which appeared too far from Nineveh geographically, met the biblical specifi-
cations: “In the sea one covers 50 leagues per day.”^98 Travel over water was
quicker than over land.
The Canaries appear to mark the first instance of speculation as to whether
an existing group had any connection to the ten tribes. And it is certainly the
first case in which a combination of geographical calculation, ethnography, and
prophecy was employed in the effort. Up until this moment, all news of the ten
lost tribes had been the product of rumor, outright lies, and speculations. We
have seen in the case of Eldad’s interrogation by the Jews of al-Qayrawan how a
sort of ten tribes protocol of investigation and examination was in place. But in
Eldad’s case, it was Jews who interrogated a claimant. In the Canary Islands
case, we find Christian clergy examining an indigenous people.
It is perhaps not surprising that the Spanish were the first Christians to
entertain the possibility of actively finding the ten lost tribes. Spain had one of
the largest and most well integrated communities of Jews in the world,
certainly in Europe. From 1391 on, a large converso (converts to Christianity)
community existed in Spain, giving Jewish ideas about the ten tribes more
exposure to Christians than in any other country in Europe. (Here we recall the
discourses of ha-Lorki and Abravanel; and the first publication of Benjamin of
Tudela’s travelogue in a language other than Hebrew was in Spain.)
There is more, however, deriving from the specific Spanish context of that
period. De Galindo’s knowledge of “Jewish ceremonies” indicates that he is
familiar not only with Jewish rites and rituals, but also with a protocol of
recognizing and identifying Jews. The fact that he is able to compare freely
among Jewish rites, Indian rites and customs, and Canary Islanders’ culture
and language suggest that he is very familiar with the methods entailed in
gathering such information. One does not need to look far to find out why. As
is well known, a highly elaborateand sophisticated protocol for recognizing
Jews and Jewish practices—the Inquisition—had existed in Spain since
the creation of the first large converso community after the pogroms of 1391.
Later waves of conversion, culminating in the mass conversions of 1492 ,
intensified the needs (and abilities) of this institution.^99 Thereweresimplya
lot more New Christians (conversos) to spy on, and far more interrogations
were conducted in order to identify and root out Jewish rites. Manuals that
instructed the good Catholic, and of course the inquisitor, in identifying
“tricky and deceiving” conversos were popular. One such, theAlboraique,
published in the 1480 s, displays “an astounding range of erudition, combin-
ing Christian, Muslim and Jewish sources.”^100 De Galindo’s sixteenth-century
discussion concerning the existence or absence of Jewish rites or “traces”
among indigenous peoples came out of this environment.
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