The Ethnographic Museum Tanit in San Bartolomé in Lanzarote

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Presentation

General presentation
Tanit Ethnographic Museum (Museo Etnográfico Tanit) is a private museum of arts and popular traditions on the island of Lanzarote located at San Bartolomé and inaugurated in February 2000. This museum is in a former winery (bodega), the Casa Perdomo, dating from the eighteenth century, one of the first buildings constructed on the present site of St. Bartholomew. The heirs of the family, José Ferrer Perdomo and his wife Remedios de Quintana Reyes, known as “Remi” transformed the bodega museum which exhibits objects and documents belonging to the family, or collected throughout the island, which illustrate Canarian folk traditions, from the days of “Majos” (the first inhabitants of Lanzarote) to the first half of the twentieth century, but mainly for 200 years.

Etymology and toponymy
The museum was named Tanit Ethnographic Museum in reference to the name of the goddess Tanit, sometimes spelled Tinit. In the 1970s, the symbol of Tanit (the "sign of Tanit”), as well as podiform prints were discovered near the Pozo de la Cruz to San Marcial del Rubicón, by Eduardo Aznar Allejo, professor of medieval history at the University of La Laguna in Tenerife. The goddess Tanit was the goddess of fertility among Berbers and his cult spread to Carthage Punic peoples. This discovery confirms the Berber origin of the aborigines of Lanzarote.

Visits

Tanit Ethnographic Museum (Museo Etnográfico Tanit)
The Tanit museum occupies the main building of the old bodega and the annexes. In the main building a loft - where is reconstructed a typical Canarian interior of a wealthy family - can observe the collections from the top. Outside we discover a chapel, a threshing floor, beautiful mosaics made by the owner, a Canarian wine press and a garden with some interesting plants. The museum can give the impression of a motley accumulation of a large number of various objects, without the rigor and scientific selectivity of an ethnographic museum “official” with a little “kitsch” objects, such as a watering can made a breakthrough of old olive oil box, a nineteenth century coffee service with a plastic fake crescent, or an original costume of the carnival group “Los Diabletes” of Teguise. However, the collections are a real historical interest gathered by theme: viticulture, milling, lace, weaving, basketry. The set reflects all cases the fans passion, love their island, to preserve the heritage of Lanzarote, and the memory of his rural life, social and religious.
The corner of music (Rincón musical)	The grinding stones (Piedras de molino)	The art gallery (Galería de arte)
The musical corner, left of the entrance (# 1 on the map), this musical instruments, including a “timple” Canary (named camellito to Lanzarote), tambourines, rattles (sonajeros), bone scrapers and documents on music and folk dances of Lanzarote. José Maria Gil, amateur and connoisseur of popular music, has saved the folklore of Lanzarote which sank into oblivion. In 1945 he founded in San Bartolomé the folk group “Ajei” consisting of musicians, singers and dancers.	In zone 2 we can see the great wheel that was part of the mill (tahona) of the house; it was used to build the first mill in the city. The large stone mortar was found in the ravine of Uga, in the region of La Geria, under the layer of volcanic eruptions lapilli of Montañas del Fuego, from 1730 to 1736.	Exhibit 3 was the room where the wine was bottled. In the background one can see a small pond topped with a stone arch. This space is used today come “art gallery”.
The cellar (Bodega)
Residents of the villages destroyed by volcanic eruptions from 1730 to 1736 came to found the village of Ajei (future San Bartolomé) and learned the cultivation of vines on soils covered by volcanic lapilli of Montañas del Fuego. The winery was founded in 1780, and the cellar (No. 4 on the map) was the heart of the building, where winemaking takes place. The walls are built of volcanic stone and brick jointed with lime mortar and sand. The ceiling - which is original - is made of beams in the heart of Canary Island pine (Pinus canariensis) heartwood (“tea”) of the Canary Island pine is a very hard and dense woods (1 141 kg / m³), brown, and rich in resins (polyphenols) that make it very resistant to pests of wood (beetles, beetles and etc). The planks of the ceiling are sapwood (“riga”) of the Canary pine. The cellar contains a number of century-old oak barrels American, some of which still contain wine, those who wear brands (Vino de Remi 1961, Vino de María Jesús 1992, Vino de María del Mar 1963). In front of the winery is a cooper’s workshop, which displays a number of winemaking-related utensils: jugs, beakers, funnels, wine taster, sieve, alembic, demijohns, tools cooperage and carpentry, etc. .
Bric-a-brac
The sector No. 5 has many other objects between a pack camel (séron) consists of two pieces of wood joined at the top. This equipment was used to transport the volcanic sands, or “rofe” to cover the land to practice cultivation on sand (enarenado). At the bottom of the hood is a trap to dump lapilli. We also note a “trillo”, a threshing board, a sort of trapezoidal sled whose lower face is encrusted with stones, flint or small blades (cuchillitas). The trillo was a harvester for separating the wheat from the chaff; he was pulled by animals on the threshing floor where was spread the harvest; sheaves were cut by the blades and trampled by animals. The trillo is not very different from the “tribulum” Romans. There are several other trillos in different parts of the museum. In this bric-a-brac there is also a write special machine, with only two buttons and an ink roller. In the windows you can see various masonry tools, objects related to the sea and household utensils.
Another bric-a-brac
Room No. 6 is the former warehouse which was stored soda (Almacén de la barilla). This plant, common soda (Salsola soda) is a creeping succulent, reddish stems. Is extracted from the ashes of soda ash used to make soap; this plant was grown in the region to produce soap, mainly exported to England; the barilla was an important source of income. Sodium carbonate was stored in the warehouse or in the form of powder or in the form of compacted cakes. The town can also be consumed soda, like cooked green beans. When the soda ash industry dwindled - at the end of the nineteenth century - the warehouse was transformed as an extension of the warehouse; masonry stores were built against the outside wall: they have now been converted into display cases. The former warehouse of soda presents a wide range of objects: from palm leaves or straw wicker products; harnesses for horses (stirrups, saddles, harnesses ...) equipment for camels (muzzles, buckets ...) made of fabric on the loom; dyed fabrics with orchilla, a dye extracted from a lichen, orchil (Roccella canariensis), harvested in the Massif de Famara; embroidery; Grain measures, hand mills stone; agricultural tools; farm implements; domestic utensils; cheese molds; toys ; authentic Canarian traditional costumes; paintings of unknown artists, et cetera, et cetera.

The press room (Lacar)
Located in front of the bodega, the press room (# 7 on plan) was the space for the crushing and pressing of the grapes for the must (“mosto”), which was transformed into wine after fermentation in the tanks. The pressing was mechanized in the bodega Perdomo in 1959. One can also see in this space a device - suspended ceiling - consisting of two nets, which allowed the transport of grapes on camel. A mural represents the harvest in Lanzarote.
the mezzanine
The mezzanine (No. 8 on the map) is mainly moderately interesting family memories. It also allows observation from above of part of the museum. At the bottom of the mezzanine down stairs there are two statues of the Infant Jesus (No. 9).
The ceramics exhibition
Zone No. 10 this aboriginal ceramics, petroglyphs and fossils. In Area 11 is a tank of small diameter but very deep and large capacity which allowed to collect the rare rainwater. Because of its shape the tank is improperly named “well” (pozo).

dependencies
In the servants’ quarters (No. 12 of the plan) are presented collections on children of Lanzarote, “los chinijos” (“small" in the local language). The other arm has a living room and a bedroom typical Canarian.

The threshing floor (Era)
The threshing floor (No. 13 of the plan) was a dirt space consisting of lapilli and lime, where the corn was beaten to separate straw and grain. This surface has been restored into a dance floor which hosts traditional dances.
The chapel (Ermita)
The chapel of the Virgin of the Pine (Ermita de la Virgen del Pino) (No. 14 on the map) was built on the site where was the barn dromedaries (gañanía), then the hangar of an electric generator at the time there was no electricity in the village of San Bartolomé. Most objects and ornaments that contains the chapel of Nuestra Señora de Pino were in the old oratory of the house.
The canary wine press (Lagar canario)
The canary wine press (No. 15) remark to the right of the chapel, with its huge wood beam that served as leverage to press the grapes. The beam is hinged at the rear of the building and attached to the front in a wood screw, weighted with a huge stone. The mulberry wood screw was turned, by a strong marine rope to lower the beam and pressing the grapes. Mulberry (Morus nigra) grows in the Canaries, particularly on the island of Hierro.
The shop (Tienda)
The museum shop Tanit (No. 17 on the map) is located in front of the museum entrance, the other side of the court. Besides the usual memories of Lanzarote there are objects made by the hostess, Remi Quintana, such as paintings or crafts. Kitsch, can be photographed in true traditional costume of Lanzarote, passing her face into the head of a wooden dummy.
The garden (Jardín)
The garden (No. 18 of the plan) was covered in volcanic lapilli in order to retain moisture of the night dew and rainwater or watering. It is a relaxing place, decorated with a fountain, and which has some exotic plant species.
Spurge	False pepper (Schinus molle)

Guava (Psidium guajava)	Flamboyant (Delonix regia)

Mandarin (Citrus reticulata)	Lemon (Citrus x limon)	Ficoïde thick (Malephora crassa)