The festa has been recognised by UNESCO as part of Malta’s intangible cultural heritage which needs urgent safeguarding – granting stronger protection to its traditional elements. It joins the Għana (Maltese folk song) and the ftira (a typical loaf of bread) that were listed in 2021 and 2020 respectively. UNESCO recognised the value of all the elements of the festa: the liturgical and the traditional outdoor celebrations. Every year a UNESCO committee meets to evaluate nominations made by various countries and decides whether or not to inscribe cultural practices and expressions of intangible heritage on the list. This year the festa was accepted during a meeting in Botswana. The 2023 list included traditional Syrian glassblowing, the Alpine pasture season in Switzerland and the Bolero as an indispensable part of the Latin American sentimental song. The festa is a community event of religious origin held annually in village parishes across Malta and Gozo. The main festa season in Malta starts towards the end of April and runs until the beginning of October, with multiple events taking place in different villages. Community volunteers prepare the festa throughout the year and the event itself typically lasts a week. On the final day, a statue is carried in a procession led by the clergy and accompanied by members of the parish and marching bands. Festa weeks entail concerts, band marches, firework displays and bell ringing.
Typical festa food, such as nougat, is sold from street stalls. Youth
learn the stories and songs of the village and its sacred figures and how to
participate in the festa by attending community events. Some parishes organise a
children’s festa in conjunction with the church, and children carry a
smaller statue through the town. Despite its increased secularisation, the festa remains an important part of cultural heritage in Maltese
villages, uniting families, outsiders and local communities in a celebration of
popular religiosity and local identities.
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