The Coolidge examiner., 1936-12-31

I tory, the Maltese have clung te-
naciously to their ancient Semitic
tongue, which is recognized by ex-
perts to be of Phoenician structure,
and, to all intents and purposes, the
language of Dido and Hannibal.
Naturally, the old Maltese Ian
guage has borrowed, in the course
of ages, words from other Ian
guages, but it has always fitted
them into its own Semitic frame
work. The Maltese who enligrated
to Asia and to the north coast of
Africa have no difficulty in making
themselves understood by their
Arabic speaking neighbors, espe-
cially in Palestine and Morocco.
Neolithic Sanctuaries.
A paleontologist may wander
about the cave of Char Dalam and
study the remains of the elephants
and hippopotamuses which left their
bones there when the world was yet
young. Advancing from these and
from the Neanderthal man, of whom
possible traces have been found in
Malta, many thousands of years
into the Stone age, he will find in
Malta and Coco a series of neolothic
sanctuaries Tarshin, the Hypo-
geum at Hal Safini, Hagiar Kim,
M'naidra, II Gigantia, to mention
only the most important - un-
equaled elsewhere.
Other survivals of a different sort
are the cart tracks which traverse
many of the barren rocky surfaces
of the island, the tram lines of
prehistoric man. The width of the
tracks of the two wheeled carts
which, with their gaily caparisoned
little ponies or donkeys, are the
traditional vehicle of the Maltese
farmer today, correspond almost
exactly with those of his ancient
predecessor.
On the small, uninhabited islet of
Filha, now used only as target
for naval gun practice, survives a
lizard of dark green spotted with
red, which occurs nowhere else eX-
cept in this group.
The museum in Valletta has an
admirable collection of the artistic
products of the Stone and Bronze
ages. Among them are the aston
ishing fat deitieS characteristic of
Maltese neolithic sculpture.
If one wishes to see how the dis
tant forbears of the present Dopu-
lation cultivated their land, one has
only to watch the Maltese farmer
of today plowing his field and a
student will note the eyes of Osiris
still painted on the bows of Malta S
sturdy little schooners.
In Malta, during mid-Lent, are
the carnival festivities common to
other Mediterranean places, with
features of more special interest
One of these is the Parata dance in
the palace square, which takes it's
symbolism from the capture of a
|
The Imnaria Races.
At the feast of St. Peter and ST.
Paul, June 29, are the densely
thronged Imnaria races. These
races for horses and donkeys are
of unknown but undoubtedly great
age. The course is a piece of
straight, hard road leading uphill
to the big square in front of Nota-
bile, where from his great stone box
the grand master in former days
handed down, and now the COVER
nor of Malta hands down, the BAN
ners of victory to the winning COM
petitors.
The name Imnaria is a corrup-
ton of luminaria, illumination, for
| it was the custom on that day to
| illuminate the churches of Notable
and adjacent Rabat in honor of the
two saints. A more picturesque, if
less trustworthy, tradition derives
Imnaria from Hymen, the god of
marriage, it being supposed that
the young men of the island were
wont in former times to choose their
wives from among the maidens
coming to watch the contest.
The banners still given as prizes
are long and narrow pieces of bro
| cade of different colors. The fortu-
| nate winners take them back to
their village to be used as altar
cloths of the parish churches for
the ensuing year.
Visitors are always interested in
the faldetta (more properly called
| ghonnella) of the Maltese women.
| This headdress does not owe its
existence, as some allege, to the
excessive gallantry of Bonaparte's
troops, but is of much more ancient
origin. 1t is a voluminous hood of
rich silk, stiffened inside the top
edge by piece of cardboard about
a yard long, black everywhere save
in the villages of Zabbar ard lei
tun, where it is blue. O,e end
rests on the head while the other
has to be held.