Malta and Gozo possess a rich legacy
of folklore. They stand half-way on
the land ridge that once joined Sicily to
Africa, and their geographical position has
influenced their history and traditions.
Besides reflecting the usages and ways of
thought of the present, Maltese folklore
preserves the soul of the past, embodying
the mode of life and the beliefs and
practices of preceding centuries. This
national heritage of lore and tradition is
the product of simple, psychological
reactions to the historical environments
and to the various culture contacts which
our people have experienced in the past. At
different times and by various routes,
many people have come to these islands
and dominated them for varying periods.
Each ruling group - Punic, Roman, Arab,
Norman, Swabian, Angevin, Aragonese,
Castilian, the Knights of St John of
Jerusalem and, lastly, the English -
brought its own lore, language and way of
life in its wake. Most of these left their
imprint on local tradition and, in their
turn, underwent changes in the process of
adaptation to the conditions of the country
and subsequent adjustment to the
traditional pattern of Maltese life and
thought. The result has been an extremely
variegated form of folk-culture constituting
a distinctive element of Malta's national
identity.peer-reviewe
