MALTESE FOLKLORE AND TRADITIONS
Burial Traditions
The small Mediterranean island of Malta is home to one of the great wonders of the
archaeological world, the prehistoric burial chambers of the Hal-Saflieni Hypogeum. Today,
the Hypogeum presents us with some of the most challenging perspectives on the beliefs and
rituals of an ancient Mediterranean culture. While primarily a burial chamber, it reveals
evidence that the Stone Age Maltese developed a complex culture and set of beliefs. The
Hypogeum (underground chamber) was the final resting place for some 7000 people over the
course of a millennium (3600 and 2500 BC). It was hewn out of 'the living rock' at the same
time as the Neolithic community was erecting a wave of megalithic 'temples' across the
islands. The Hypogeum was intended as a temple for the dead as near perfect as the ones for
the living. There is evidence to suggest that rituals took place inside the burial place. Similar
artefacts and art forms were found in the Hypogeum as well as at temple sites.
The spiral shapes painted in ochre on the Hypogeum's walls and carved in stone relief at
several of the temple sites indicate that the Neolithic islanders used symbolism to represent
ideas .Spiral Design – a continuous design, an ever ending life, life after death
The Maltese Islands are rich in late Roman and Byzantine burial sites and St Paul’s
Catacombs are a typical complex of interconnected, underground Roman cemeteries. The
Catacombs of St. Paul are not themselves associated with Paul but derive their name from
their proximity to St. Paul's Church and Grotto. They are a fascinating labyrinth of 3rdcentury AD subterranean tombs and the earliest archaeological evidence of Christianity in
Malta. St. Paul's Catacombs incorporates tombs for more than 1,000 bodies in 2,200 square
meters. Not all the site is accessible, but enough is open to the public to provide a fascinating
look at several different types of tombs. At the bottom of steep steps, seven meters into the
catacombs, are two striking rooms divided by a central pillar.
The main crypt has a high ceiling and at either end a raised area with circular tables and a
semicircular bench - the Agape Tables, a feature unique to Malta. Both table and bench are
cut out of the rock in one piece, forming a single architectural unit within an apsed recess.
These were used for commemorative meals during the annual festival of the dead, an ancient
Roman custom. Down a couple more steps, the crypt to the left may have been a chapel — it
has a recess at the far end that may have been an altar. Here there are "Locolus tombs," small
rectangular recesses cut into a wall.
On the right are two long corridors about 25 meters long , leading to the ‘Arcosolium Tombs‘
groups of tombs in which the body was interred underneath a beautiful arched roof via an
opening in the lower wall. To the left is another small group of canopied tombs and a long
twisty passage leading to a lower level leading to an elaborate cemetery cut in stone .
In olden times immediately after the death of a person, the family cut the corpse’s hair and
closed the openings of the dead body to prevent the soul from returning to the body. Then the
corpse was placed in a room where all the furniture and photos would have been removed
while mirrors and reflecting glass were covered. They believed that if the soul of the dead is
reflected in the mirror it could carry off with it any of the mourners. In the same room a
Crucifix was placed on a small chest covered with a white cloth between two candles.
Afterwards the family hired female mourners to pray over the dead body for the night. These
female mourners, commonly known as ‘newwieħa’ or ‘bikkejja’ wore straggling veils and
‘kurkar’. When they entered the house of the dead person, they chopped bower vines in the
yard, threw flower pots from balconies or windows into the street and broke valuable pottery
or pieces of china they found in the house. They mixed the remains with the ashes from the
grate, boiled them together and washed the doors and windows with it while singing couplets
that end in lamentations. They also turned the cooking pot face down to show that no cooking
should take place for the coming three days. Afterwards they entered the room of where the
body was placed, knelt down and started mourning. The candles are then replaced by oil
lamps which had to be kept lit for forty days. After the burial, the family of the dead was left
in isolation. The family had to close down the house, abstain from work and public
gatherings. Men didn’t shave for a fortnight or even a month after a death and went out on the
seventh day with faces unshaven. Women didn’t go out for forty days except to hear mass.
The front door of the house was kept closed for three days and other forty days half open and
in some places a black cloth was placed on the door. Even the family neighbours kept their
doors half open. After the death of a family member, for three days cooking was not allowed
and the food to be eaten was provided from relatives, friends or neighbours. One food item
that was consumed as part of the funerary ritual was bigilla. It was customary for the wife of
a dead man, to wear black clothes, while men on the other hand wore a symbolic black
armband as a sign of morning.
In the 18th century, horse drawn carriages were used to carry the body to the town cemetery
by family members, followed mourners who were engaged by the family and friends.
Coloured carriages represented their status: blue – man , pink – woman, white – child , cream
– single . Close family members wore black for several months and did not accept any
invitations or go out to feast for a year during this time called ‘ viztu ‘.
Today this event has taken a completely different shape although all these traditions are still
in practice but on a shorter term. Black Mercedes cars are normally hired by the family for its
close members. A parish priest followed by family members leave the hospital mortuary to
go for mass in their village. Flowers are taken to the church, where a beautiful mass presente
cadavere is celebrated attended by several friends and neighbours. A bookmark is given as a
memory card to all those present, thanking them for their support. After mass a short walk to
the village cemetery for burial to take place.
November is the month dedicated to the dead, so all cemeteries are open daily, and a mass is
celebrated in the afternoons. People visit their loved ones putting flowers and candles on the
tombs.
Being a catholic community, Burial ceremonies will always remain very important
commemorative events in the human life .