(...) The cave is located along Wied Dalam which, a full-fledged river at the time, must have washed the fossils into the cave. The animals that roamed Malta included hippopotamuses and sabre-toothed tigers, elephants that grew to a height of only three feet and giant swans that may have looked those elephants in the eye. Some of the deposits are still in the cave, together with the stalactites and stalagmites. (...)
In modern Maltese, dalam means "to get dark" and one might be tempted to translate Ghar Dalam as "Cave of Darkness". But then would Wied Dalam be "River of Darkness"? No. The darkness of the cave is not caused by its menacing roof but by the mysteries of history. The cave, in which people are known to have lived, was thought to contain secrets long before the 20th century discovery of the fossils. And the best secret may be the name itself, which in Semitic idiom stands for "elephant"...
...Perhaps due to these fortifications, Birzebbuga itself survived the period of the Knights with very few incidents. When the age of piracy ebbed on Birzebbuga's placid horizon, the scenic coastline became a cottage resort.This villegjatura business is still healthy today. The Maltese just love a second house, even though their main home may be only a ten-minute drive from the nearest beach. The meticulous Maltese homemaker, who takes pride in the shining floors of her house in the town, concedes sand creeping into the living room of her villegjatura (summer house) with resignation. But she goes back to town every few days to clean her immaculate primary house.The city folk brought much with them to Birzebbuga, not least their churches. One of the first churches of modern Birzebbuga was built at the behest of a vacationing priest from nearby Zurrieq in 1822. Rebuilt and enlarged 40 years later, il-Kuncizzjoni (Immaculate Conception) still serves the people of Benghisa.
...Then came the people of Bormla. Canon Albanese raised enough money to build the church of the Holy Family in 1865, a cruciform. Years later, Canon Penza found out that it wasn't easy to say mass in someone else's church. So, between 1907 and 1909, he converted three empty stables into a church dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. This became the seat of the newly formed parish..
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The year was 1806. Land assessor Mikelang Zammit was riding his karozzella (stagecoach) along a road where he had intended to build a religious niche. As he passed the planned spot, his coach overturned. He escaped with a few bruises and a cue - proceeding to build not one, but two niches. He dedicated them to Saint Veronica and Christ the Redeemer. A cross marks the site and an 1859 church known as ta' Santu Kristu, or Knisja tar-Redentur, stands across the street.Whether the details of this account are exact is not the point. (...)
(...) As festa day approaches, everybody gets into the spirit. The man of the house paints the front door. The lady replaces the curtains. No detail can be overlooked. Spiritually a tridu (three days), novena (nine days) or, as is the case in Ghaxaq, a kwindicina (fifteen days) of prayer is conducted. Many go to confession. Finally, the big occasion. For the main festa (St. Mary), this is at lease a three-day affair starting with band marches and ending with the procession of the titular statue. The secondary festa used to be limited to two days, not for any lack of energy or volition but by church dictate. Restrictions on outside festivities were lifted in 1975. Festa eve is boisterous, with competing factions irking for a fray, and ends with a superb show of ground fireworks. Festa day festivities start with a high mass, when the panegyrics are as fiery as the petards, the bells as loud as the band marches. Guests from other villages arrive to savour the atmosphere created by the decorations, the enthusiasm, and two or more bands playing within yards of each other.. They watch the procession with Marjanu Gerada's statue (1808), considered the most beautiful among the many Maltese titular statues of the Assumption. They go back with packages of qubbajt (nougat) after witnessing the final ritual - the kaxxa infernali (literally "infernal box"), a long string of fireworks. (...)
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One of the oldest villages and parishes in the Maltese Islands, Gudja (Goo-d'ya) derives its name from an Arabic word meaning "prominent" or "superior". Its motto is Pluribus Parens (Mother of Many Children). The children are the villages of Kirkop, Luqa, Mqabba, Safi, and Tarxien. At one time, all of these formed part of the parish of Gudja, whose jurisdiction extended to the Grand Harbour. With further spin-off parishes from these "children", Gudja can now be considered a grandmother. (...)
(...) By this time, the feared Turkish corsairs were striking at undefended villages with impunity, and Birmiftuh fell prey on more than one occasion. Eager to protect the church's treasures, the villagers started "saving" these riches by burying them in the ground. They are still believed to be there!
On January 26, 1663, the tabernacle was desecrated. This mortification brought both Bishop Balaguer and Grand Master Cotoner to the spot. A permanent solution was called for, and it was decided to build a new church in a safer area 500 metres east. The lovely church of Birmiftuh was sadly abandoned. Today Birmiftuh is but a ghost village. All that's left besides the church are the stone ruins of a militia cross and a few plough-and-sickle fields interrupted by carob trees and rubble walls. But lack of buildings makes the medieval church even more alluring. (...)
(...) Most of the neighbouring parishes organize two annual festi. But this is a "superior village" and therefore it has three (or four, if we include the satellite churches). All of them honour the Virgin Mary. Both bands participate in the main festa of the Assumption, which is celebrated on August 15, while each organizes one of its own. St. Mary's Band Club, also known as La Stella, is in charge of Our Lady of the Rosary in October while Our Lady of Consolation Band Club, also known as tac -Cintura (The Sash), takes care of their namesake's festa in September. The red and silver banner of the village is proudly displayed at all events. (...)
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(...) A family name first recorded in 1397, Kirkop (rhymes with chop) is a model of durability. Of its medieval foundations, it retains a militia stone cross known locally as salib tal-bandu (a cross mounted on steps from where official edicts were made). Of its more primal times, it saves a menhir called simply is-Salib, for even this prehistoric milestone is dominated by a cross. Of the few menhirs that still stand in Malta, this is the only Christianized one, and it is very dear to the hearts of il-koppin. Proposed construction in its vicinity in 1994 created quite a stir between the local council and the central government. (...)
(...) How does a little village like Kirkop maintain two annual festi? How can a closely knit community remain divided, supporters of one side sometimes at odds with those of the other, parents opposing marriages that cut across rival factions? It all began in 1876, when Joseph Barbara was installed as parish priest.
St. Leonard was then, as he is now, the patron saint of Kirkop and a festa was duly celebrated in his honour. Indeed St. Leonard Society, now a band club, had been in existence since 1855. In 1877 a titular statue was executed in papier-mache by well-known statuary Karlu Darmanin. Now retired to the sacristy, this statue was taken out in procession every year until it was replaced by a wooden one in 1949.
No doubt, Father Joe shared his constituents' devotion for San Anard. But he also showed great a zeal toward his namesake, St. Joseph, who in 1879 was accorded the title "Patron of the Universal Church". He instituted a confraternity for his patron saint, ordered a statue of St. Joseph from France, and insisted on a secondary festa in honour of the putative father of Jesus. Little did he know that these actions would split the village. (...)
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(...) It's no secret the people of Hal Safi think very highly of their village. The very name means "pure", the motto sine macula (without blemish). (...)
(...) Boundaries were designed in a way to help parish priests make a living from tithes and first fruits. If the village seceded, il-halsafin would still be obliged to provide Birmiftuh's priest with such fees for as long as he lived. "First fruits" were valued at around two rbajja (four cents) per family per year as a base fee, to which specific service charges were added. Baptism cost 3 cents. Marriage, a bottle of wine and a flat loaf of bread.(...)
(...) So it came to pass that as of 1598 Safi became Malta's smallest parish. It was probably also the poorest. The church of St. Paul was poor, because it lacked all sorts of amenities. The parish priest was poor, because the tithes were going to Kirkop. And the people were poor, because they had to foot all the bills. In 1618 they were asked to buy books for the parish priest because he was too poor to pay for them. (...)
(...) Safi is situated in the middle of a group of small villages clustered around the airport. These communities tend to be fiercely competitive, with rival inter-parish band clubs and festi. Safi is an exception. Throughout the last 500 years, it has had only one patron saint. Its pride remains steadfast in the titular painting of St. Paul by Stefano Erardi and the titular statue which Xandru Farrugia molded in 1840. Although, like other villages, Safi organizes several religious activities throughout the year, it has only one main event (last Sunday of August). It's the culmination of the 300-year-old village festa. Safi's only festa. By maintaining its unity, Safi gives another example of its purity.
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(...) Medieval churches were often built in pairs. Such is the case of Santa Marija Ta' Bubaqra, which replaced two adjacent churches circa 1490. (...) Another interesting church at Bubaqra is located within St. Leo Cemetery. This church was already an old one in 1575, when Monsignor Dusina ordered its restoration. A triptych (set of three paintings) that was admired at St. Leo for several centuries (now moved to the parish church) is said to have been brought to Bubaqra on Dusina's orders from a fishermen's church on the lonely islet of Filfla, which is clearly visible from Bubaqra's open farms. (...)
(...) Zurrieq preserves landmarks from all major epochs of Malta's chequered history. The one that is best portrayed is the medieval era. And the district that does it best is the abandoned casale of Hal Millieri. Several casali dotted the Maltese countryside in the middle ages. Little churches, again in twosomes, bound together the lives of farming families. Most of these casali have disappeared or changed drastically. Hal Millieri remains, guardian of an ancient life.
No ruined palaces or romantic legends haunt the now empty hamlet. What we have is a large number of ancient cisterns and several examples of medieval architecture and art. The cisterns are a remarkable network of a bygone irrigation system. One of them is an oval cut and has an impressive stone arch. The farmhouses and field huts preserve fine examples of stone carvings, corbelled roofs, and torba (a cement mixture used for flooring and ceilings). There is a perfect example of a medieval stone cross pillar (although the cross itself is a modern replacement). The field walls are fine specimens of the Maltese hitan tas-sejjieh (rubble walls), whose main purpose is to prevent soil erosion. A better picture of a medieval village one just cannot compose. (...)
(...) Mattia Preti came from Taverna, in Calabria, Italy, and was affectionately known as il calabrese. He lived in Zurrieq during the plague of 1676.(...)
(...) Perhaps the most unusual of Zurrieq's heroes was Dr. Joseph Callus, one of Malta's first physicians born sometime between 1510 and 1515. In a time when freedom meant little more than a dubious right to live, Callus chose to die for it. In a signed petition to King Philip II of Spain, he addressed the lack of political freedom under the Knights. For this "crime", he was hanged. But his sacrifice inspired many generations and in 1878 he became the subject of a short Italian novel titled Un Martire (A Martyr). (...)
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(...) The isle of Filfla has been claimed by Ulysses, Maltese fishermen, and British gunners.Ulysses was the first mortal, though hardly a mortal was he, to seek refuge on the islet of Filfla. When the weary hero of Homer's Odyssey spotted the southernmost isle of the Maltese archipelago, he thought he was seeing a boat. Realizing it was instead an inhospitable rock, he sailed on to Gozo...
(...) Galapagos of the Maltese archipelago, Filfla provides a habitat for some unusual creatures. We begin with the tale of two tails. Falsely believed to have a double tail, the endemic dark green lizard known as gremxula ta' Filfla has commanded interest for centuries. More interesting is Filfla's winged life, particularly the curious-looking Cory's Shearwater (ciefa ). This waterproofed bird seems ill at ease on land. It labours hard just to walk, for its legs are set too far back. Once it takes flight, however, this "handicap" becomes a powerful flying machine. Other inhabitants of Filfla are the herring gull (gawwija prima ) and storm petrel (kangu ta' Filfla ), whose 20,000-strong colony may be the largest in the Mediterranean. (...)
(...) The last wild sanctuary of ta' l-gharghar (sandarac gum), Malta's national tree, il-Maqluba is a dissolution pocket caused by the collapse of an underground cavern. An earthquake or a storm, which may have prompted the collapse, occurred in the 14th century. (...)
(...) November 24 is the eve of the feast of St. Catherine, whose widespread allegiance in the southern villages dates to the time when Malta formed part of the Eastern Church. The story must have passed through 10 or 12 generations to little Gian Francesco: the Lord sent a big tempest on St. Catherine's eve to destroy the wicked village. (...)
(...) These two sets of temples are as similar as they are different. Hagar Qim , or "Stones of Worship", is built mainly of globigerina limestone, the softer of the two kinds of limestone found on the island and the type more prevalent in the surrounding quarries. The seaward side has been carved into fantastic shape by the salty Mediterranean wind. One of these stones of worship is 7 metres high, the largest in all Maltese temples. The once-roofed, five-apsed set of temples with pedestalled altars and relief figures has yielded important statuettes to the Archaeological Museum in Valletta. These include small "fat ladies" and the so-called "Venus of Malta". (...)
(...) Il-Hnejja is the most famous cave in Malta under the name Blue Grotto, given to it by British military personnel who found it similar to the Grotta Azzurra at the Isle of Capri. Easily navigable by local boats, the waters of the grotto display an array of colours that no artist can match, especially when early morning sun rays peep through the main opening. (...)
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We would like to thank Mr. Charles Fiott for granting us permission to publish the above excerpts.
Copyright © 1996 Charles Fiott - All Rights Reserved -
The Towns and Villages in Malta and GozoPart 2: The South (Portraits of 21 towns and villages in BIRZEBBUGA
Published by the Conventual Franciscans of Rabat (Religjon u Hajja), Malta - 1994
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Copyright © 1998 Michael Riccioli All Rights Reserved
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