Culture

The culture of Malta is a reflection of various cultures that have come into contact with the Maltese Islands throughout the centuries, including neighbouring Mediterranean cultures, and the cultures of the nations that ruled Malta for long periods of time prior to its independence in 1964.

Art and Sculpture

The neolithic temple builders 3800-2500 BC endowed the numerous temples of Malta and Gozo with intricate bas relief designs, including spirals evocative of the tree of life and animal portraits, designs painted in red ochre, ceramics, and a vast collection of human form sculptures, particularly the Venus of Malta. These can be viewed at the temples themselves (most notably, the Hypogeum and Tarxien Temples), and at the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta.

The Roman period introduced highly decorative mosaic floors, marble colonnades and classical statuary, remnants of which are beautifully preserved and presented in the Roman Domus, a country villa just outside the walls of Mdina. The early Christian frescoes that decorate the catacombs beneath Malta reveal a propensity for eastern, Byzantine tastes. These tastes continued to inform the endeavours of medieval Maltese artists, but they were increasingly influenced by the Romanesque and Southern Gothic movements. Towards the end of the 15th century, Maltese artists, like their counterparts in neighbouring Sicily, came under the influence of the School of Antonello da Messina, which introduced Renaissance ideals and concepts to the decorative arts in Malta.

The artistic heritage of Malta blossomed under the Knights of St. John, who brought Italian and Flemish Mannerist painters to decorate their palaces and the churches of these islands, most notably, Matteo Perez d'Aleccio, whose works appear in the Magisterial Palace and in the Conventual Church of St. John, and Filippo Paladini, who was active in Malta from 1590 to 1595. For many years, Mannerism continued to inform the tastes and ideals of local Maltese artists.

The arrival in Malta of Caravaggio, who painted at least seven works during his 15-month stay on these islands, further revolutionized local art. Two of Caravaggio's most notable works, The Beheading of St. John the Baptist, and St. Jerome are on display in the Oratory of St. John's Co-Cathedral, Valletta. His legacy is evident in the works of local artists Giulio Cassarino (1582-1637) and Stefano Erardi (1630-1716). However, the Baroque movement that followed was destined to have the most enduring impact on Maltese art and architecture. The severe, Mannerist interior of St. John's Co-Cathedral was transformed into a Baroque masterpiece by the glorious vault paintings of the celebrated Calabrese artist, Mattia Preti. Preti spent the last 40 years of his life in Malta, where he created many of his finest works, now on display in the Museum of Fine Arts, in Valletta. During this period, local sculptor Melchior Gafà (1639-1667) emerged as one of the top Baroque sculptors of the Roman School.

Throughout the 18th century, Neapolitan and Rococo influences emerged in the works of Luca Giordano (1632-1705) and Francesco Solimena (1657-1747), and local artists Gio. Nicola Buhagiar (1698-1752) and Francesco Zahra (1710-1773). The Rococo movement was greatly enhanced by the relocation to Malta of Antoine de Favray (1716-1798), who assumed the position of court painter to Grand Master Pinto in 1744.

Neo-classicism made some inroads among local Maltese artists in the late 18th century, but this trend was reversed in the early 19th century, as the local Church authorities - perhaps in an effort to strengthen Catholic resolve against the perceived threat of Protestantism during the early days of British rule in Malta - favoured and avidly promoted the religious themes embraced by the Nazarene movement of artists. Romanticism, tempered by the naturalism introduced to Malta by Giuseppe Calì, informed the "salon" artists of the early 20th century, including Edward and Robert Caruana Dingli.

A National School of Art was established by Parliament in the 1920s, and during the reconstruction period that followed the Second World War, the local art scene was greatly enhanced by the emergence of the "Modern Art Group", whose members included Josef Kalleya (1898-1998), George Preca (1909-1984), Anton Inglott (1915-1945), Emvin Cremona (1919-1986), Frank Portelli (b.1922), Antoine Camilleri (b.1922) and Esprit Barthet (b.1919).

Arts and Crafts

Filigree

Filigree work (Maltese: filugranu) in gold and silver flourished in Malta under the rule of the Knights. This included gold and silver ornamental flower garlands (Maltese: ganutilja) and embroidery (Maltese: rakkmu). Filigree items that are ubiquitous in Maltese jewellery stores and crafts centres include brooches, pendants, earrings, flowers, fans, butterflies, jewellery boxes, miniature dghajsas (fishing boats)and karrozzini (horse-drawn cabs), the Maltese Cross and dolphins.

Lace Making

Traditional Maltese lace (Maltese: bizilla) is bobbin lace of the filet-guipure variety. It is formed on a lace pillow stuffed with straw, and frequently features the eight-pointed Maltese cross, but not necessarily. Genoese-style leafwork is an essential component of the traditional designs. Nowadays, Malta lace is usually worked on ivory-coloured linen, although historically it was also worked on black or white silk. It is typically used to make tablecloths, placemats and serviettes, and is periodically featured in couture, and in traditional Maltese costume.

Lace making has been prevalent in Malta since the 16th century, and was probably introduced to the Islands at roughly the same time as in Genoa. Lace was included with other articles in a bando or proclamation enacted by Grand Master Ramon Perellos y Roccaful in 1697, aimed at repressing the wearing of gold, silver, jewellery, gold cloth, silks and other materials of value.

There was a resurgence of lace-making in Malta around 1833, which has been attributed to a certain Lady Hamilton-Chichester. Queen Victoria is said to be particularly fond of wearing Malta lace. In 1839, Thomas McGill noted in A Handbook, or Guide, for Strangers visiting Malta, that:

"the females of the island make also excellent lace; the lace mitts and gloves wrought by the Malta girls are bought by all ladies coming to the island; orders from England are often sent for them on account of their beauty and cheapness."

Malta lace was featured in The Great Exhibition held in London in 1881. Lacemaking is currently taught in Government trade schools for girls, and in special classes organised by the Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. Lacemaking is essentially a cottage industry throughout Malta and Gozo.

British Traditions

British traditions that live on in Malta include a relatively efficient civil service, a military that is based on the British model, a Westminster-style parliamentary structure, and a governmental structure premised on the rule of law. Another British legacy in Malta is the widely popular annual Christmas pantomime at the Manoel Theatre. Most Maltese families have adopted turkey and plum pudding as Christmas treats in place of the more traditional Maltese rooster and cassata.

Due to Malta forming a part of the British Empire in the 19th and 20th century, and a considerable amount of intermarriage having taken place during that time period, the existence of English surnames is increasingly common. Examples include: Atkins, Crockford, Ferry, Gingell, Hall, Hamilton, Harmsworth, Jones, Mattocks, Moore, O'Neill, Sixsmith, Smith, Strickland, Turner, Wallbank and Woods.

Education

Education is compulsory between the ages of 5 and 16 years. While the state provides education free of charge, the Church and the private sector run a number of schools in Malta and Gozo. Most of the teachers' salary in Church schools is paid by the state. Education in Malta is based on the British Model.

Folklore and Traditions

Maltese folklore, traditions and legends still live in the minds of the older-generations, and these are slowly being studied and categorised, 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.

Birth and Childhood

Traditional Maltese proverbs reveal a cultural preoccupation with childbearing and fertility: "iz-zwieg minghajr 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, Palestine and Morocco. In Maltese folktales, the local variant of the classic closing formula, "and they all lived happily ever after" is "u ghammru u tghammru, u spiccat" (and they lived together, and they had children together, and the tale is finished).

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-maghmudija (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 rozolin, made with rose petals, violets and almonds.

On a child's first birthday, in a tradition that still survives today, Maltese parents would organise a game known as il-quccija, where a variety of symbolic objects would be randomly placed around the seated child. These may include a hard-boiled egg, a Bible, crucifix or rosary beads, 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.

The items generally mean:

• Bible/Crucifix/Rosary beads - A priest/nun
• Book - Intelligence and a teacher
• Calculator - An Accountant
• Hard-boiled egg - Long life and a lot of children
• Money - A rich future
• Pencil/Pen - A writer
• Scissors/Needle/Thread - A knitter
• Wooden Spoon - A Cook

Band Clubs

Virtually every parish in Malta has a band club (Maltese: il-kazin tal-banda), and in some cases, two. The musicians are generally a lively combination of dilettantes and volunteers, with a sprinkling of professional or semi-professional players. The bands typically consist of woodwind and brass instruments, and percussion. 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 in fact a more recent introduction to Maltese culture, c. 19th century, at the height of British rule over Malta. The village bands were in part assembled in response to, and heavily influenced by, the marching bands of the British military. 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.

Carnival

Carnival (Maltese: il-karnival ta' Malta) has had an important place on the cultural calendar for just under five centuries, having been introduced to the Islands by Grand Master Piero de Ponte 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.

Festas

Local festivals, similar to those in southern Italy, are commonplace in Malta and Gozo, celebrating weddings, christenings and, most prominently, saints' days, honouring the patron saint of the local parish. On saints' days, the 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. The religious atmosphere quickly gives way to several days of revelry, band processions, fireworks 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 zuntier (parvis) of the parish church, hawkers set up stalls stocked with traditional Maltese food and the local variety of nougat. The parish church itself is typically illuminated at night, although the fjakkoli (flaming lanterns) of yesteryear have been supplanted with bright-coloured electric bulbs.

Several festi take place in different towns and villages across Malta every weekend in the summer. Some of the seaside towns feature a unique and popular medieval game known as the gostra. Although the word itself is derived from the Italian giostra, Maltese gostra 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.

The Catholic Church in Malta has frequently expressed its disapproval of the excessive (and often, underage) drinking, and parochial rivalry that have come to be associated with festi.

Holy Week

Holy Week (Maltese: il-Gimgha Mqaddsa) starts on Palm Sunday (Hadd il-Palm) and ends on Easter Sunday (Hadd il-Ghid). Numerous religious traditions, most of them inherited from one generation to the next, are part of the paschal celebrations in the Maltese Islands, honouring the death and resurrection of Jesus.

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 and St. Paul. In fact its roots can be traced back to the pagan Roman 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 Knights, 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 of St. Paul, 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, 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, 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 "ghana". 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.

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. Curiously, the Maltese word for this custom, il-gilwa, corresponds with an identical Arabic word, which is used to refer to a gift presented by a husband to his spouse.

This custom along with many others has long since disappeared from the Islands, in the face of modern practices. Today's couples are married in churches or chapels 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. A resurgent interest in the traditional wedding was evident in May 2007, when thousands of Maltese and tourists attended a traditional Maltese wedding in the style of the 16th century, in the Village of Zurrieq. This included il-gilwa, which led the bride and groom to a wedding ceremony that took place on the parvis of St. Andrew's Chapel. The reception that followed featured folklore music (ghana) and dancing.

Literature

The oldest known literary text in the Maltese language is Pietru Caxaro's poem, Cantilena (circa 1470 to 1485) (also known as Xidew il-Qada), followed by Gian Francesco Bonamico's sonnet of praise to Grand Master Nicolò Cotoner, Mejju gie' bl'Uard, u Zahar (The month of May has arrived, with roses and orange blossoms), circa 1672.

The earliest known Maltese dictionary was written by Francois de Vion Thezan Court (circa 1640). In 1700, an anonymous Gozitan poet wrote Jahasra Minghajr Htija (Unfortunately Innocent). A Maltese translation of the Lord's Prayer appeared in Johannes Heinrich Maius's work Specimen Lingua Punicæ in hodierna Melitensium superstitis (1718). A collection of religious sermons by a certain Dun Ignazio Saverio Mifsud, published between 1739 and 1746, is now regarded as the earliest known Maltese prose. An anonymous poem entitled Fuqek Nithaddet Malta (I am talking about you, Malta), was written circa 1749, regarding the uprising of the slaves of that year. A few years later, in 1752, a catechism entitled Taghlim Nisrani ta' Dun Frangisk Wizzino (Don Francesco Wizzino's Christian Teachings) was published in both Maltese and Italian. The occasion of Carnival in 1760 saw the publication of a collection of burlesque verses under the heading Zwieg la Maltija (Marriage, in the Maltese Style), by Dun Felic Demarco.

Between 1798 and 1800, while Malta was under the rule of Napoleonic France, a Maltese translation of L-Ghanja tat-Trijonf tal-Libertà (Ode to the Triumph of Liberty), by Citizen La Coretterie, Secretary to the French Government Commissioner, was published on the occasion of Bastille Day.

The first translation into Maltese of a biblical text, the Gospel of St. John. was published in 1822 (trans. Guzeppi Marija Cannolo), on the initiative of the Bible Society in Malta. The first Maltese language newspaper, l-Arlekkin jew Kawlata Ingliza u Maltija (The Harlequin, or a mix of English and Maltese) appeared in 1839, and featured the poems l-Imhabba u Fantasija (Love and Fantasy) and Sunett (A Sonnett).

The first epic poem in Maltese, Il-Gifen Tork (The Turkish Caravel), by Giovanni Antonio Vassallo, was published in 1842, followed by Hrejjef bil-Malti (Legends in Maltese) and Hrejjef u Cajt bil-Malti (Legends and Jokes in Maltese) in 1861 and 1863, respectively. The same author published the first history book in the Maltese language, entitled Storja ta' Malta Miktuba ghall-Poplu (The People's History of Malta), in 1862.

1863 saw the publication of the first novel in Maltese, Elvira jew Imhabba ta' Tirann (Elvira, or the Love of a Tyrant), by the Neopolitan author, Giuseppe Folliero de Luna. Anton Manwel Caruana's novel, Inez Farrug (1889), was modelled on traditional Italian historical novels, such as Manzoni's I promessi sposi.

Nightlife

The long, warm summer nights of Malta lend themselves to a vibrant nightlife, which is at odds with Malta's traditional conservatism and the staunch Catholicism of older generations. Clubbing and pub-crawling - especially in the traffic-free zones of Paceville near St. Julian's, and Bugibba - is a rite of passage for Maltese teenagers and young adults, which tends to prevail well into their 30's and 40's. Evenings start late, and for many clubbers the festivities last into the late hours of the morning. Clubs frequently have large outdoor patios, with local and visiting DJ's spinning a mix of Euro-beat, House, chill-out, R&B, hardcore, rock, trance, techno, retro, old school, and classic disco. Pubs, especially Irish pubs, are often the meeting place of choice for the start of a night of clubbing.

Laid back wine bars are increasingly popular among young professionals and the more discriminating tourists, and are popping up in the kantinas of some of the more picturesque, historic cities and towns, including Valletta and Vittoriosa. They typically offer a mix of local and foreign wines, traditional Maltese appetiser platters, and occasionally, live entertainment.

Despite rapidly increasing tolerance and acceptance of alternative lifestyles, Malta offers its gay and lesbian locals and visitors less nightlife options than other Southern European destinations. With the exception of one or two staple bars, gay bars in Malta have a tendency to pop up, relocate, and disappear from one summer season to the next. However, the local gay population is usually very much in evidence - and welcome - at the mainstream clubs of Paceville and elsewhere.

Religion

Today, the Constitution of Malta provides for freedom of religion but establishes Roman Catholicism as the state religion. Freedom House and the World Factbook report that 98% of the Maltese profess Roman Catholicism as their religion, making Malta one of the most Catholic countries in the world. However, the Sunday Mass Attendance Census 2005 commissioned by the Church of Malta reports that, as of 2005, only 52.6% of the population attended religious services on a regular basis.

Sports

Throughout the 1990s, organised sports in Malta experienced a renaissance through the creation of a number of athletic facilities, including National Stadium and a basketball pavilion in Ta' Qali, an Athletic Stadium and Tartan Track for athletics, archery, rugby, baseball, softball and netball at Marsa, the National Swimming Pool Complex on University of Malta grounds at Tal-Qroqq, an enclosed swimming pool complex at Marsascala, a mechanized shooting range at Bidnija, and regional sports complexes on Gozo, and in Cottonera and Karwija.

In 1993 and again in 2003, Malta hosted the Games of the Small States of Europe. Since 1968, Malta has also hosted the annual Rolex Middle Sea Race, organised by the Royal Malta Yacht Club. The race consists of a 607 mile route that starts and finishes in Malta, via the Straits of Messina and the islands of Pantelleria and Lampedusa.

Bocci

A common sport in Malta is a local variety of the game of bocce or boules (Maltese: bocci). In Malta, the game is played on a smooth surface covered with coarse-grained sand, with teams of three players. Bocci clubs are common throughout Malta, but also among the Maltese emigrant communities in Australia, Canada and the United States.

Football

Malta's "national" sport is football. Many Maltese avidly follow English and Italian matches. Malta also has its own national team; however, every four years the World Cup typically sees Maltese loyalties divided between the teams of England and Italy, and a victory by either of these two teams inevitably leads to spontaneous, and very boisterous street parties and carcades all over the Maltese Islands.

Horse Racing

Horse racing has a long tradition in Malta. The popular, bareback horse races that take place annually on Saqqajja Hill, in Rabat on June 29 date back to the 15th century. These races form part of the traditional celebrations of the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (il-Festa tal-Imnarja), and were greatly encouraged by the Knights of Malta, especially during the reign of Grand Masters de Verdalle and de Lascaris-Castellar. The Knights took these races very seriously: Bonelli records a proclamation issued by the Grand Masters of the era, which threatened anyone caught interfering with or obstructing a racing horse with forced labour on board the galleys of the Knights.The tradition was revived and strengthened after the First World War under British Governor, Lord Plumer. The racecourse at Marsa, which was founded in 1868, boasted one of the longest tracks in Europe, at one and three quarter miles. The first Marsa races were held on April 12 and 13, 1869.

Waterpolo

Passion for waterpolo runs high in Malta and Gozo throughout the summer months. Prowess in this particular sport was the impetus for the foundation, in 1925, of a local Amateur Swimming Association, and Malta's first participation in the Olympic Games, at the IXth Olympiad in Amsterdam, 1928.

Theatre

The theatres currently in use for live performances in Malta and Gozo range from historic purpose-built structures to modern constructions, to retrofit structures behind historic facades. They host local and foreign artistes, with a calendar of events that includes modern and period drama in both national languages, musicals, opera, operetta, dance, concerts and poetry recitals. The more notable theatrical venues include:

• Astra Theatre, Victoria, Gozo: inaugurated January 20, 1968
• Aurora Opera House, Victoria, Gozo: inaugurated 1976
• Manoel Theatre, Valletta: Malta's National Theatre, inaugurated January 9, 1732
• MITP (Mediterranean Institute Theatre Programme), Valletta: Housed in the Collegium Melitensae, c. 1592
• Republic Hall, Valletta: Built as the Sacra Infermeria, the main hospital of the Knights of Malta in 1574, retrofitted and inaugurated as part of the multipurpose Mediterranean Conference Centre on February 11, 1979
• Salesian Theatre, Sliema: Originally known as Juventutis Domus, inaugurated in 1908
• St. James Cavalier Centre for Creativity, Valletta: Built as a raised gun platform at the entrance to the walled city c. 1565, retrofitted and inaugurated as a cultural centre on September 22, 2000