucancha, meaning dog, and they call the devil appears to them in this way large and wooly" (Marin and Cubas, XVII century) and for the Aboriginal island Gran Canaria is said that "the devil appeared to them [...] often at night and day, like big furry dogs, and other figures, which called tibizenas." (Fray J. Abreu Galindo).
Over time, different authors have commented on these voices. For example, compared Wölfel hirguan, La Gomera, with Irueña, La Palma, proposing: "ir-wan, go-wen 'wollhaariger Hund." Alvarez also Delgado (1942) breaks 'Iruan' = 'Era-guan' = spirit (or demon appearance) as a man. "
The devil in human form Hirguan we find also in the continent. According Vycichl (1952) Hirguan is grammatically plural. In the dialect of the Zenua, in Algeria, we argou, pl. irouggouán 'devil, evil genius. " There are versions regards ogre, coconut or ghost to scare children. "It's the 'Gul' a giant ogre that eats human flesh, for there is among his kind neither caring qualities. His figure is similar to that of men, but of gigantic size, with seven heads and whole body is covered with hair. The 'Gul' is invisible and goes through all sorts of obstacles without difficulty, and he with his kind are those who, when walking, producing earthquakes, lightning and thunder. When angry launch rayos de sus ojos contra un lugar determinado.” [leyendas y tradiciones de Gumara] (Ibn, 1960).
¿Dónde se manifestaban? En la isla de La Palma, la morada de iruene o de los iruenes era el espacio profano situado en las cimas volcánicas de cumbre Vieja (desde Llano Amarillo hasta Los Canarios), territorio de espanto y terror que provocan las estruendosas erupciones volcánicas, muy común en todas las regiones volcánicas del mundo. Todo el reborde superior está vacío de elementos religiosos y no se ha encontrado ningún resto arqueológico, lo cual es bastante significativo.
Otros demonios, genios y espíritus, intermediarios entre los dioses y el hombre, provocaban acciones más benévolas, also related to the divine realm, a guardian of places difficult to access or tutelary figures of places off limits to men. The best example is found in the Canary island of El Hierro with the pig aranfaybo.
