MALTESE CULTURE

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Just like Maltese DNA, Maltese culture is a mix of influences brought to the island by various occupiers of Malta over the centuries, for in addition to charting Malta’s history, the Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, Knights and British all left their stamp on the customs and traditions of the Maltese. These age-old traditions that survived through generations have allowed the Maltese to retain their roots, helping to shape and conserve Maltese culture.

POPULATION
With an area of just 316sq km, the Maltese Archipelago is one of the smallest in the world, however since 2011, Malta’s population has grown by almost 25%, ballooning to over 563,000 by July 2024. Only Malta and Gozo are inhabited, while 2 residents remain on Comino. Already the densest population in Europe, this increase takes the Maltese population to 1,649 persons per km sq, over 15 times higher than the EU average of 109 persons per square kilometre.

This growth was driven by the increase of foreign nationals in Malta, now amounting to over 25% of Maltese residents, a five-fold increase over 2011 when the figure stood at just under 5%. This population explosion was driven by demands from growing employment sectors, mainly IT, construction and catering services and for that reason, men outnumber women in Malta for the first time in recorded history, now making up 52% of the population. Over half of these migrants were non-EU citizens (including British citizens), whilst just under a third were citizens of countries outside Europe [1].

This has made Malta much more multi-cultural, with shops and restaurants catering for every taste, even in smaller towns, however since it was not matched by a proportionate increase in infrastructure, it has created tensions too.

POLITICS
Malta’s politics are highly polarised, its national Parliament in Valletta made up of 79 democratically elected Members of Parliament in a duopoly dominated by two large political parties. The rivalry between the two main parties, the Nationalist Party (conservative) and the Labour Party (pro-business socialist) is keenly-felt and kept alive by an ages-old unofficial system of patronage. As a result, smaller political movements have never been able to obtain a seat in parliament. It is only recently that younger voters have started to buck the tradition of voting along family patterns. After centuries of hierarchical rule, the Maltese favour centralised government and generally revere their political patrons.

53 local councils and 14 in Gozo regulate municipal matters. Seen as a training-ground for future politicians, local councillors are also divided among the two main parties, with some independents.

RELIGION
Malta’s population is almost 90% Caucasian and 83% Roman Catholic, with 93.5% of the population believing in a god, whilst only 3% did not. Other religions such as Islam registered 3.9% and Orthodox at 3.6%. Catholicism was brought to Malta by St. Paul, a Christian missionary, when he was shipwrecked in what became known as St Paul’s Bay. Spending three months in Rabat, he converted the pagan population of Malta. The Catholic Church still has a reasonable amount of authority compared to other European states. Mass attendance is also relatively high, however as in Europe, the younger generations is becoming less interested in practising religion.

With the Catholic Church playing a prominent role in Maltese society, influencing values and politics right up to the 20th Century, Malta has never had a strict separation between state and Church, as in France or Italy. Malta’s government introduced divorce in 2011, same-sex marriage in 2017, and embryo freezing in 2018 and while the Maltese remains the only EU country to prohibit abortion, the legalization of euthanasia is being considered.

Maltese religious life is heavily coloured by the fact of being Catholic by culture, rather than by spirituality. As such much of the liturgical year rotates around the Maltese festa or feast, a noisy, week-long celebration of each parish patron saint characterised by religious processions, marching bands and fireworks. This religious celebration forms an important part of culture in Malta and around 80 such events are held in spring and summer in Malta and Gozo, while Christmas and Easter are also very important to the Maltese.

CIVIL SOCIETY
Maltese civil society is in its infancy, as for centuries, the Church filled most roles, setting up orphanages, homes for the elderly and disabled, hospices and substance abuse centres. More recent groups campaigning for environment causes that challenge an economy based on construction, were tolerated at best and persecuted at worst. In a country that lacks raw materials, construction is regarded as the politicians’ and residents’ path to riches, in spite of the social, health and environmental cost.

SOCIAL DYNAMICS
Maltese society is family-centric and matriarchal, leaning towards the mother’s family. Children are not only the centre of the family, but also welcomed in restaurants and public places. Unfortunately, this ages-old prioritising of family interests has its downside as family prosperity can lead to justifying corrupt practices. As materialism replaces the spirituality of the past, many aspire to prestigious homes, cars and boats, not always within their reach.

Malta does not have a caste system, and its aristocratic privileges were abolished by Napoleon, however there is a marked north-south divide. Before WWII, Malta’s professional classes mainly lived in Valletta and the Three Cities, however most fled the intense bombing and never moved back, to be replaced by families made homeless by the war and social cases. The northern coastal towns of Sliema to Madliena, along with the villages of Lija, Attard, Balzan, Naxxar, Zebbug and Siggiewi became more fashionable among the upper classes.

Women are finally achieving their place in society, accounting for 55.1% of post-secondary and University attendees. The gap between male and female workplace participation rates has decreased steadily over time, falling from 42.4 percentage points in 2000, to 16.9 percentage points in 2021 thanks to many measures to support mothers in the workplace, however the gap remains above that of EU rates.

While the Maltese people are generally friendly and welcoming, there is a strong element of rivalry between neighbours, in sports, politics and local band clubs, that dominate village cultural life, which give a sense of belonging and identity but also lead to hot and noisy rivalries.

THEATRE
For its size, Malta boasts an incredibly vibrant cultural life; its prewar reputation for opera lives on in Gozo, while the Manoel Theatre, the third oldest functioning theatre in the world, hosts the world-renowned Baroque Festival. Classical and rock concerts, ballet and musicals are performed regularly, while drama in English and Maltese is staged at prestigious theatres and village halls too.

BAND CLUBS
Maltese band clubs are the male-dominated social hub of every village, similar to UK pubs. They organise annual band marches that form an important part of the village’s secular festa celebrations often accused of noisy, boozy excesses. Whereas the smaller villages have only one band club, larger towns often have competing band clubs, who often divide the local community into two camps. Conflict is rare though, usually friendly rivalry that comes forward during the summer festive season.

SPORT
The most popular sport in Malta is football, though volleyball, basketball, tennis and horseracing all have a strong following. The local football league is followed by many, but football fans have always followed foreign clubs closely. English and Italian clubs have most following, one supported for its historical connection with Malta, the other because of its close geographical/cultural ties, boosted by Italian TV channels.

During World Cup or European Cup football/soccer tournaments, the country turns football-crazy, hanging teams’ flags from balconies all over the island. It’s as if during that one month every two years, the Maltese adopt a second nationality, a rare occurrence worldwide.

IMPACT OF FOREIGN INFLUENCES ON MALTESE CULTURE

Ancient Phoenicians
Around 700 BC Malta was inhabited by the ancient Phoenicians, who valued Malta’s deep and protected harbours. Within around two hundred years (500 BC) Malta had become a Punic colony and it used to be said that Maltese’s semitic roots date back to the Phoenician period.
It is thought that the ‘eye of Osiris’ painted on every Maltese fishing luzzu for ‘protection against the evil eye’ as well as the effigy of the god ‘Bez’ seen above the door of many old houses as well as the Magisterial Palace, Valletta, could originate from Phoenician beliefs.

Roman influences
Malta was an outpost of the Roman Empire between 218 BC and 395 CE. During the later part of this period, Malta controlled its domestic affairs and was allowed its own currency. The famous shipwreck of St. Paul took place during this period, founding the Christian faith in Malta, laying the foundations for religion as part of Maltese culture.
During this period Malta flourished not only culturally, but also economically with exports of olive oil, honey and wine to the Roman Empire.
When the Roman Empire fell in 395 AD, Malta fell under the eastern portion of the old Roman Empire, ruled from Constantinople as reflected in the Medieval chapels that survive from that period, dedicated to Eastern Rite saints like St Cyril, St Catherine, St Basil and St George.

Arab invasion
The Arab invasion of 870 AD left a strong mark on the Maltese people and their culture that survives to this day. Primarily there were profound ethnic changes as it is said that Maltese were killed during and after the invasion, and that others were carried off into slavery or fled to Sicily, to later be replaced by other inhabitants possibly drawn from the Arab world.

Still, there were widespread benefits for Malta, thanks to the introduction of new crops, including cotton and citrus fruits, and important new agricultural systems such as terracing, channel irrigation and the waterwheel, still in use today. Many delicacies of today’s Maltese cooking owe their origins to Arabic imports – figs, almond, sweet pastries and spices.
Eminent linguist Prof Joseph Aquilina maintains: “The Arabs are linguistically the most important people [for Malta] …for there is no doubt that … Maltese is structurally an Arabic dialect.” The effects of the Arab invasion are still visible in the names of many Maltese towns and villages, such as Mdina, Rabat, Mellieħa, Żebbuġ, Żebbieħ and many more, as well as all the village names beginning with ‘Ħal-‘ short for ‘raħal’ (village) as well as Baħar (sea) bir (well); ġebel (mountain); għar (cave); marsa (harbour); wied (valley) and a great many more, as well as Maltese family names like Mifsud, Borg, Abdilla, Farrugia etc.
As in the Arab lands, poetry flourished in Malta while to this day għana (Arabic ghina’-song), the traditional spontaneous songs of the countryside, are still very popular.

The Knights of St. John
During the rule of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, the population of Malta increased significantly, from around 25,000 in 1535 to over 54,000 in 1632 thanks to advances in health, education and welfare. Also because the Knights attracted foreign craftsmen and artists who passed their skills onto the Maltese who prospered greatly under the Knights. This period is often referred to as Malta’s Golden Age thanks to the architectural and artistic embellishments of the Knights’ rule.

The Knights introduced Renaissance and Baroque architecture in Maltese towns and villages, which is still evident in many places of interest, notably the capital city Valletta and Valletta’s Grand Harbour. In education, the Knights laid the foundation of the present-day University of Malta, which as a result is one of the oldest universities in Europe.

When Malta fell under French rule after the Knights surrendered Malta to Napoleon Bonaparte’s forces in 1798, the population of Malta had risen from 25,000 to 114,000.

Malta Under French rule
Although the period under French rule was rather short (1798-1800), the impact on Malta was major. Some French expressions were introduced into everyday Maltese language: Words such as bonġu (“good day”) and bonswa (“good evening”) are still used today. Within six days, Malta was given a constitution, slavery was abolished, and a secondary school system was established. The university system was revised almost completely and the legal system of Malta was enhanced by a new Civil Code of law.

French rule brought major improvements to Malta and its people, however Maltese churches were ransacked, robbed of gold, silver and precious art, which sparked an uprising that ended in the Maltese revolt against the French, with the execution of several French officers while in January 1799 the French discovered a plot against them and executed 45 Maltese patriots.

The British in Malta
Maltese culture, language and politics underwent radical changes under British rule from 1800 to 1964. Malta requested to join the British Empire in an attempt to expel the French. Its strategic location in the centre of the Mediterranean made Malta an excellent base for British forces, whilst the opening of the Suez Canal further boosted the importance of Malta as a supply station and naval base.
While British rule ended in 1964, its traces and influences live on in all the English words assimilated into Maltese, and thousands of intermarriages, in the industries that spun off from the Drydocks, trade schools, new University and much more.

Many tangible remnants of British rule remain, including the administrative structure, driving on the left side of the road, colonial architecture, pubs, red post boxes and phone boxes which still stand in their original locations.

LANGUAGE

Language has always been a controversial subject in Malta, because speaking the language of the current overlord gave Maltese residents distinct advantages. Already in the C17 Maltese high society families conversed and corresponded in French, dominant within the Order of St John at the time, to be replaced by Italian and eventually English before and after WWII.

The language question of the 1930s eventually saw Italian being replaced by Maltese in Court and Parliament, while public administration continued to be conducted in English. Maltese is our national language, but both Maltese and English are Malta’s official languages.

In a 2021 report,[3] 97% identified their ‘first-language as Maltese, and only 2.9% identified theirs as English. English is thus a minority language in the local context, but its speakers enjoy more opportunities due to its global importance and its essential role in Internet and AI. In schools English and Maltese are both taught as subjects and used for instructional purposes, but private and Church schools give more importance to English while State schools tended to use Maltese, however greater use of English to accommodate foreign children might spell the end of its popularity.

Both languages are required for the admittance of locals into Malta’s only public university, but since English features more prominently in textbooks and examinations, especially at secondary and university level, it is strongly associated with education, privilege and social mobility, perpetuating historical stereotypes of English speakers as ‘snobs’ (or tal-pepé in Maltese), and of Maltese speakers as being ‘uneducated’ or ‘unsophisticated’. Maltese English is a recognised variant, while most Maltese speakers code-switch regularly, flipping from Maltese to English and back without even realising!