The Canary Islands government is advocating for the return of the Guanche mummy of Herques to Tenerife, threatening legal action if the next Spanish administration fails to act. President Fernando Clavijo made these remarks during the closing session of an international seminar at the Museum of Nature and Archaeology in Tenerife (MUNA), which focused on archaeological heritage from other cultures displayed in European museums.
Considered the best-preserved of all Guanche mummies, the Herques mummy is the remains of a 12th-century man, excavated in 1763 from an indigenous burial site in the Herques ravine, in southern Tenerife. It was transported to Madrid 13 years later. For years, it has been part of the National Archaeological Museum's collection on the indigenous cultures of the Canary Islands, but in February 2025, it was removed from public display and placed in storage in line with new guidelines from the Ministry of Culture regarding the public exhibition of human remains.
Clavijo asserted that there are no technical, academic, or heritage-related reasons to justify the continued absence of these Guanche remains from the Canary Islands. He stated that the seminar on "Heritage Diasporas" would approve a document, the Declaration of Tenerife, which would resolve the technical debate surrounding the mummy's restitution. He emphasised the right of the Canary people to understand their Guanche origins, stating, "We are talking about an administrative issue and political will."
He further explained that the Canary Islands government is "absolutely convinced" of its position and has already submitted a formal request to the state as a precursor to potential legal action. Clavijo clarified that this campaign is not about removing archaeological remains from exhibitions but about recovering a mummy currently stored away, which he believes should return to Tenerife.
He argued that ancestral remains "are not objects" and deserve greater dignity and sensitivity than other forms of heritage. Clavijo called for institutional will so that the Canarian people and researchers can study and understand their Guanche heritage from their own island.
Regarding the change in the central government, he admitted uncertainty about whether the political climate would favour restitution but expressed hope that the new administration would be sensitive to this demand. "Between being in storage and being here, as you can understand, there is no comparison," he remarked.
Tenerife Cabildo President Rosa Dávila highlighted that Canarian culture has suffered from looting, with significant parts of its heritage, including human remains, scattered across various locations worldwide. Dávila noted that MUNA has an accurate reproduction of the Herques mummy but legitimately aspires to recover the original. This demand has been reiterated by Canarian institutions in recent years. She expressed hope that the ongoing symposium on heritage diasporas and the Declaration of Tenerife would mark a turning point in this claim, allowing the mummy to return "home, to the land where it was born," and be interpreted in its proper context.
