Folklore Guze Cassar Pullicino alta and Gozo possess a rich legacy characteristic dgnajsas and fishing boats. M of folklore. They stand half-way on They may see the farmer using a primitive the land ridge that once joined Sicily to plough (M. monriet), which is now fast Africa, and their geographical position has going out of use, and the circular threshing influenced their history and traditions. floor (M. qiegna) of hard trampled earth. Besides reflecting the usages and ways of They cannot fail to notice the rubble walls thought of the present, Maltese folklore separating the fields, and the wayside preserves the soul of the past, embodying shrines, niches and stone crosses. They will the mode of life and the beliefs and hear the cries of the hawkers at town or practices of preceding centuries. This village festivals, and at the open-air national heritage of lore and tradition is markets held at Valletta and other the product of simple, psychological localities. Besides, there are numerous reactions to the historical environments items of local craft produce to choose and to the various culture contacts which from, including silver and gold filigree our people have experienced in the past. At work, probably introduced into Malta via different times and by various routes, Sicily during the 17th century, and hand­ many people have come to these islands made lace, which achieved a high degree of and dominated them for varying periods. perfection in the 18th century and then, Each ruling group - Punic, Roman, Arab, after a period of decline, was revived by Norman, Swabian, Angevin, Aragonese, Lady Hamilton Chichester and others in .Castilian, the Knights of St John of the 19th century. These and other aspects Jerusalem and, lastly, the English - of the Malta scene, however, will not brought its own lore, language and way of enable them to look into the heart of life in its wake. Most of these left their things or to understand the working of the imprint on local tradition and, in their Maltese mind in its various manifestations. turn, underwent changes in the process of It takes a much longer period to get into adaptation to the conditions of the country touch with.the inner life of the people and and subsequent adjustment to the discover the varied structure of their traditional pattern of Maltese life and folklore as it has evolved in the course of thought. The result has been an extremely centuries. variegated form of folk-culture constituting a distinctive element of Malta's national identity. Birth and Infancy Even a short stay in Malta will enable visitors - especially those from a Northern Maltese tradition has preserved the climate - to notice certain features of memory of several rites of passage the local scene. They are struck by the characteristic of a pre-industrial compactness of the buildings, the absence community. From the cradle to the grave a of chimneys and slanting roofs, the series of time-honoured customs marked prevalence of balconies. They will note an the main events of human life. Many pious eye - the protective eye of Osiris beliefs and practices were associated with painted on the bows of Malta's the birth of a child. When the delivery was 181 difficult, the mother borrowed a withered if she failed to do so the child would take plant known as I/- Warda tal-Passjoni (The more than three months to start keeping his Passion Flower) which was put into some head erect. The other belief was that the water. Popular belief claimed that the placenta or afterbirth (M. is-sekonda or mother was delivered of her child as soon selibitha) must be left in the rain till it is as the branches of the dried plant opened washed away, or be buried in the soil and out. The help and protection of certain water poured on it; if this is not done the saints - St Lukarda, St Blaise, St baby will suffer from skin eruptions. Raymond, St Spiridion of Corfu, St Weaning generally took place when the Calogero and St Victor - were especially child was twelve months of age, hence the invoked during childbirth. Delivery often saying: It-tnax jattftm, i.e. at the twelfth took place in a small room known as month one must wean the baby. To wean· 1-alkova, 'the alcove', which served as a their young, mothers smeared their nipples labour or delivery room. with the juice of the aloe plant (M. The birth of a girl was not as welcome sabbara) which tastes bitter. as that of a boy. It was considered advis­ To ward off the harmful effects of the able to have the baby baptized as soon as evil eye, children are made to wear amulets possible, one reason being that if, in the form of a horn, a cowrie shell (M . unfortunately, the child died before it was balibulia), or a holy medal hung round the baptized it would go to limbo. When the child's neck. Some blessed olive leaves and, christening took place within twenty four up to a few years ago, a piece of candle hours it was believed that a soul was freed used in church in Holy Week known as from Purgatory. So long as the baby xemglia tat-tniebri, 'candle of the remained unbaptized it was not considered Tenebrae', were also considered effective. to be a Christian, but a Turk. In some On Easter Saturday, at Qormi, children localities, the unbaptized child was laid in who took an unduly long time to walk the cot facing left. After the christening, were made to stand up and to try and walk however, the midwife could put the baby at the Gloria. either on his back or facing right. The child's hiccup was formerly cured by Up to the 16th century the Gallican rite the mother with the utterance of the of baptism by immersion was practised in following lines, which were reputed to have some parishes. In 1575 Mgr Pietro Duzina, the effect of transferring the child's hiccup the Apostolic Visitor, prohibited the prac­ to someone else: tice on account of its unhygienic effects. Solluzzu buzzu, Traditionally, the first children are named Mur gliand min jobgliodni; after their grandparents, the deceased ones 'K m'gliandix minjobgliodni taking precedence over those still alive. A Erg'ejja gliandi. child born with a caul (M. bil-borqom) is 0 nasty hiccup, believed to grow up exceptionally strong Go to someone who hates me; and invulnerable. Old fishermen will tell And if there's none who hates me you that if you keep a piece of caul on you Return to me. the sea will have no power over you, the A similar Sicilian formula given by rP-~cl'\n h&.t~nn tht:1t tht:~~o no:2nl in ro.,11tn .fnrrnco Giuseppe Pitre runs as follows: ........ _V_A.& V'"".l.I.&E:J "".1..1.114'- ............. ..... W.U.I. .1..1.& .1.""(4&.1.\..J .1.'-'... .1.&.&~ part of another human being. Suggiuzzu, sugguzzieddu, From the Child Health Clinics two Ramuzza ri funtana, interesting folk-beliefs were communicated Vattinni ni to mamma, to the present writer in 1945. At Mosta and Va' viri s'idda t'ama. Si t'ama, statti dda. Tarxien it was held that the mother of a S'un t'ama, veni cca. newly-born baby has to eat a hen's neck Hiccup, little hiccup, and head on the day following childbirth; Little branch of the fountain, 182 Go to your mother, The Holy Virgin is thy Mother, See if she loves you. The child Jesus is thy Father ... Go to sleep! If she loves you, stay with her, The Christian inspiration and wording of If she does not love you, come here. this lullaby links it up with similar compo­ When the child loses his first tooth, he is sitions in nearby Sicily, but the word Laam urged not to leave it lying about but to or Naam, from Arabic nam 'to sleep', bury it in a flower pot. It is believed that, betrays also an earlier Semitic influence. as a new plant emerged from the Nursery rhymes introduce the child to flowerpot, so a new tooth emerges from the first wonders of life. Children the child's gum to replace the buried one. experience their first journey on their These beliefs and practices are closely parents' knees as they are rocked to and related to similar concepts and customs fro to the accompaniment of a special reported from North African and other ·rhyme beginning with the lines: Arabic-speaking countries (Morocco, Algeria, Palestine) as well as in Sicily and Banni bannozzi, Gej it-lata gej ... among some other Mediterranean people. On the child's first anniversary a special Clap, clap your hand For Daddy's coming ... ceremony, known as quccija, is held. This is a special party to which relatives and which closely resemble those of the friends are invited, and when the company corresponding Sicilian rhyme is assembled, if the child is a boy, they give Manu manuzzi ... him articles such as corn and comfits, Veni tu tata .:. jewels, money, an inkstand, Rosary ·beads, as well as the English exhortation a sword, etc., and if a girl, needles, silk, Clap hands! Clap hands! ribbon, and similar articles. The child's Till Daddy comes home ... choice is thought to determine the Very few children's rhymes reach up to the profession or character he will develop standard of the lullaby mentioned above. A when he or she grows up. If the boy few, however, are quite serious in tone and chooses corn, it is a sign of generosity; if content.