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The
Feast of Mnarja, or l-Imnarja (pronounced lim-nar-ya) is one of
the most important dates on the Maltese cultural calendar. Officially,
it is a national festival dedicated to the feast of Saints Peter and St.
Paul. In fact its roots can be traced back to the pagan Roman feast of
Luminaria (literally, "the illumination"), when the early summer
night of
June 29 was
illuminated by torches and bonfires. A national feast since the rule of
the Knights, Mnarja is a traditional Maltese festival of food, religion
and music. The festivities still commence today with the reading of the
"bandu", an official governmental announcement, which has been
read on this day in Malta since the 16th century. Originally, Mnarja was
celebrated outside St. Paul's Grotto, in the north of Malta; however, by
1613 the focus of the festivities had shifted to the
Cathedral of
St. Paul, in
Mdina, and
featured torchlight processions, the firing of 100 petards, horse races,
and races for men, boys and slaves. Modern Mnarja festivals take place
in and around the woodlands of
Buskett, just
outside the town of
Rabat. It is said that under the Knights, this was the one day in the year when the Maltese were allowed to hunt and eat wild rabbit, which was otherwise reserved for the hunting pleasures of the Knights. The close connection between Mnarja and rabbit stew (Maltese: "fenkata") remains strong today. In 1854 British governor William Reid launched an agricultural show at Buskett which is still being held today. The farmers' exhibition is still a seminal part of the Mnarja festivities today. Mnarja today is one of the few occasions when participants may hear traditional Maltese "għana". Traditionally, grooms would promise to take their newly- or recently-wed brides to Mnarja during the first of year of marriage and, for luck, many of the brides would attend in their full wedding gown and veil, although this custom has long since disappeared from the Islands.
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People
from all over the island used to spend the whole night eating and
singing besides the fortifications of Mdina. In
the following morning they used to go to nearby Saqqajja, Rabat, to take
part or watch the races organised for the occasion. The procession at
the hen capital, Mdina was organised for the first time around 1613. The
Islands' Administrative Government used
to sponsor all the races and present a large candlestick to the cathedral.
Men, boys, slaves as well as donkeys used to take part in these races.
The winners trophies used to be flags, swords, caps or handkerchiefs.
The reading of the script ('bandu') with which the feast
is
officially opened. The script is nowadays read in many areas in Rabat
and Mdina. The Maltese scouts have kept this annual tradition today at
the Saqqajja square.
During
the Imnarja celebrations, they used to
hoist a number of flags on
and around the building
of the
Banca Giuratale. This building is now a branch of the National Archives. The Agrarian Society
(A society in which agriculture is the primary means of subsistence,)
revived this ceremony in 1986. Nowadays such event is organised by the
local councils and takes
place in St. John's Cathedral, Valletta's on the 24th of June.
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| On Imnarja Day, Maltese singers and Guitarists (Ghannejja u Kitarristi) from all over Malta and Gozo gather at Buskett Gardens. They perform in front of huge crowds who attends each year to celebrate the feast and to be entertained by the traditional Maltese Ghana. |
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| The Imnarja agriculture show was initiated when Major General Sir William Reid was the British Governor of the Islands in 1854. During the 18th century The Buskett Gardens (Malta's national park) was the venue where people used to spend the night before the Imnarja's feast. Nowadays farmers take some of their best products to exhibit them at the Buskett Show. Fenkata, a dish made with rabbit was and still is the order of the day. |
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Another old tradition during the Imnarja Festival is the racing of horses in city streets. In Malta the races are held at Rabat, while in Gozo they are held in the streets of Nadur.
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