Maltese Carnival
Carnival (Maltese: il-Karnival ta' Malta) has had an important place on the
The carnival 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.
History
Maltese carnival has been celebrated since the 1400s.[3] The general awakening for carnival tradition has been since 1535, five years after the arrival of the Order of St John,[2] during the reign of Piero de Ponte.[4] It started taking place officially in Birgu. where a number of knights played games and displayed their skills in various pageants and tournaments.
In 1560, Grand Master
Lascaris Ban
In 1639, Grand Master
Some of the most spirited decided to make fun of the Jesuits.
It caused considerable unrest; the Jesuits' college was attacked and ransacked by young knights and force was used to help Selvatico escape from
and close their church, which he did till things calmed down. Till date a Maltese idiom says "Wiċċ Laskri" ("Lascaris' face", that is, someone with a face like that of Lascaris) which is used to describe a nervous and sad person.Knights' scandals
On February 27, 1664,
The Maltese were scandalised by what they saw, leading the ailing Grand Master
On the second day of Carnival the following year two knights, named Gori and Saraceni, wearing masks, insulted Paolo Testaferrata, a depositary of the Inquisition, for no reason whatsoever. Inquisitor Giacomo Cantelmo complained to the Grand Master, who explained that it would be better to accept an apology rather than create any fuss. Saraceni went with two other knights to look for Testaferrata and excused himself saying that he had not recognised him. Than he called on Cantelmo to pay his respects.
Parata
True to an age-old tradition, Carnival was ushered in by the Parata which was taken very seriously both by the knights and the people in general as it was of special significance in the history of this festival.[4]
It was customary for some peasants and later companies of young dancers to gather early under the balcony of the
This was the sign for the general merriment to start, and the companies dressed as Christians and Turks performed a mock fight recalling the
Meanwhile, a stone would be hung from the Castellania, or Palace of Justice (now the Ministry of Health, in Merchants Street), as a sign that justice was "suspended" for the three days of Carnival.[11][4][9]
Inquisitor
Then followed other decorated open carriages,[9] and finally came the decorated floats.
Grand Master
Inquisitor Luigi Gualterio (also spelled Ludovico Gualtieri) was not in the capacity to proceed against these knights but sent his spies to keep an eye on them. One novice, by the name of De Livry, used to organise dinners with these women. He was reported to the Grand Master, who admitted that he did not know what was happening in Malta. However the knight was arrested and he and another seven young knights, who was misbehaved during the last Carnival, were expelled from the island.
Kukkanja
Grand Master Marc'Antonio Zondadari introduced the game of kukkanja (cockaigne) to carnival in 1721: on a given signal, the crowd assembled in Palace Square converged on a collection of hams, sausages and live animals hidden beneath leafy branches outside the guard house. The provisions became the property of those who, having seized them, were able to carry them off.[12][13]
British era
Carnival parades during the British period, especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries, were noted for their biting satirical themes, and many of the intricate floats were designed to poke fun at political figures and unpopular government decisions; however, political satire was essentially banned as a result of a law passed in 1936.[14]
During the Carnival of 1823,
Since 1926 carnival in Malta started to be centered in the capital city of Valletta, and saw the decline in other cities and villages, with the major reasons being the regulations set by the Carnival Committee and the participation prizes awarded by it.[4]
Today
The largest of the carnival celebrations mainly take place in and around the capital city Valletta and Floriana, however there are several "spontaneous" carnivals in more remote villages of Malta and Gozo. The Nadur Carnival is notable for its darker and more risqué themes including cross-dressing, ghost costumes, political figures and revellers dressed up as scantily clad clergyfolk. The Għaxaq spontaneous carnival is an original carnival organised by the inhabitants of this locality, where people wear masks and all the old-fashioned clothes that they can find in their wardrobe.
Food consumed during carnival includes perlini (multi-coloured, sugar-coated almonds) and the prinjolata, which is a towering assembly of sponge cake, biscuits, almonds and citrus fruits, topped with cream and pine nuts.
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Fancy dress costumes
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Carnival in Valletta
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Carnival Show in Valletta
Further reading
See also
References
- ^ "It happened in February: The beginning of carnival in Malta". 23 February 2020.
- ^ a b Cassar Pullicino, Joseph (October–December 1949). "The Order of St. John in Maltese folk-memory" (PDF). Scientia. 15 (4): 167. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 April 2016.
- ^ Doris Fenech. "Maltese Carnival - Karnival Malti" (PDF). Student.um.edu.mt. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f "Il-Karnival ta' Malta se jsir bejn is-16 U l-20 ta' Frar". Department of Information (in Maltese) (139). Malta. 2 February 2007. Archived from the original on 21 June 2017.
- ^ Cassar Pullicino, Joseph (October–December 1949). "The Order of St. John in Maltese folk-memory" (PDF). Scientia. 15 (4): 173. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 April 2016.
- ^ "Fiorini-Collegium" (PDF). www.um.edu.mt. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ a b c d e f g Charles Galea Scannura (2015). "Xi Ġrajjiet ta' Żmienu: L-Isqof Balaguer" (PDF). Kazin tal-Banda San Gabriel, Hal Balzan A.D. 1920. pp. 48–53. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 July 2019.
- ^ a b c d de Kerdu, Pierre-Marie-Louis de Boisgelin (1805). Ancient and Modern Malta (Vol. 1[-2]: 6). R. Phillips. pp. 94–95.
- ^ Rolandi, Ulderico (1929). "Musica e Musicisti in Malta" (PDF). Archivio Storico di Malta (in Italian). 1 (1): 14.
- ^ Cassar-Pullicino, Joseph (1992). Studies in Maltese Folklore. Malta University Press. p. 50.
- ^ Cilia, George (2012). "L-Arblu ta' Mejju" (PDF). L-Imnara. 10 (36): 27, 28.
- ^ "L-Arblu ta' Mejja jew il-Kukkanja" (PDF). L-Imnara. 10 (36): 29, 30. 2012.
- ^ "Focus: Carnival - A brief history". The Malta Independent. 16 February 2007.
- ^ Lanfranco, Guido (2000). "It-Taghlim tad-Duttrina fil-Gzejjer Maltin; Ftit ta' l-Istorja" (PDF). L-Imnara (in Maltese). 3 (24). Melita Historica: 104. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 April 2016.