L-Imnarja is an important festival in Malta, celebrated every year on the eve of the 29th of June. It has been celebrated since the time of the Knights of St. John, aka the Knights Hospitalier or the Knights of Malta. It commemorates the feasts of St. Peter and St. Paul and is also a national holiday, a much-needed welcome to summer which by then will be around the corner (something you can feel in the sweltering sun and the need for daily ice-creams!)
This festival brings together the traditional and contemporary cultures of Malta and is an important part of the national identity. The festival is a celebration of the agricultural season, with festivals taking place in every village in Malta, but is mainly celebrated in Malta’s biggest woodland, Il-Buskett.
Source: Malta Tourist Archive
On the day of the festival, people dress up in traditional costumes and hold processions accompanied by traditional Maltese music, including the use of the traditional Maltese bagpipes, the żaqq. A little linguistic tidbit, “żaqq” in Maltese literally means stomach, and that’s exactly what this curious instrument looks like!
The procession is then followed by a day of fun, with food, folk dancing and other entertainment. As we mentioned in another article on Malta’s food, Malta’s national food is not fish but rabbit, which is consumed in great quantities on the days. Indeed, L-Imnarja is associated with rabbit stew (but there will be some options for vegetarians and vegans, don’t worry).
Source: Malta Tourist Archive
Merriment continues through the night with Il-Buskett being brightly illuminated. This is quite fitting as this is where the name of the festival itself comes from, a cognate of the latin word “luminaria”.
As the day progresses, the celebrations move from the village to the main square of Rabat (the closest town to Il-Buskett), where the festivities culminate in a fireworks display.
L-Imnarja is a time for the people of Malta to come together, to celebrate the culture, traditions and agriculture that have been part of the Maltese identity for centuries and are now rapidly being lost to modernity.
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L-imnarja… x’inhi?
L-Imnarja hija festa importanti f’Malta, iċċelebrata kull sena lejlet id-29 ta’ Ġunju. Ilha tiġi ċċelebrata minn żmien il-Kavallieri ta’ San Ġwann, magħrufin ukoll bħala l-Kavallieri ta’ Malta. Hija tfakkar il-festi ta’ San Pietru u San Pawl u hija wkoll festa nazzjonali, hekk kif ikun qareb sew is-sajf u s-sħana tibda tiżdied (xi ħaġa li tista’ tħoss fix-xemx tiżreġ u l-bżonn għal ħafna ġelati!)
Dan il-festival jgħaqqad flimkien il-kulturi tradizzjonali u kontemporanji ta’ Malta u hu parti importanti mill-identità nazzjonali. Il-festival hu ċelebrazzjoni tal-istaġun agrikolu, b’festivals li jsiru f’kull raħal f’Malta, iżda huwa ċċelebrat prinċipalment fl-akbar boskijiet ta’ Malta, Il-Buskett.
Dakinhar tal-festa, in-nies jilbsu kostumi tradizzjonali u jagħmlu purċissjonijiet akkumpanjati minn mużika tradizzjonali Maltija, l-għana. Spiss jintuża ukoll strument tradizzjonali tal-arja (fi stil ta’ bagpipes), “iż-żaqq”. Dan l-instrument jissejjaħ “żaqq” għax kif se tara jekk tmorru hemm u ttuh daqqa t’għajn jidher eżatt qisu stonku!
Wara l-purċissjoni ikun hemm ġurnata ta’ divertiment u xxalar, fejn ma jonqosx l-ikel u x-xorb, ż-żfin folkloristiku u divertiment ieħor. Kif semmejna f’artiklu ieħor dwar l-ikel ta’ Malta, l-ikel nazzjonali ta’ Malta mhux ħut imma fenek, u dakinhar jittiekel fi kwantitajiet kbar. Bił-lejl Il-Buskett jiġi mdawwal. Tabilħaqq dan huwa minn fejn ġej l-isem “l-imnarja”, li hu msejjes fuq il-kelma Latina "luminaria".
Hekk kif il-ġurnata tgħaddi, iċ-ċelebrazzjonijiet jimxu mir-raħal għall-pjazza ewlenija tar-Rabat (l-aktar lokalità qrib Il-Buskett), fejn il-festi jispiċċaw b’logħob tan-nar.
L-Imnarja huwa żmien biex il-poplu ta’ Malta jingħaqad, biex jiċċelebra l-kultura u t-tradizzjonijiet tiegħu anke jfakkar l-importanza tal-agrikoltura li ilhom parti mill-identità Maltija għal sekli sħaħ u li issa qed jintilfu malajr għall-modernità.
Kurt, OLS Community Manager – Maltese