Gomeran Whistling


On a small and dramatically uneven island like La Gomera, distances were measured in the past by the time and effort necessary to hike the paths, and not by the number of kilometres between two places, which is never very high. The tripo from one ridge to another of a valley or ravine, descending a slope to cross the bottom and climb up the other side, sould supposse various hours for the traveller, although the distance might be scarcely a few hundred metres. In this geographical environment, the gomeran whistle was a special form of communication originated in pre-Hispanic times and does not constitutea language in the strict sense of the word, but a modality of speech that spells out syllabes by means of the whistle, with the help of the fingers introducen into the mouth. As the rural society that used this language has disappeared and other means of communication such as the telephone have been introduced, the Gomeran whistle is scarcely used outside exhibitions or demostrations, which means that fewer and fewer people nowadays know how to use it.