HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Maltese folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
over the centuries, and expresses the cultural identity of the Maltese people. Maltese folklore, traditions and legends still live in the minds of the older-generations, and these are slowly being studied and categorized, like any other European tradition. A number of national and international folklore festivals are undertaken on an annual basis, some of which are under the patronage of the National Folklore Commission and the Ministry for Culture and the Arts. Notably, every December the Malta International Folk Festival is staged in
Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...
, with delegates from countries around the World.


Weddings

Traditional Maltese weddings featured the bridal party walking in procession beneath an ornate canopy, from the home of the bride's family to the parish church, with singers trailing behind serenading the bride and groom. The Maltese word for this custom is ''il-ġilwa''. This custom along with many others has long since disappeared from the Islands, in the face of modern practices. New wives would wear the għonnella, a traditional item of Maltese clothing. However, it is no longer worn in modern Malta. Today's couples are married in churches, chapels or hotels in the village or town of their choice. The nuptials are usually followed by a lavish wedding reception, often including several hundred guests. Occasionally, couples will try to incorporate elements of the traditional Maltese wedding in their celebration. There has been a recent resurgence of interest in traditional weddings. The annually held Maltese Traditional Wedding in the Village of
Żurrieq Żurrieq ( mt, Iż-Żurrieq ) is a town in the Southern Region of Malta. It is one of the oldest towns in the country, and it has a population of 11,823 inhabitants as of March 2014. The first documentation about it being a parish dates back to ...
is very popular. Around May of each year, thousands of Maltese and tourists attend a traditional Maltese wedding in the style of the 16th century. This includes ''il-ġilwa'', which leads the bride and groom to a wedding ceremony in various places such as the parvis of St. Andrew's Chapel. The reception that follows features folklore music ('' għana'') and dancing. In September 2008, the 3rd Edition of the Qala International Folk Festival in Gozo featured "It-Tieg fl-Antik". This re-enactment of a traditional Gozitan wedding was officiated at Bishop Michael Buttigieg Square in front of the stone cross column, after which, a procession with the newly weds, led up to the Main Square of the village of Qala, where a typical ‘festin’ was awaiting them, serving traditional delicacies of the period.


Birth and childhood

Traditional Maltese proverbs reveal a cultural preoccupation with childbearing and fertility: "''iż-żwieġ mingħajr tarbija ma fihx tgawdija"'' (a childless marriage cannot be a happy one). This is a belief that Malta shares with many other Mediterranean cultures, most notably,
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, Palestine and
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
. In Maltese folktales, the local variant of the classic closing formula, "and they all lived happily ever after" is "''u għammru u tgħammru, u spiċċat''" (and they lived together, and they had children together, and the tale is finished). Rural Malta shares in common with Mediterranean and traditional Jewish society a number of superstitions regarding fertility, menstruation, and pregnancy, including the avoidance of cemeteries during the months leading up to childbirth, and avoiding the preparation of certain foods during menses. Pregnant women are encouraged to satisfy their cravings for specific foods, out of fear that their unborn child will bear a representational birth mark (Maltese: ''xewqa'', literally "desire" or "craving"). Maltese and Sicilian women also share certain traditions that are believed to predict the sex of an unborn child, such as the cycle of the moon on the anticipated date of birth, whether the baby is carried "high" or "low" during pregnancy, and the movement of a wedding ring, dangled on a string above the abdomen (sideways denoting a girl, back and forth denoting a boy). Traditionally, Maltese newborns were baptised as promptly as possible, partly out of fear of
limbo In Catholic theology, Limbo (Latin '' limbus'', edge or boundary, referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Medieval theologians of Western Euro ...
should the child die in infancy, and partly because according to Maltese (and Sicilian) folklore an unbaptised child is not yet a Christian, but "still a Turk". Traditional Maltese delicacies served at a baptismal feast include ''biskuttini tal-magħmudija'' (almond macaroons covered in white or pink icing), ''it-torta tal-marmorata'' (a spicy, heart-shaped tart of chocolate-flavoured
almond paste Almond paste is made from ground almonds or almond meal and sugar in equal quantities, with small amounts of cooking oil, beaten eggs, heavy cream or corn syrup added as a binder. It is similar to ''marzipan'', but has a coarser texture. Almond pas ...
), and a liqueur known as ''rożolin'', made with rose petals, violets and almonds. On a child's first birthday, in a tradition that still survives today, Maltese parents would organize a game known as ''il-quċċija'', where a variety of symbolic objects would be randomly placed around the seated child. These may include a hard-boiled egg (they grow into wealth), a
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
(they become priests),
crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...
or rosary beads (they become clerics), a book, and so on. Whichever object the child shows most interest in is said to reveal the child's path and fortunes in adulthood. Money refers to a rich future while a book expresses intelligence and a possible career as a teacher. Infants who select a pencil or pen will be writers. Choosing bibles or rosary beads refers to a clerical or monastic life. If the child chooses a hard-boiled egg, it will have a long life and bear many children. More recent additions include calculators (refers to accounting), thread (fashion) and wooden spoons (cooking and a great appetite).


Folktales

In the early years of the twentieth century, Maltese folktales were collected by the Jesuit scholar Manwel Magri and published in the series ''Kotba tal-Mogħdija taż-Żmien'' and also in the collection ''Ħrejjef Missirijietna'' ("tales from our fathers").Gilbert Puech (1994)
''Ethnotextes maltais''
Volume 1 of ''Studia Melitensia'', ISSN 0943-7908. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz. . p. 193.
This collection of material inspired subsequent researchers and academics to gather traditional tales,
fable Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse (poetry), verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphized, and that illustrat ...
s and
legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...
s from all over the Archipelago. Magri's work also inspired a series of comic books released by Klabb Kotba Maltin in 1984. The titles included ''Bin is-Sultan Jiżżewweġ x-Xebba tat-Tronġiet Mewwija'' and ''Ir-Rjieħ''. Some of the stories are about giants, witches and dragons; others are about imaginary Maltese beings. These include the ''kawkaw'' or ''gawgaw'', a grey and slimy creature who roamed the streets at night and could smell out naughty boys and Il-Belliegħa, a monster that lived in wells and could pull in children who looked into them. In 2014, Stephan D. Mifsud published '' The Maltese Bestiary: An Illustrated Guide to the Mythical Flora and Fauna of the Maltese Islands'', an encyclopedia of Maltese monsters from folktales. Mifsud worked as a biologist with an interest in unusual creatures. Within his work, he discusses how he has managed to find large collections of monsters and creatures from other cultures, but noticed a gap in research on Maltese creatures despite his knowledge that many creatures were cited in Maltese folklore. This lead him to create his own
compendium A compendium (plural: compendia or compendiums) is a comprehensive collection of information and analysis pertaining to a body of knowledge. A compendium may concisely summarize a larger work. In most cases, the body of knowledge will concern a sp ...
of Maltese monsters, similar to what is available for Greek or Norse legendary beasts.


Other festivities


Carnival

Maltese Carnival Carnival (Maltese: ''il-Karnival ta' Malta'') has had an important place on the Maltese cultural calendar for just under five centuries, having been celebrated since at least the mid-15th century. Carnival has been a prominent celebration in the I ...
( Maltese: ''il-karnival ta' Malta'') has had an important place on the cultural calendar for just under five centuries, introduced to the Islands by Grand Master
Piero de Ponte Fra' Piero del Ponte (26 August 1462 – 17 November 1535) was the 45th Grand Master of the Order of Saint John between 1534 and 1535. He hailed from Asti, in northern Italy and was a descendant of the ancient family of Casal-Gros and L ...
in 1535. It is held during the week leading up to Ash Wednesday, and typically includes masked balls, fancy dress and grotesque mask competitions, lavish late-night parties, a colourful, ticker-tape parade of allegorical floats presided over by King Carnival (Maltese: ''ir-Re tal-Karnival''), marching bands and costumed revellers.


Holy Week

Holy Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...
(Maltese: ''il-Ġimgħa Mqaddsa'') starts on
Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Hol ...
(''Ħadd il-Palm'') and ends on
Easter Sunday Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel P ...
(''Ħadd il-Għid''). Numerous religious traditions, most of them inherited from one generation to the next, are part of the
paschal Paschal is used as a name. Paschal, a variant of Pascal, from Latin ''Paschalis'', is an adjective describing either the Easter or Passover holidays. People known as Paschal include: Popes and religious figures * Antipope Paschal (687), a riv ...
celebrations in the Maltese Islands, honouring the death and resurrection of
Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
.


Mnarja

Mnarja, or l-Imnarja (pronounced ''lim-nar-ya'') is one of the most important dates on the Maltese cultural calendar. Officially, it is a national festival dedicated to the feast of Saints
Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...
and
St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
. In fact its roots can be traced back to the pagan
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
feast of ''Luminaria'' (literally, "the illumination"), when the early summer night of June 29 was illuminated by torches and bonfires. A national feast since the rule of the Order of St. John, Mnarja is a traditional Maltese festival of food, religion and music. The festivities still commence today with the reading of the ''"bandu"'', an official governmental announcement, which has been read on this day in Malta since the 16th century. Originally, Mnarja was celebrated outside St. Paul's Grotto, in the north of Malta; however, by 1613 the focus of the festivities had shifted to the
Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...
of
St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
, in Mdina, and featured torchlight processions, the firing of 100 petards, horseraces, and races for men, boys and slaves. Modern Mnarja festivals take place in and around the woodlands of
Buskett The Buskett Gardens ( it, Boschetto) forming one of the few woodland areas in Malta, are located in the fertile valley of ''Wied il-Luq'' in Rabat. The 30 ha site lies to the west of Siġġiewi (Città Ferdinand) and just east of Dingli. Th ...
, just outside the town of Rabat. It is said that under the Knights, this was the one day in the year when the Maltese were allowed to hunt and eat
wild rabbit Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to: Common meanings * Wild animal * Wilderness, a wild natural environment * Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed Art, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Wild'' (2014 film), a 2014 ...
, which was otherwise reserved for the hunting pleasures of the Knights. The close connection between Mnarja and rabbit stew (Maltese: ''"fenkata"'') remains strong today. In 1854 British governor William Reid launched an agricultural show at Buskett which is still being held today. The farmers' exhibition is still a seminal part of the Mnarja festivities today. Mnarja today is one of the few occasions when participants may hear traditional Maltese " għana". Traditionally, grooms would promise to take their newly or recently wed brides to Mnarja during the first of year of marriage and, for luck, many of the brides would attend in their full wedding gown and veil, although this custom has long since disappeared from the Islands.


Music

The ''ċuqlajta'' is a traditional instrument which includes different types of wooden clappers and ratchets which produce a variety of sounds. One particular type of clapper dates to Roman times and can still be seen in folkbands particularly in Gozo.


Parish bands

Virtually every parish in Malta has a band club (Maltese: ''il-każin tal-banda''), and in some cases, two. The bands typically consist of
woodwind Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and re ...
and
brass instruments A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. Brass instruments are also called labrosones or labrophones, from Latin ...
, and
percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
. They are feature performers in the village ''festa'', accompanying the statue of the parish's titular saint with celebratory music. Their music is very similar to their Sicilian and Southern Italian counterparts. Although drums and flutes are known to have participated in religious processions in Malta as early as the 16th century, today's Maltese band clubs are a more recent introduction to Maltese culture, from around the 19th century, at the height of British rule. The village bands were in part assembled in response to, and heavily influenced by, the
marching band A marching band is a group of musical instrument, instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass instrument, brass, woodwind instrument, woodwind, and percus ...
s of the British military. Indeed, the oldest of today's Maltese bands was set up by Filippo Galea whose father was a bandmaster with the British military. A few years after setting up his band (Banda di San Filippo) in 1851 in Zebbug, Filippo followed in his father's footsteps and made a distinguished military career as a bandmaster. Other renowned Maltese musicians like Indri Borg are also accredited with the setting up of bands of which only one survives to this day (L-Isle Adam Band of Rabat, founded in 1860), although Maestro Borg also took charge of the Banda di San Filippo in 1860. However, throughout the 1800s, Malta experienced a steady influx of Sicilian and Italian refugees and immigrants, fleeing from civil war or under sentence of exile, who stimulated and popularized the concept of a village band.


Feasts

Local
festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...
s celebrating the patron saint of the local parish, similar to those in southern
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, are commonplace in Malta. Several ''festi'' take place in different towns and villages across Malta every weekend in the summer. A ''festa'' reaches its apex with a High Mass featuring a sermon on the life and achievements of the patron saint, after which a statue of the religious patron is taken around the local streets in solemn procession, with the faithful following in respectful
prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified ...
. The religious atmosphere quickly gives way to several days of revelry, band processions,
fireworks Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices ...
, and late night parties. In the weeks leading up to a local ''festa'', the main streets around the parish are richly decorated, with brocade banners, ornate religious sculptures mounted on pedestals and, all around the ' (
parvis A parvis or parvise is the open space in front of and around a cathedral or church, especially when surrounded by either colonnades or porticoes, as at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. It is thus a church-specific type of forecourt, front yard or ...
) of the parish church, hawkers set up stalls stocked with food and the local variety of
nougat Nougat ( , ; ; az, nuqa; fa, نوقا) is a family of confections made with sugar or honey, roasted nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, and macadamia nuts are common), whipped egg whites, and sometimes chopped candied fruit. ...
. The parish church itself is typically illuminated at night, although the ''fjakkoli'' (flaming lanterns) of yesteryear have been supplanted by bright-coloured electric bulbs. Some of the seaside towns feature a unique and popular medieval game known as the ''ġostra''. Although the word itself is derived from the Italian ''giostra'', Maltese ''ġostra'' has little in common with medieval jousting, and is in fact derived from the Neapolitan game of the Cockaigne pole. It involves a 10-metre long greased pole, mounted on a barge out in the bay, perched on a precarious angle out over the sea. Competing youths scramble up the pole, in an attempt to snatch a pennant, flag or other trophy from the top of the pole.


See also

* Għana (folk music) *
Maltese cuisine Maltese cuisine reflects Maltese history; it shows strong Italian influences as well as influences from Spanish, French, Provençal, and other Mediterranean cuisines, with some later British culinary influence. Having to import most of its foo ...


References


Further reading

* Cassar Pullicino, Ġ. (1994).
Folklore
. In: H. Frendo, & O. Friggieri (Eds.). ''Malta: culture and identity''. Malta: Ministry for Youth and the Arts. pp. 181–203. * Mifsud-Chircop, George. ''Type-Index of the Maltese Folktale within the Mediterranean Tradition Area''. Thesis for Master of Arts in Maltese. University of Malta, 1978. (unpublished thesis) {{DEFAULTSORT:Maltese Folklore Maltese culture European folklore Maltese folklore