Costume in Carnival: Social Performance, Rank and Status

SCP 1 (1) pp. 77–96 Intellect Limited 2016

VICKI ANN CREMONA University of Malta

Costume in carnival: Social performance, rank and status

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS This article deals with the range and evolution of costume in organized and sponta- class neous carnivals in Malta during the British colonial period (1800–1964). It discusses status the performative qualities of carnival costume. The article also delves into the type power of connections that can be made between costume, social stratification and politi- colonial cal power in particular periods of Maltese colonial history. It shows how costume devised costume revealed social aspiration or recognition in certain contexts, while also providing a social aspiration means to play with identity and dissimulation in others. It examines how control and power were affirmed on a micrological level through choice of costume, especially when the latter became subject to prohibition.

In his book Distinction, Pierre Bourdieu (1996: 57) claims that ‘aesthetic stances adopted in matters like […] clothing […] are opportunities to experience or assert one’s position in social space, as a rank to be upheld or a distance to be kept’. Appearance constituted a strong distinguishing factor in social categorization in Malta in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and certainly up to the late Sixties, just after Malta had acquired independence from Britain. The quality, cut and detail of clothes worn by a certain category of the Maltese were revealing of social aspiration, recognition or affirmation of status, both by the higher ranks of British officers and Maltese genteel society, or those aspiring to be considered as such. The British took over the administration of the Maltese islands in 1800. As the century progressed, the upper and higher middle classes followed British

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fashions, while the lower classes wore more traditional clothing generally made of coarse cotton or wool: men wore trousers, shirt, coat and cap; women wore petticoats, skirts, chemise and the traditional headdress (gh¯ onnella) that formed a sort of arc around the head and shoulders, and was kept in shape through whalebone stiffening. This vestimentary difference continued into the next century.

Figure 1: Maltese lady wearing the traditional gh¯ onnella. Private collection.

Social aspiration and affirmation were not only present in daily life, but also in the extraordinary events that took place during the year, including playful moments such as carnival. Documented traces of carnival celebration in Malta date back to 1520, when the sick in hospital were given a special meal of meat and wine to mark the event (Fiorini 1987: 311). During the rule of the Knights of St. John (1530–1798), who came from different parts of Europe, carnival was celebrated in the streets, especially in Valletta, the capital of

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Malta, where people would parade up and down the main streets in disguise, as well as in the Knights’ residential headquarters (auberges), with entertain- ment that included plays and dancing. Under British rule, balls – particularly the one given by the Governor – became a major feature for high society. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the development and popularity of public balls became almost a threat to street carnival in Valletta, which was then transformed into organized street parades with prizes for floats, dances and costumes. This structure is still in existence today. The aim of this article is to observe carnival costume in Malta at certain moments from 1800 onwards, in order to understand the relations between disguise, status and power in colonial society. I take as my starting point the claim made by Dorita Hannah (2014: 19) that a garment can be seen as an event ‘carrying its own sense of mobility and temporality, as well as political connotations’. I shall use a historical context to show that the hyperbolic presence generated by carnival costume may constitute confirmation of, or a critical position to, the reigning state of affairs beyond the carnival itself. Britain acquired full sovereignty over Malta in 1814 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. Despite various Maltese petitions and delegations vainly requesting effective political representation and participation in the decision- making process, the country was soon transformed into a crown colony. Freedom of the press was granted in 1839. The establishment of the Malta Chamber of Commerce in 1848 marked the development of Maltese trade, which increased government revenues and benefitted the personal earnings of merchants whose families, together with those of the nobility, could be considered as belonging to the upper echelons of society. It was these social categories who mixed more frequently with the British upper crust present in Malta. After 1880, British efforts to establish English as the dominant language of Malta in government, commerce, education and culture countered the resistance of a section of the Maltese middle class, made up mainly of people in the liberal professions such as lawyers and notaries. The Maltese economy in the late nineteenth and during the first half of the twentieth centuries was closely linked to British imperial defence expenditure, which fluctuated according to the international political situation. Consequently, there was hardly any economic diversification (Micallef 2013: 8). Malta’s workforce depended very much on the island’s role as a fortress colony, and variations in imperial policy provoked sharp economic rises as well as deep slumps. Mass organized emigration of the lower classes became more and more systematic from the later years of the nineteenth century. Meanwhile, the middle classes aspired to join the political arena and demanded self-government, which was rarely conceded and never over very long periods. Malta acquired independence from Britain in 1964.

‘DEVISED’ COSTUME Carnival is the situation par excellence of practices placed under the sign of excess – such as false appearance, role play, impersonation and masquerade – that form the basis of the theatrical event. The intent is not to imitate, but to operate within a parallel world dominated by hyperbole. In the Maltese carnival, as elsewhere, costume allows the body to become theatrical through the modi- fication of appearance which may also impinge on movement and behaviour. As Pavis (1996: 175) maintains: ‘A body is “worn” and “carried” by a costume as much as the costume is worn and carried by the body’. The strangeness or

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beauty of a carnival costume is intended to attract looks. Consequently, the wearer is already in a state of heightened consciousness as to the amount of attention s/he manages to gather through the quality or originality of the costume worn. The contrast created through costume by the simple juxtaposition of unfamiliar appearance in familiar public space allows the wearer to express the inexpressible, the apparently impossible, the unimaginable or the absurd. Within the context of the carnival celebration, it is this type of presence that is aspired to. The wearer may or may not choose to push further the performance produced by his/her costumed presence through hyperbolic action. A worn costume that constitutes performance in itself in carnival may be seen to be ‘devised’ rather than ‘designed’. The term ‘devising’ is taken to mean both ‘the craft of making within existing circumstances’ and ‘tangen- tially inventing’, whereas ‘“collaborative creation” more clearly emphasises the origination or bringing into existence, of material ex nihilo’ (Heddon and Milling 2006: 2–3). Costume in carnival starts out from a personal referen- tial world that the costume ‘deviser’ takes as an initial starting point. In this context, I take ‘deviser’ to mean the person(s) who engage(s) in the process of creation with the aim of creating appearance that is within itself performance. The deviser then chooses whether to tend more towards denotation (i.e. reproducing, as faithfully as possible, the clothing of a particular century) or connotation (i.e. creating costume which cannot be easily identified with anything specific, but onto which meanings may be grafted). Maltese carnival costumes can be distinguished into two rough categories: (1) those which require an elaborate process of thought and skill to be assembled; and (2) those which are improvised. A ‘devised’ costume may or may not require collaborators to be created; in fact, the absence of collab- oration may constitute a major distinguishing factor between elaborate and improvised costume. From an aesthetic point of view, elaborate and improvised costumes provide different points of reference and layers of meaning. Elaborate costume will attract attention by its design, the richness of its fabric, the sumptuousness of its decoration, and the skill deployed in the way it is cut and assembled. Improvised costume implies a different aesthetic: in this case, skilfulness is determined by the capacity to produce something out of a series of pre- existing heterogeneous articles that were not necessarily meant for wear. In both cases, originality can be attributed to the production of strangeness, which surprises the spectator either by producing something that had not previously been thought of, or by playing around with a public’s expectations of what a costume should look like. This can be achieved either through the insertion of elements that are incongruous with the conventional image of the costume itself, or the elimination of details that a watcher would expect to see. Costume can be seen as the locus of various narratives. By way of example, fairly recent tradition has established the unwritten rule that Maltese carnival costumes worn for dance competitions in the main square of Valletta should represent an animal or an object, a person and a place all in one. One particular company participating in the 2015 carnival, for example, represented arias from operas: the male dancers representing the opera Carmen by Bizet wore toreador costumes, with a bull’s head and foreparts on their backs, surrounded by a shape resembling the outer walls of a corrida. Costumes today are made out of a foam base, covered in different materials, and heavily decorated with sequins and braids.

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Figure 2: Valletta carnival: Torero costume with bull and arena. Photograph by the author.

Various levels of narration may also be seen in improvised costumes. These costumes are generally created by the use of any material picked up from anywhere, ranging from wardrobes to the rubbish dump. In the street carnival in Nadur, Gozo, as well as on the fringes of the Valletta carnival, a person may wear a neutral boiler suit, but add new dimensions to the costume through masks, props or slogans carried or written on the costume itself. Each of these elements provides layers of meaning to the basic attire. During one particular carnival, a person attracted general attention because he had tied a cascade of empty plastic water bottles over a neutral blue boiler suit and a cloth covering his head and face.

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Figure 3: Gozo street carnival: boiler suits. Photograph by the author.

Even within the playful event of carnival, costume can assume meanings and values that go far beyond simple appearance and attraction, and which are not attached to the world of celebration that is constitutive of the theatrical event. In this case, costume can also become a locus for the expression of elements that are not directly connected to playfulness, but may have more of a political or social meaning. The type of costume worn can reveal the sort of connections that can be made between social stratification and the quality and subject of the costume itself; as such, the act of wearing a costume can in itself assume a political or social dimension. It is this aspect that I shall now proceed to examine by analysing carnival costume at particular times during British domination of the Maltese islands. I shall be limiting myself to public celebration in the capital, Valletta, as this was and remains the major site of official celebration on the island of Malta.

CARNIVAL COSTUME DURING THE BRITISH PERIOD When discussing carnival under British rule, it is important to understand from which perspective the costumes are being described. Certainly up to the turn of the twentieth century, carnival was judged successful by the satires in the street and the quality of the costumes. In fact, in 1896, the newspaper Malta complained that the carnival that year was even leaner than Lent, because both satires and costumes were not of the right level (Anon 1897: 2). Most descriptions can be found in newspaper reports, and it is therefore essential

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Figures 4a and 4b: Valletta carnival costume representing person, place and object seen back and front. Costume designed by Joseph Abela. Photographs by the author.

Figure 5: Valletta carnival costume: the effect of the costume during the dance. Photograph by the author.

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to understand the political provenance or social readership the description is intended for, as the newspapers privilege a particular type of costume in function of their readers: for example, newspapers in English would pander to the British present in Malta and the Maltese higher classes who frequented British company; those in Italian pandered to the middle classes, which made up the bulk of the country’s intelligentsia, and who were claiming nationalism and eventually independence; those in Maltese indulged the intellectuals claiming Maltese identity and the lower classes. It is also essential to distinguish between celebrations in open or closed spaces (i.e. in the streets or in ballrooms), as the type of costume worn was very different depending on location.

THE CARNIVAL BALLS The site of celebration was essential to the determination of costume, which played a major role in creating the underlying dynamics specific to each site. The wearer attributed different values to his/her appearance in function of where the costume was to be worn. The relationship between wearer and costume was translated into a different way of being with oneself, of holding one’s body, and of the actions that one chose to perform. In the street, people behaved more freely, jumping up and down to the noise and music coming from the different band clubs. However, in ballrooms, much stricter norms were applied, especially in the select venues where strict rules of etiquette reigned supreme, thereby determining the way one kept oneself and the movements and dances that were allowed. It is therefore necessary to identify whether costume was intended for public ballrooms, accessible to all those willing to pay the entrance fee, or those where admittance was strictly by invitation. In the latter case, it is necessary to consider who was inviting – whether a high authority, such as the Governor, a British club (e.g. the Union Club) or a Maltese private entity (e.g. the Chamber of Commerce or the Civil Service Club). Attending any one of these functions automatically placed the invitee on a higher rank than those for whom these places remained inaccessible, yet the invitations themselves constituted recognition of rank and status in rela- tion to which ball one was invited to: invitations to the Governor’s ball automatically placed invitees on the highest rank of the social ladder; invitations to the Union Club meant that the invitee was accepted by the British hierarchical ranks; while invitations to Maltese functions meant that the invitee was seen as pertaining to a moneyed social elite. As Bourdieu points out, aesthetic choices are a means to create distance between social classes. In this context, costume was part of the ‘cultural capital’ (Bourdieu 1996: 13) determining taste, which in turn determined social distinction and possibly mobility. Rank in carnival balls was measured especially by the wealth and beauty of the costume worn. Public Opinion published the following description of the costume representing Marie-Antoinette, worn by Lady Agnes Seymour, wife of the Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Seymour in 1874, which set the high standards that the ‘top notch’ expected in order to be taken into consideration:

Black velvet train, trimmed with point lace, tablier of quilted pink satin edged with silver lace and pearls; bodice square with pointed and jewelled stomacher, Brussels point manteau de Cour. Hair powdered, and turned over a cushion ornamented with roses and diamonds. (Anon 1874: 2)

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Figure 6: Carnival ball at the Palace (1902): The Graphic. Private collection.

Contemporary sociological studies on rank and racial difference show that, even today, attire activates stereotypes which in turn contribute to a top- down approach to social categorization (Freeman et al. 2011: 2) – an approach that was typical of colonial times. Carnival costume for the Maltese social elite therefore became a means to enhance or consolidate social recognition, as this also meant power and influence. For this, costumes had to vie in splendour as well as in originality. Il Filantropo Maltese, an Italian-language newspaper, commented that the costumes at the Chamber of Commerce ball that year were so splendid that whoever was affiliated must hold a very large purse (Anon 1859: 2). A rich and original costume was a mark of distinction that could earn a specific mention in one of the local newspapers, which in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries published lists of people attending the Governor’s ball and the costumes they wore. In this social environment, the choice of costume could be seen as ‘risk- sensitive’ in that it could constitute a risk-taking exercise in the context of the determination of social rank. Costume was a way to ‘outperform rele- vant social competitors’ (Hill and Buss 2010: 220), and excellence in costume became an element of social aspiration – what was important in this context was to be seen, identified and win approval. Therefore, the behaviour of the wearer was to act according to high-class social norms and not to veer into the grotesque. This was also because these balls, particularly the one given by the Governor, were an important occasion for young people, especially young ladies, of the elite classes. They constituted a major social opportunity, and were places where costume and appearance could contribute to determining

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a girl’s future. A pretty and attractive appearance could be the first step to contracting a good match. The English-language newspaper Public Opinion, describing the Governor’s ball, expressed the ‘sincere hope that the meeting […] may lead to more intimate and more permanent connections between the fair maidens and brave men that enjoyed themselves so heartily on this occasion’ (Anon 1873). No cost was spared to make the young ladies and gentle- men look their best, both through the wealth of costumes and the jewels that adorned them. In fact, the newspaper noted that the ‘jewel cases of the distinguished Maltese families’ had been raided to display ‘the antiquity, beauty and value of the precious ornaments worn by […] male and female’, which ‘could not fail to attract attention’ (Anon 1873: 2). The first publicities for cloth and costumes, which began to appear in the newspapers in the 1890s, indicated that the cost of silk and satin for a costume in 1898 was 10 ½ d. (about 4.17 pence) per yard (Anon 1898a: 5). However, this did not include the expense for gloves, flowers, feathers, fans, reticules and shoes. In comparison, the price of bread – part of workers’ staple diet – fluctuated between 2 ½ d. (about one pence) and 7 ½ d. (roughly 3.13 pence) (Cassar 2013: 80) according to grain prices. The lowest rank of civil servants earned about £28 annually, which meant that their daily earnings amounted to approximately 1s. 5d. (around 7.1 pence) (Anon 1890: H6). Expert skill was required to make these costumes; this was not everyday clothing, but garments intended to put the wearer into a context that functioned in a simi- lar way to that of the stage. The costume was to provide a main factor in making the wearer feature as protagonist by attracting, and possibly holding, the gaze of the other persons present. In fact, publicity of the time in the Daily Malta Chronicle specifies that the costumes were ‘cut and made by First Class Opera Tailors’ (Anon 1898b: 9). Lists of persons who had attended the Governor’s ball and the costumes they wore were published mainly in the English-language newspapers. It was so important to be well judged by one’s costume that Public Opinion actually received complaints for giving more importance to certain costumes belonging to people who were on better terms with the Governor than others, because it was unfair to those English and Maltese who ‘did everything in their power to honour His Excellency’s ball by the richness, elegance and above all, by the good taste displayed in the preparation of their respective costumes’ (Anon 1875: 1). It responded by publishing a second list of people who had been left out, and noted a ‘very good’ in brackets after the name and costume of the person. For example, Baron Testaferrata Abela as ‘Louis XVI’, Mr G. Bonavita as the medieval French commander ‘Bertrand du Guesclin’, Mr J. Testaferrata in a ‘Medieval Costume’, Miss de Butts as a ‘Turkish Houri’ and Miss Julia M. Agius as ‘Folie’ earned themselves an appreciation of ‘very good’, while Miss Claributt’s costume – as the nursery rhyme character ‘Mother Hubbard’ – was commented on as ‘very costly’ (possibly an ironic comment for someone representing a character with a hungry dog and an empty cupboard!). Costume was also the site of political domination and social discrimination, particularly in the early 1890s. These were also the years when the Maltese will to move from representative government (granted through the 1887 constitu- tion) to responsible government was being demonstrated both in the Executive Council – the highest, partly-elected government body – and in the streets. Costume became emblematic of the underlying political struggle, where the demand for political recognition was ‘fired by a humiliating sense of exclusion from the important centres of power’ (Geertz 1963: 108). The obligation for

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the Maltese to wear a costume, rather than a ball gown, at the Governor’s ball was a means for the latter to affirm dominance. Those who would not submit to this imposition stayed at home. In 1884, one newspaper lamented the fact that magistrates, civil servants, nobles and other important personages were conspicuous by their absence. In 1892, the invitation was badly worded and stated that people could wear ‘fancy or full dress’. When Maltese turned up in dress suits, they were humiliated by being made to give their names to the servants rather than to the officers on duty. Even more degrading was the fact that persons not wearing the appropriate attire, as determined by British power, risked being turned away at the door. In subsequent years, the invitation was corrected to ‘Fancy dress or full dress uniform’. The addition of the latter word clearly meant that all civilians had no choice but to wear fancy dress. In 1899, an ironic comment in the pro-Italian newspaper Malta indicated that this state of affairs was still prevalent, and in fact it hoped that nobody would ignore the explicit request in the invitation to go in fancy dress (Anon 1899: 2). The difference between uniform and costume became a hierarchical distinction between British and Maltese, whatever their rank or social provenance. The presence of British uniforms in the street in everyday life led the Maltese to disguise themselves as military or naval men. Military and naval presence was a source of inspiration for typical inverted behaviour during carnival, as it allowed the Maltese to poke fun at the British. However, this behaviour was not taken in jest by certain military governors, who probably viewed it as an act of insubordination. An order emitted in 1890, which was later developed into Article 307, paragraph 18 of the Maltese Criminal Laws, forbade civilians to wear military or naval costumes as a disguise during carnival. The law made it a criminal offence to wear disguises representing uniforms of civil, military or naval officers, as well as church habits. Ironically, another order emitted in 1890 decreed that all the officers, non-commissioned officers and men of the Royal Regiment of Malta Militia (made up of Maltese) were forbidden to appear in uniform during the days of carnival, while all other members of the armed forces were obliged to do so.

Figure 7: Carnival ball at the Palace (1877): The Graphic. Private collection.

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1. The University of Malta Yet, even within the rigidly codified framework of the balls for the upper welcomed its first two female students, classes, there were elements of fun and even hints of emancipation. At the in arts and medicine 1877 Governor’s ball, one young lady dressed as ‘The Lady Undergraduate respectively, in 1919. of the Future’, at a time when very few universities had opened their doors 2. The village of Zejtun to women (Nicolas 1982: 106).1 Many years later, in 1936, the Times of Malta boasts of a whole reported a mise-en-scène, which had probably been the ingenious idea of two series of masks in papier mâché that ‘mischievous’ Maltese aristocratic ladies: already existed before World War II. They A particularly daring company […] actually had a full-sized bathing were made by a family nicknamed tac-Caflis, machine, labelled ‘Mrs Grundy’s bathing machine’, brought into the ball which used to pass room, which on being opened, proved to contain a number of masked down the mask-making tradition from one ladies in bathing costumes of the 1900 era and men in sailor hats with generation to another. ‘Weid il-Ghain’ written on the bands, striped jerseys and blue trousers. They are currently (Anon 1936a: 12) made by an artist and restorer, Nenu Delia. The series consisted The different classes mixed in the public balls, where anyone who paid the of a mask covering all entrance fee was admitted. The balls at the Royal Opera House, which were the head, representing the sun, and half-masks launched in 1912 with the unofficial presence of Governor Sir Leslie Rundle, representing the moon, became highly fashionable after 1915, when the palace balls were suppressed death and the devil (Guzi Gatt, folklorist, due to the war. Even in this context, appearance was important, and vari- theatre director and ous advertisements in the newspapers publicized the hiring of costumes. The translator, personal publicity in the Maltese-language newspaper Il-Bandiera tal-Maltin (Anon 1900: communication 14 April 2015). 4) stated that a particular shop was responding to a complaint that there were not enough costumes for hire, and insisted that its costumes were not made up of old bits and pieces assembled together. However, masking was often prohibited, and even when permitted, masked figures had to allow themselves to be recognized on entering (Anon 1913b: 2). Masks, especially when worn with costumes, were an effective way to dissimulate identity, and allowed for the different echelons of society to mix more freely. However, permission to wear masks at public balls was only conceded by the state in 1933. No tangible explanation for the prohibition was ever given – not even for security reasons, which certainly did not provide great threat in colonial Malta, where violent forms of protest were extremely rare. In fact, the 1933 concession to wear masks was seen as a colonial acknowledgement of the people’s social maturity:

The prohibition of the mask at public balls has always been considered by us as a slur on the good sense of the Maltese people; it meant that the Government did not trust the good faith of people [...]. It is, therefore, only meet that the mask be worn because it helps the two great sections of the community to mix together with greater freedom and with greater security and greater enjoyment. It protects the prestige of the upper classes who are apt to descend to follies which are not perhaps quite in accordance with their social position; the poor and lowly have a chance under the mask to rise above their social condition and to feel that, at least once in a year they are equals of their betters. (The Freeman 1933: 3)

STREET CARNIVALS Masks in papier mâché or cloth were commonly worn in the street.2 There were the grotesque type and the ones covered in a shiny fabric resembling satin, covering half or the full face. A piece of cloth with holes for eyes was

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also used instead of a mask. Police orders stipulated that all masks were to be 3. Interestingly, the domino has today removed at sunset. been replaced by the Costume in the street was another matter. During carnival, the streets boiler suit, and people became the prime site for transformed appearance and behaviour, at a time wearing this attire usually wear rubber where stepping out of conventional time and space was tolerated: masks that are used during Halloween. […] Variety is charming’, and surely there was no lack of it in the streets of In fact, these masks were originally sent Valletta during the days of the Carnival, either in the dresses, characters or to Malta by relatives deportment of the adult masqueraders – there were the sombre, the comic, who had emigrated to the United States or the ghostly, the antiquated, the modern, the grotesque, the ludicrous, the Canada, and eventually absurd, the pretty, the ugly, the preposterous, and the absolutely frightful, were imported directly all in turn causing beholders feelings as varied as the scenes. to Malta. (Anon 1878: 1)

Clowns, dominos and peasant costumes were the most common costumes in carnival. A description of a domino in the period circa 1911 mentions a long coloured tunic with a hood covering the head and the face hidden by a mask (Anon 1961: 8).3 In the case of run-of-the-mill costumes, the use of props was not only a distinctive mark, but probably allowed for some form of comic theatrical expression, as implied in the Maltese satirical newspaper, Giahan:

Xi buffun b’barmil fideih, [some clown carrying a pail,] U paliett ma rasu imdauuar, [a boater hat on his head] Inkas bis jidru ghaineih. [not even his eyes can be seen.] (Anon 1907: 1; my translation)

The revellers in the streets also included costumed groups who gave themselves a title that indicated a more lavish appearance. They attracted general admiration for their beauty and elegance, thereby earning a mention in the newspapers. Even though no descriptions of the costumes were supplied, the titles leave much room for the imagination. This was the case, for example, for the groups dressed as ‘Aurora Borealis’, ‘Volubility’, the ‘Genie of Death’ (Anon 1886: 2). Sometimes, these groups would attract attention not simply by their costume, but by indulging in theatrical displays. The Enterprise commented on this type of appearance as ingenious, but the comments indi- cate that the quality of the costumes still conformed to bourgeois aesthetics and expectations: ‘the costumes, so various were in most instances becoming and much ingenuity combined with good taste and correctness were displayed in the designs and selections of these juvenile masqueraders’ (Anon 1878: 1). However, in general, originality attracted more attention than splendour in the streets. Malta commented that the young people in the streets coming from all parts of the island were dressed ‘alla peggio’, their heads covered with strange or fanciful coverings (Anon 1895: 2). Denunciations in newspapers showed that poor costumes were worn by privileged louts in order to behave in a manner that, at the time, was more commonly associated to persons below their rank. The clothing provided dissimulation in two ways. Besides physical transformation, it provided a way to recur to extreme behaviour. Poor clothing was a means for the young men to escape blame for their pranks, which would obviously be attributed to the less fortunate. On the other hand, poorer sections of society often devised costume out of objects that were readily available but not necessarily destined to be worn, including

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Figure 8: Gozo street carnival costume made from sacks. Photograph by the author.

Figure 9: Gozo street carnival: costumes fashioned from old clothing. Photograph by the author.

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sacks and old clothes. These disguises can be described more as body cover- 4. See, for example, the mask Maschera da ings than as costume, and were intended to dissimulate the wearers by hiding Coltra (from which the their identity under costumes that covered their faces and bodies, rather than Maltese word kutra to show them off. One such disguise consisted of a sheet or blanket wrapped (blanket) is derived) in Francesco Bertelli’s around the head, or around a pole or broom held aloft to make the wearer Il carnevale italiano look taller, while also covering the person from head to toe. This disguise, mascherato (1642). This which still exists in the Maltese islands, was certainly present in other coun- disguise is still in use in Gozo today. tries; it can already be found in 1642 in drawings of the Venice carnival, where it is entitled ‘Maschera da Coltra’.4 In many places in the Maltese islands, this type of appearance is usually described as erwieh¯ (‘souls’), which is more consonant with Catholic beliefs and the important cult of purgatory that is present all over the country. Newspaper descriptions of the carnival in Gozo, especially after the appearance of organized carnival in the Gozitan capital, Rabat (Apap 1958: 7), described this costume as very much in use, and it is still worn in village carnivals in Malta and Gozo to this day. At a time when cotton weaving was an important cottage industry in Malta, another disguise favoured by the poor was that of devils, again with a cloth wrapped around the crown of the head and falling to the ankles, covered in red or black ‘thrums’ (fringes of unwoven thread), with long red tongues of cloth, red horns and tails (Wilson 1839: 38–40). Other participants simply limited themselves to blackening their faces with coal or burnt cork, or whitening them with chalk; sometimes they created a mixture of the two, with white faces and blackened eyes. Whatever the costume, the wearer’s face would always be hidden, certainly until sunset, when police orders stipulated that all masks had to be removed. One type of costume typical of carnival at all times in different parts of the world and which has traversed all social ranks is cross-dressing. In 1827, a British pastor called Reverend Wilson (1839: 39), reminiscing over his time in Malta between 1819 and 1823, complained that the Maltese were fond of wearing female dresses and then acting in an unbecoming manner, which even landed them in jail. In fact, in 1879, a poem describes a poor drunkard who was ready to beat his wife in order to take her best dress and wear it in the carnival (Anon 1879: 1). In 1912, a gentleman won a prize for a ‘man in female dress’ at a competition at one of the leading balls (Anon 1912b: 2). A poem in the satirical newspaper Doctor Brombos mentions cross-dressing by both sexes:

Ix-xbejbiet il kalziet jilbsu [young women wear trousers] Tarau bieh jimxux ahiar, [see whether they walk better in them,] Il giuvnott johrog jiggerra [young men go out and about] Bid-dublett jidhol id-dar. [And come back home wearing a skirt.] (Anon 1934: 15; my translation)

As David Gilmore (1998: 139) affirms in reference to Spain: ‘Carnival erases the sartorial, as well as the moral, psychological and spatial boundaries between the sexes’. Sexual attire permitted men and women to symbolically ‘try out’ the personality of the ‘Other’ by assuming certain physical and vestimentary traits, and pushing them to into a grotesque dimension; this was also achieved by means of added protuberances, such as extended stomachs or hunchbacks. Even today, men with oversized breasts and the shortest of miniskirts, if not the skimpiest of tangas, indulge in outrageous behaviour in pseudo-emulation

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Figure 10: Gozo street carnival: cross-dressing. Photograph by the author.

of women. This behaviour, which is still considered ‘disgraceful’ by some, was seen as ‘condemnable’ in former times, and was only rendered acceptable because of the short liminal timeframe during which it was enacted.

CHANGES IN CARNIVAL IN THE 1900S In 1906, a carnival committee was founded to raise the levels of the street carnivals, with prizes for costumes, dancing companies and floats. The introduction of prizes was gradually to give rise to costume conventions for competing dance companies, transforming costumes into veritable works of art, that is, highly elaborate costumes and headdresses which are beautiful to look at, but often cumbersome and heavy to wear – a situation that predomi- nates in today’s carnival. The introduction of competitions also led to prizes for costumes being awarded at the public balls. The value of the prizes was rather high, such as a gold bracelet-watch for ladies and gold cufflinks with rubies for men (Anon 1913a: 2). This made the prizes attractive, and consequently brought about various complaints about unfairness. Examples of this included professional actors

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using their stage costumes to compete for a prize, as well as persons compet- 5. Vella then plunged intensely into the ing for prizes at different venues with the same costume (Anon 1912b: 1). grotesque and Street competitions, which carried money prizes, brought about the inter- designed not only vention of artists in costume design, transforming costumes into works of costumes, but also floats and grotesque art. Among the first was Gianni Vella (1885–1997), whose first experience in masks. Other artists carnival costume design, after becoming an art teacher, was to dress his young participating in pupils from the Valletta elementary school as oranges for the carnival festivi- carnival included Emvin Cremona 5 ties of 1927. (1919–87), Esprit Barthet Prizes for costume also provided a pretext for political satire, with newspa- (1919–99), Antoine pers representing caricatures of politicians in costume. Satires were published Camilleri (1922–2005), Frank Portelli. . (1923– attributing fictitious prizes to politicians in costumes such as those of pulcinel- 2004), Gorg Fenech las, clowns and pierrots, which, in the context they were mentioned, obviously (1926–2011), Anton Agius (1933–2008), implied a denigratory meaning (cf. Anon 1928: 3). Gabriel Caruana The turbulent international political upheavals preceding World War II (b. 1929), Gianni Bonnici also caught public attention and featured in the carnival events. In 1936, (b. 1932) and Alfred Caruana Ruggier the year Fascist Germany hosted the Olympics (which was also the second (b. 1941) (cf. Attard time a Maltese team participated in the games), the League of Nations was 2013: 61–62). represented in two public ball venues. At the St. George’s Overseas Club in Valletta, a certain Mr. Pio Muscat Azzopardi dressed up as a burlesque representative of the League of Nations, ‘complete with decorations which included the Star of Kiwi Boot Polish and the Order of the Bar, which in this case proved to be a miniature bottle of Johnny Walker’ (Anon 1936b: 7). Meanwhile, at the Gaiety Theatre in the neighbouring town of Sliema, the group of Timmy Coles and Co. gave a more complete representation of the League of Nations:

[I]n the national costumes of their respective countries, amongst which were Mrs. Le-Fevre as France, who had a most daring costume, Mrs. Bradshaw as Spain, Mr. Cochrane as India, Mr. Young as an Italian, and Mr. Le-Fevre as a Russian Cossak, whilst the Leader, Jimmy Coles, represented the Shah of Persia. (Anon 1936b: 7)

The carnival of 1940, which preceded by a few months the beginning of the war in Malta and the end of any carnival celebration for six years, already announced the economic austerity that the country was to suffer under the intense bombing it was to receive as from June of that year. In fact, the women’s page in Il-Berqa, which usually featured designs providing ideas for carnival costumes, suggested two costumes that had been seen in England: one made up from dusters and cleaning materials; the other made of coloured pieces of cloth (Morel 1940: 7). After the war, the focus of carnival costumes was the dance companies, who used to parade in Valletta beside their floats. Newspaper descriptions centred on the costumes worn by the competing groups, and little attention was paid to costumes worn by people in the street or in dances. This was the case even beyond 1964, when Malta became independent. For a time, street fancy dress at the organized carnivals of Valletta and Rabat was almost exclusively limited to children (apart from the dance companies), although in recent years this has been changing. Besides, more and more people have been discovering and regularly participating in the spontaneous carnivals that still take place in some villages on the two islands, where many revel in show- ing off their simple or elaborate costumes.

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Donning a costume in carnival is both a visual and physical experience, undergone in a specific limited time and within a particular social context that at first hand is usually described as ‘topsy-turvy’. Observing costume in its immediate context reveals underlying levels of social structure and historical narrative, which contribute to the bigger picture of the event itself, as well as the environment in which it occurs. In my examination of costume during the British colonial period, especially in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, I have tried to show how carnival was a focus of fun, but also a site of power and social aspiration, and to show how these elements were incorpo- rated into the type of clothing worn. Carnival costume created a certain quality of presence that gave depth to the aesthetic experience of the theatrical event, both for those who participated directly in the event itself, and for the scholar today, who tries to bring to light the various layers that it assembled and penetrated.

REFERENCES Anon (1859), Il Filantropo Maltese, 10 February. Anon (1873), Public Opinion, 26 February. Anon (1874), Public Opinion, 18 February. Anon (1875), Public Opinion, 17 February. Anon (1878), The Enterprise, 11 March. Anon (1879), Habbar Malti, 21 February. Anon (1886), Malta, 11 March. Anon (1890), ‘Establishments’, Blue Books, Malta: National Statistics Office. Anon (1895), Malta, 27 February. Anon (1897), Malta, 3 March. Anon (1898a), Malta, 9 February. Anon (1898b), The Daily Malta Chronicle, 16 February. Anon (1899), Malta, 9 February. Anon (1900), Il-Bandiera tal-Maltin, 27 January. Anon (1907), Giahan, 9 February. Anon (1912a), Malta, 20 February. Anon (1912b), ‘Incredibile!’, Malta, 28 February. Anon (1913a), ‘Grandi Veglioni al Teatro Reale’, Malta, 23 January. Anon (1913b), ‘The King’s Own Band – Palazzo Spinola/Valletta’, Malta, 30 January. Anon (1928), L’Ass, 8 March. Anon (1933), The Freeman, 18 February. Anon (1934), Doctor Brombos, 3 February. Anon (1936a), Times of Malta, 24 February. Anon (1936b), Times of Malta, 25 February. Anon (1961), ‘Il-Karnival ta’ Malta’, Il-Berqa, 15 February. Apap, K. (1958), ‘Il-Karnival f’Ghawdex 1958’, Il-Berqa, 17 April, p. 7. Attard, C. (2013), Gianni Vella: The Life and Works of a Twentieth-century Maltese Artist, Malta: Midsea Books. Bertelli, F. (1642), Il carnevale italiano mascherato, Venice. Bourdieu, P. (1996), Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste (trans. Richard Nice), London and New York: Routledge. First published 1979. Cassar, C. (2013), ‘State intervention in the grain trade of Malta (16th-20th century)’, Mediterranean Review, 6: 2, pp. 59–89, www.ims.or.kr/BBS/down. php?F=13131231050817.PDF. Accessed 20 December 2015.

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De Morel, V. (1940), ‘Tagh¯ rif ghan-nisa – Ilbiesi rh¯ as ghall-Karnival’, Il-Berqa, 26 January, p. 7. Fiorini, S. (1987), ‘Carnj per lu Carnivalj’, Melita Historica, 9: 4, pp. 311–14. Freeman, Jonathan B., Penner, A. M., Saperstein, A., Scheutz, M. and Ambady, N. (2011), ‘Looking the part: Social status cues shape race perception’, PLoS ONE, 6: 9, pp. 1–10, http://search.proquest.com.ejournals.um.edu. mt/docview/1308804438?OpenUrlRefId=info:xri/sid:primo. Accessed 8 March 2015. Geertz, C. (1963), ‘The integrative revolution: primordial sentiments and civil politics in the new states’, in Clifford Geertz (ed.), Old Societies and New States: The Quest for Modernity in Asia and Africa, Glencoe: Macmillan, pp. 105–157. Gilmore, D. (1998), Carnival Culture: Sex Symbol and Status in Spain, New Haven and London: Yale University Press. Hannah, D. (2014), ‘Alarming the heart: Costume as performative body- object-event’, Scene, 2: 1–2, pp. 15–34. Heddon, D. and Milling, J. (2006), Devising Performance: A Critical History, Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Hill, S. E. and Buss, D. M. (2010), ‘Risk and relative social rank: Positional concerns and risky shifts in probabilistic decision-making’, Evolution and Human Behavior, 31: 3, pp. 219–26, http://www.sciencedirect.com.ejournals.um.edu.mt/science/article/pii/S1090513810000176. Accessed 9 March 2015. Micallef, R. (2013), ‘A history of the Malta Chamber’, in G. Bonello (ed.), La Borsa: The People, the Building, the History, Malta: Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, pp. 2–11. Nicolas, A. (1982), Antique Malta. A Topographical and Historical Catalogue of Engravings and Articles as Depicted in the Major English Magazines of this Eventful Period, Valletta and London: Nicolas Books. Pavis, Patrice (1996), Analyzing Performance: Theatre, Dance and Film, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. Wilson, S. S. (Rev.) (1839), Sixteen Years in Malta and Greece: Including Tours in the Peloponnesus, in the Aegean and Ionian Isles; with remarks on the religious opinions, moral state, social habits, politics, language, history and lazarettos of Malta and Greece, London: John Snow, 35, Paternoster Row.

SUGGESTED CITATION Cremona, V. A. (2016), ‘Costume in carnival: Social performance, rank and status’, Studies in Costume & Performance, 1: 1, pp. 77–96, doi: 10.1386/ scp.1.1.77_1

CONTRIBUTOR DETAILS Prof. Vicki Ann Cremona is chair of the School of Performing Arts at the University of Malta. She was appointed as Ambassador of Malta to France between 2005–09, and to Tunisia between 2009–13. She has published various articles internationally, mainly about carnival, Maltese theatre and commedia dell’arte. She co-edited the book Costume in Malta: An History of Fabric, Form and Fashion, (1998) and wrote the catalogue for the first national exhibition on costume in Malta the same year. More recently, she has co-authored the book Plusieurs Nations: The Schwarzenberg Collection of Costume Miniatures in the Cˇeský Krumlov Castle (2010).

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Contact: University of Malta, School of Performing Arts, Old Humanities Bldg. Room 123, Msida MSD 2080, Malta. E-mail: mailto:[email protected]

Vicki Ann Cremona has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work in the format that was submitted to Intellect Ltd.

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