What a Fearsome Place This Is!

It is none other than the house of God and the Gate of Heaven (Genesis 28:17)

One of the architectural elements that has gone largely unnoticed by Canarian archaeology is the so-called false doors, which are very common in Ancient Egypt and found across other continents, including, naturally, the Canary Islands.

Discovering False Doors in La Palma

While we were already aware of several cases on the island of La Palma, in 2021, we recorded for the first time the presence of a false door at the ritual site of El Bocarón (Barlovento, La Palma). It is excavated into the wall and measures approximately 2 metres high by 0.70 metres wide. Its triangular shape features an entrance step and a dome within the structure (Rodríguez Vassou and Martín González, 2021: 17).

In 2022, we published further findings in the journal Iruene, issue 14, after establishing a direct link on the island of La Palma among false doors, channels, basins, anthropomorphic rock engravings, and burial caves in more than 50% of the sites that exhibited this combination of inscriptions. In La Palma, we revealed these at Bocarón, Fuente de La Fajana, Don Pedro, Espigón de Puntallana, Barranco de Nogales, La Veta del Almácigo, La Verada, and Barranco de La Caldera.

This type of excavation also appears throughout the Archipelago, featuring different morphologies, dimensions, and finishes in the volcanic tuff. They seemingly serve no specific purpose; they appear as openings that lead nowhere, making it challenging to determine which might qualify as a false door versus something else. Both the archaeological context and the finish of the opening are the two main arguments lending credence to their presence as a symbolic sacred element.

Other Locations in the Archipelago

In La Gomera, for instance, we find a false door at Lomada de Masambique, carved from a stratum of stepped volcanic tuff. The nearest context contains basins and linear, anthropomorphic engravings. At Risco de Quise, within a broad ritual space, there are other small artificial cavities that could be part of the same concept. In Barranco de Guayadeque (Gran Canaria), we can admire another opening resembling a false door alongside a group of domes, situated within a ritual context with various stations of channels and basins. Other instances have been recorded at Bentayga, Temisas, Jeréz, and Risco Chapín.

False Doors in Tenerife

On the island of Tenerife, we highlight the false doors in Anaga, particularly the different prototypes around Chinamada, associated with channels, basins, and anthropomorphic engravings. Notably, at the summit of Mesa de Tejina, next to a station of channels and basins, there exists an elongated opening that resembles a false door; another prominent example for its detailed finish is the one at Cueva Jurada.

The Symbolism of the False Door

Before proceeding, it is crucial to clarify that the ancient worldview was fundamentally rooted in mythology; it does not stop where science does. Therefore, when interpreting these findings, we must exercise caution and consider various perspectives, always from the viewpoint of the indigenous people. The ancient Canarians’ understanding of their environment forms a meaningful unity with a mythic backdrop, yet it is not irrational; it operates in a symbolic and metaphorical language.

The metaphor of the door is universal and appears in many ways throughout ancient cultures. But what exactly are false doors? As the name suggests, they are flat architectural structures carved into walls in the shape of a door but lead nowhere. They are merely small openings a few centimetres deep, marked by a strong symbolic character. These openings are not accidental, nor mere aesthetic whims; they represent a boundary between at least two worlds. The term “false door” may be misleading, as, while it physically leads to no specific location, it was symbolically a functional structure one could traverse; thus, we must consider, following the authors of these thresholds, that they serve as meeting points. If a door embodies a transition from one room to another, it also symbolises a shift from one state to another.

The Role of Doors in Ritual Practices

Doors are not merely architectural elements; they play a significant role in the rituals of the open or closed spaces where they were constructed. They facilitate the transitions between situations in both the physical and spiritual realms, as well as social and cosmic dimensions. Erecting a false door at a particular location establishes a threshold of passage. But who knocks at the door? Could it be anyone, a select few, or perhaps the ancestors? It seems clearer now that it encompasses the concept put forth by Mircea Eliade of axis mundi, the precise point for crossing different planes or cosmic regions (heaven, earth, and the underworld) that lie along the same axis.

All evidence points to a symbolic, magical, and religious function. Humanity creates transitional spaces capable of making the invisible visible. A false door is part of a threshold that can be opened and closed, representing an extension of something. Where did they wish to lead with these constructions? Many feature a dome inside or above the lintel, resembling an eye; some even contain a step that similarly contributes to this symbolic transition. Occasionally, a channel runs along the upper part, with drains spilling to the sides, clearly conveying a message of libation of water or milk. The peculiar nature of the door is to endure, sheltered by a cosmos that unfolds in specific spaces and at a moment frozen in time. Normally, the representation of steps invites us to ascend, embodying the symbolic action of striving towards higher realms.

Each door serves as a factory of ideas that opens new worlds. Therefore, functions may vary depending on context, yet they remain connected to the realm of religious beliefs. For instance, false doors in Ancient Egypt are found inside burial chambers, where offerings and prayers to the deceased were made. Conversely, in the Canary Islands, they can be interpreted in various ways; one interpretation relates to the passage from the world of the living to that of the dead, suggesting a magical and symbolic function in contexts of death and regeneration, from which paths towards a new existence emerge. This guarantees the spirits of the ancestors the passage to eternity. Moreover, the door signifies continuity, a threshold that separates two dimensions. In this light, could it be a doorway to heaven? We cannot assert this unequivocally. The threshold, or door, as Eliade (1994) argues, immediately and specifically demonstrates the continuity of space; hence, its significant religious importance, as they are symbols and vehicles of transition. The Bible speaks of “the gates of heaven”; numerous other peoples, including the Canarians, did so long before.

Crossing the threshold, therefore, is entering an intimate space connected to a new world. The door does not serve as a hindrance; rather, it indicates spatial continuity. We perceive this in the physical distance one traverses when passing through a door, which is minimal. Yet the symbolic distance is boundless. Consequently, the limen or threshold is the sublime, representing a transition and transformation beyond time and space. It possesses its own cyclical moments.

Situated in ritual spaces associated with the cosmic realm, they immediately imply a border function, allowing entry or exit from something operating in another mental sphere, which in this case appears more aligned with the spirits of the ancestors. False doors open to less visible realities, leading us to the boundary between worlds: the cosmic, the living, and the dead.

Emotional Connections to the Past

Observing each of these doors captivates us emotionally due to their mysterious, magical, and dreamlike aura; it evokes the past time that has closed a door which, after five centuries, now seems to be beginning to open again. Yet, it is we, the modern Westerners, who remain blind, unable to see what these openings obscure, incapable of transcending the limits reached by our ancestors.

We stand at the beginning of a new investigation capable of addressing age-old questions, challenging certain ambiguities, and opening new avenues of exploration based on fieldwork. This entails fresh ideas derived from formal assumptions through axiomatic methods that allow us to achieve a better thought-out and comprehensive view, free from dogmatic constraints, enabling advancement in knowledge. To do this, it is imperative to broaden the scope of understanding towards other realities considered from the indigenous perspective. This is merely the preliminary phase of a much larger investigation that will require significant spatial recognition.

We have viewed the door as a distinctive element and instrument imbued with a strong semantic charge within a ritual landscape; now, slightly ajar, we must attempt to penetrate the opportunities of the hidden, the mysterious, and the unknown that has yet to be conceived. Only the spiritual plane can glimpse its true destiny and purpose.

References

• Martín González, M. A., Rodríguez Rocha, J. J., & Rodríguez Vassou, L. (2022). “Anthropomorphs: Engravings Linked to Awara Funerary Contexts (La Palma Island).” Iruene, nº 14, pp. 6-31
• Martín González, M. A. (2024). Antiguos canarios: La memoria de lo sagrado. Editorial Bilenio
• Rodríguez Vassou, L. & Martín González, M. A. (2021). “El Bocarón: The Search for Immortality, Barlovento (La Palma Island).” Iruene, nº 13, pp. 6-25
• Vivas, T. (2019). La entrada al inframundo: Steles of the False Door in Ancient Egypt. Dilema editorial

Miguel A. Martín González, Historian and Lecturer

The article “False Doors of the Ancient Canarians” first appeared in El Apurón.