L-IMNARJA

Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul

The feast of 'Imnarja'  is one of the oldest feasts on the Maltese Islands which is still celebrated nowadays. This feast (festa) includes a mixture of religion, tradition, food and colour. One of the main attractions is the gathering of local musicians performing the traditional music of Malta called "Ghana".  

Originally The feast of St. Peter and St. Paul  used to be solely a religious function celebrated at the grotto of St. Paul, Rabat in Malta.


St. Pauls Grotto, Rabat, Malta

 During the period of the Knights of Malta (Knights St. John of Jerusalem) these celebrations were held at the cathedral in the capital, Mdina and renamed  'luminaria' (Luminous... Latin for giving light), which is where the word L-Imnarja originated. The feast used to be celebrated by a torchlight procession around the cathedral where100 gun salute were fired.

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 organise for the occasion. The procession in Mdina was organised for the first time around 1613. The local 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 flags used to be presented in front of the Banca Giuratale, ( Maltese Government Administrative Building during 1530-1899)  with recitals in an open-air theatre to follow later on that day. 

Before the Knights Period there used to be the reading of the script ('bandu') with which the feast was 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. In the seventeenth century, choirs singing with the cathedral's organ were introduction as part of the celebrations. 

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.

 
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.

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 (a sort of a 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. 

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 hel in the streets of Nadur.