Besides the local village “festas”, there are others which are celebrated on a national scale. The most colourful and boisterous festa in Malta is the Mnarja a typical Maltese folklore festival with plenty of music, folk dancing, feasting and colourful horses and donkey races. The “Imnarja” (a corruption of the Italian “luminara” - illumination) is centuries old tradition and is referred to as a harvest festival which is celebrated on June 29th, the feast of St Peter and St Paul. It is characterised by a nightlong picnic at Buskett Garden, Rabat, on the eve of the feast during which the native dish ‘fenkata’, stewed rabbit, is consumed in large quantities accompanied by equally large volumes of locally produced wine. Exhibits of local produce, marching bands, decorated carts and folklore singing competitions enliven the night-long proceedings. The traditional singing ‘l-ghana’ is a simple and spontaneous songs of the Maltese peasantry sung by the village bards. The ghana are melancholic, half oriental airs, something between a Sicilian ballad and the rhythmic wail of an Arabic tune which seem to express the sadness of centuries old tales of impassionate love. Similarly two peasants often carry on a conversation in rhyming quatrains chanting lampoons with speed and ease producing roars of laughter from the crowds, an evidence of native skill and humour. The singers, called ‘ghannejja’, are accompanied by the trilling of guitars. The festivities last until the early hours of the morning. The following day in the afternoon, the festivities reach a climax when bare-back donkey and horse races, an event which traces its origin from the time of the Knights. Racecourse Street on the road to Siggiewi, which stands at the bottom of Saqqajja Hill, is the venue for these historical races. The prizes for the winners of these races are “palji” (special brocaded banners) which the winners traditionally donate to their village church to be used as an altar cloth. At the winning post there is a large arched loggia built in 1696, in which years gone by the Grand Master used to watch the races attended by members of the Council of the Order. (Frank Scicluna)
Posted on: Sat, 29 Jun 2013 10:24:51 +0000
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