The Maltese Islands lie in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea, about 93 km south of Sicily. Although the area of the islands is quite small, these islands are rich in history, cultural heritage, and traditions, making them positively mythic. These elements are what make up the story of this nation, from times gone by until the present.

The word “folklore” means the wisdom and traditions of a country.  These may include particular habits, popular poetry, local legends, and superstitions. Our forefathers made up many Maltese proverbs, sayings and poems full of local wisdom. Folklore also may include antique musical instruments like the guitar, the drums, and the friction drum.

We can also name some national dances like “il-Parata” or “il-Maltija”.  “Il-Parata” is a traditional dance which opens Carnival festivities and it represents the victory of Malta on the Ottoman Turks during the Great Siege of 1565.  “Il-Maltija” on the other hand represents the courting between males and females as it occurred a long time ago.

Some old Maltese craftsmen such as the blacksmith and the barrel mender are also part of the Maltese folklore. Since the Maltese Islands are located between Sicily and Africa, Maltese folklore has been influenced by these countries. There are many things to say on Maltese folklore; however, hereunder is some information on the following topics:

Maltese Architectural Legacy Rites of Passage

Maltese Architectural Legacy

The Maltese Farmhouse

The farmhouse used to be built among the fields which the farmer ploughed. Since many were the attacks on the islands by the pirates, farmers were very afraid of an attack, and so they used to build their farmhouses with large stones, turning their property into a small fort.  The main door used to be the only entrance to the building and any windows within, used to be very small and located high on the walls.  This was done for security reasons.  The Maltese farmhouse has Arabic origins as it was built with a flat roof. It consists of four principal parts which are the manger, the garret which was a room used for storing grains, a yard, and an animal pen.

The yard used to be the centre of activity within the farmhouse. In this part, the farmer used to keep his animals and his cart, while his wife used to cook and wash their clothes.  All farmhouses had a well or a big water reservoir where water used to be stored.  Most of these reservoirs were built with big arches.  Instead of floor tiles, the farmhouse was covered with big slabs of stones painted with linseed oil so that dirt will not be stuck to them.

The Windmill

In past years, every Maltese village or city used to have a windmill. Obviously these used to work when it was windy and were used to grind wheat for the use of neighbouring villagers. The mill owners used to have a saying which when translated used to go like this: “We take it and we grind it and to your home we bring it!”

When it was windy, some mill owners used to climb on the roof of the windmill and sound the “bronja.” This was an empty large snail shell with a hole at the end through which they used to blow. This meant that the wind was right and villagers were to bring their wheat for grinding. When they brought their wares, the villagers found the six windmill sails already turning.

The Shepherd’s Hovel

The hovel was a small dwelling built in fields, which was used by both shepherds and farmers when they needed shelter from nature’s elements. The hovel was built with exact precision until each stone was painstakingly put on top of the other.  The stones were usually picked from the same field that the hovel was built in, when the shepherd was not very busy.

Nowadays, the hovel is not used much as with the use of transport, it is very easy for the farmer or shepherd to go home and back to work; however, the hovel will remain a part of Malta’s ethnic and cultural architectural legacy.

Rites of Passage

Traditions and Superstitions

Every country has its own traditions and superstitions which together make up its folklore. These traditions have to do with each moment of change in a human life like the birth of a baby, a wedding, youth, and death. This is because in past times, there was no science to explain certain phenomena and so people used to make up explanations and remedies from what they believed in. Some of these beliefs were passed on from one generation to another.

Birth of a Baby

One of the greatest mysteries in a human life is the conception and birth of a life.  In the past, there were many different superstitions which one had to do or not do, so that the baby would be born safe and sound.

Sometimes a baby is born with a pink or purple stain on the face which most times will fade altogether, but there are times when the stain is more permanent and remains on the face. This stain is called “xewqa,” translated literally as “desire,” and there was a belief that this happened because when the mother was pregnant, she had a craving for something and could not obtain it. In view of this, her relatives used to do every thing within their power to give the mother whatever she wished for, lest the baby would be born with a stain on his face.

Baptism

It used to be the tradition that the mother did not go out of her house until her son or daughter was baptised. The baby used to be covered in a woollen hat which was not taken from the head until he was baptised because it was the belief at the time that the baby may be a devil as he was not yet cleansed from the original sin. Because of this belief and the fear that if he dies he will go to “Limbo,” the baby was baptised very quickly.

Infancy

On a child’s first birthday, there is a tradition which still survives today, that the parents would organize a game known as “il-quija”, where a variety of symbolic objects would be randomly placed around the seated child. These may include a hard-boiled egg, a book, rosary beads, money, and so on. Whichever object the child shows most interest in is said to reveal the child’s path and fortunes in adulthood.

If the child has a fancy for a book, it is believed that the child would grow up to be a teacher while money represents a rich future. The egg represents fertility and it is believed that the child will have a long life and several children. 

Marriage

In past times, there was no liberty between girls and boys. In fact, if a girl was seen to be alone with a boy, there was a big scandal. When a young man liked a girl and wanted to marry her, he used to inform a match-maker to complete the negotiations. The match-maker was a person whose job was to match couples for marriage. Maltese couples used to marry throughout all the year; however, there was a time when no marriages were held during Lent, the time prior to Easter.

A tradition which continues until these times is that the groom could not look at his bride wearing her wedding dress until the actual ceremony because it was said that it would bring bad luck on the couple.

When the bride was wearing her wedding dress, she could not look at herself in the mirror before the ceremony and those brides who knew how to sew clothes could not sew their own wedding dress because this also was thought to bring bad luck.

The marital bed of the couple was to have been made up by the bride’s mother the first time, and the bride used to enter her own house only after she was married.

Death

Most of the ceremonies and habits to do with death were made up because of the fear of death. When someone died, his relatives used to hire some women called the Criers who used to wear black all over and whose job was to cry and shout by the coffin.

If the dead person had animals, they used to cut a part of the animals’ tails as a sign of unhappiness and sorrow. All the door knobs were taken off the doors and for three days, no cooking was done in the house of the dead person. Also for three days, the men in the family did not shave off their beards.

The long relationship between the islanders and the various nationalities that occupied Malta over the centuries has created a marriage of styles and traditions, giving the islands a fascinating eclectic culture. Thankfully, most of the above mentioned traditions are not practised anymore. Nowadays, people are much more knowledgeable and through various means of communications such as the Internet, know that there is probably a scientific reason behind most of the superstitions. However these superstitions and traditions are what make up the core of this nation!