Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1137604
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 30 JUNE 2019 DAVID HUDSON IMAGINE a strict hunting re- gime where being caught hunt- ing during the December-July closed season would be punish- able with five years as a galley slave. It would undoubtedly please animal liberationists today but for 250 years under the rule of the Knights of St John, that was the unfavourable reality for the most of the Maltese people. The Knights of St John issued several edicts to restrict or pro- hibit the local population from hunting wild rabbits. The moralising aristocracy that held sway over Malta for over 260 years enjoyed exclu- sive rights to hunt. In 1773 the restrictions even resulted in a revolt known as the Rising of the Priests, when the inept Grandmaster Francisco Xi- menes de Texada introduced austerity measures – including reducing spending and increas- ing the price of corn – as well as banning the hunting of hares, and was opposed by Bishop Giovanni Carmine Pellerano and the clergy. But of the days the Maltese feast their love of rabbit, it is surely the 29 June. The Maltese corruption of the Italian word 'Luminaria', or festival of light, gives the night a clear etymology: as the Mal- tese went out to hunt and make merry, the evening was illumi- nated by torches and bonfires. L-Imnarja, therefore, is also a feast of light, one that welcomes the onset of summer. But it is also a Catholic feast, one observed as a public holiday in Malta. When it was contro- versially cancelled by Labour prime minister Dom Mintoff in 1982, to remove religious feasts from the public calendar, Op- position leader Eddie Fenech Adami beckoned supporters to ignore this latter-day edict and take their families out to swim. Since the 'commoners' of the Knights' time had the one day to hunt wild rabbit, they hunted a lot of it. And with that came a festival of merry-making and song, with Mnarja being a typi- cal setting for Maltese folk mu- sic and ghana. This too still happens today with Maltese singers and gui- tarists stationing themselves at Buskett gardens, the wood- land created by the Knights themselves for their hunting grounds, and performing before substantial crowds. Originally, l-Imnarja was also celebrated outside St Paul's Grotto in Rabat. But in 1854, the British governor of the time, William Reid, also launched an agricultural show at Buskett in connection with the feast. This show still takes place today and the farmers' exhibition is still considered a seminal part of the Mnarja festivities. One tradition did die out, however. It consisted of grooms taking their newlywed brides to the feast in Rabat during their first year of marriage, usually in their wedding gowns, for luck. Meanwhile, not only did the r a b b i t - e a t - ing tradition thrive and prosper but the typical Maltese dish has become somewhat of a staple. In fact, the Maltese annually consume over three kilograms of rabbit each, according to a report that had been published by the Eu- ropean Commission's Food and Veterinary Services in 2016. This makes rabbit consump- tion in Malta higher than any- where else in Eu- rope. More than half a million r a b - bits are slaugh- t e r e d on the islands per year. What's more, 91% of these are sourced from backyard farms and these have an agreement with the European Commis- sion that allows farm owners to slaughter the rabbits them- selves if they host less than 50 female breeding rabbits. With no one to hold the Mal- tese in check, it's no surprise that the word most associated with L-Imnarja is not Lumi- nary, and it's likely not St Paul or St Peter either. It's 'fenkata'. NEWS COURT NOTICE The Registrar of Civil Courts and Tribunals informs that the Civil Court, First Hall ordered the following sales by auction: Date Time Judicial Sale No Place Items 17 th July, 2019 10.00am 9/19 – EM E. Grech Cristal Bath Limited (C13298) vs Galea George (ID41573M) 17, TRIQ ID- DEJQA, IL- BELT VALLETTA 3 sofas (2-seater), sofa (3 seater), Television cabinet black in colour, 2 Samsung TFT, table, 2 side tables, lamp black in colour, 3 cabinets black in colour, 2 frames, desk, computer of the make Apple and other various items. 07 th August, 2019 9.30am 11/19 – JGL J. Zammit Ltd (C37945) vs Tufan Capa (ID77174A) ST JAMES COURT, GARAGE NUMBER 3, TRIQ IS- SIENJA, H'ATTARD Vehicle of the type BMW 318i with the registration number FBW819 Further details can be obtained from the website: https://ecourts.gov.mt/onlineservices/JudicialSales The bidders taking part in the auction must present their identity card Gaetana Aquilina For the Registrar Civil Courts and Tribunals L-Imnarja has become a symbol of deliverance from what the Maltese endured under its different rulers, culminating into a Maltese hyperbole Overcooking the forbidden meal Any given Mnarja... man and beast get close at this agrarian festival Below: lunch