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Maltese folklore
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Maltese folklore
Maltese folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in Malta 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, with delegates from countries around the world.
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 is one of the most popular wedding places. 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.
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, Palestine, Morocco and Tunisia. 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 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), 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 (they become priests), crucifix 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.
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Maltese folklore
Maltese folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in Malta 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, with delegates from countries around the world.
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 is one of the most popular wedding places. 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.
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, Palestine, Morocco and Tunisia. 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 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), 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 (they become priests), crucifix 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.
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