Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1500237
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 MAY 2023 9 INTERVIEW voice' yway – because they're the ones to whom it still has validity, and meaning – then is there any oth- er way, in which the rest of the nation can participate, in what is after all a 'national' tradition? As to how this stigma came about, however: I can only give you my own thoughts on that. What I think happened, is that Għana used to be a much bigger part of Malta's social reality in the past, than it is today. And the lan- guage of Għana – i.e., the ability to 'get things off your chest', by expressing them in the tradidion- al 'octo-syllabic' rhyming verse- scheme – was also much more widely understood, by the popu- lation at large. But at a certain point – roughly around the 1980s – people start- ed 'moving away from the land'. Not just in Malta, obviously: but all over the Mediterranean – and the rest of the world – there was a general movement away from rural, agrarian communites; and towards a more urbanised way of life. And folk-traditions such as Għana are themselves deeply rooted in the agrarian lifestyle: they are the product of small, tightly-knit societies, which have traditionally always lived in close connection with nature, and the earth: whether they were farmers; or fishermen; or seamen, etc. And up to a point, it's still true today. Not, perhaps, beause to- day's għannejja are all people who 'physically work the land'... but because – even if their own com- munities have also urbanised, since the 1980s - part of that life- style still actually exists, in those localities. Animals, for instance, are still big part of their daily life: many of them have horses, or raise livestock... But because the rest of us have moved so far away from those traditions, and that way of liv- ing... along with that lifestyle, we have also lost this 'voice': this very particular, very regional voice: this voice that was, until recently, ours... but no longer is. In the meantime, we've been adopting other voices to take its place. Like the 'Eurovision voice', for instance: which is a 'preten- tious' voice, because we are mere- ly pretending to be something else. It is a generic, unauthentic voice, that we put on for the pur- pose of 'legitimising' ourselves, in the eyes of other cultures... And this has been happening for a very long time. There has always, up to a point, been a cer- tain level of 'cutural colonisation' going on; whereby people feel the need to 'justify' themselves, by aligning to imported cultures.... I see what you're driving at: the flipside is that, while 'imported cultures' grow more fashion- able, local traditions come to be viewed with (what you earlier derscribed as) 'disdain'... Up to a point, yes. And at a certain level, it's happening even within the Għana community it- self. Today's għannejja are – let's face it – not getting any younger... but while there are a lot of young people getting involved (some of whom will be preforming at the festival)... in many cases, chil- dren are choosing not to follow in their father's footsteps. Clearly, for them, too, it is no longer con- sidered 'trendy', or 'cool', to be an ghannej... On the subject of being an 'ghan- nej': I notice that you attach a lot of importance to this 'voice', that they have retained (while the rest of us have lost). In other in- terviews, you drew comparisons with the medieval French 'trou- badour' tradition, for instance. Can you expand on that? What IS an 'ghannej', anyway? An 'ghannej' is... well, the same thing as a 'troubadour', actual- ly. There are troubadour tradi- tions all over the world... and all throughout history, too: not just in medieval France, but also in Classical times. The 'Homer- ic bard', for instance, was also a troubadour; just as today's Mal- tese ghannej also serves the same function, within society, as the Homeric Bard. He is the 'keeper of memory'; 'the 'bringer of news'; the 'enter- tainer'; the 'person who creates beautiful works, though his po- etry'... and who 'creates the mo- ment.' Because even though the 'ghannej' has 'one foot in the past' – in the sense that he keeps alive the 'ballads of old', by singing them – he is also a timeless bard... because he can always 'rhyme about the moment'. It's exactly the same with Fla- menco, too; and with many, many other regional traditions... By inviting comparisons with Flamenco, however, you are also forcing us to acknowledge the differences, too. And let's face it: Flamenco is a lot more varied – both musically, as well as in terms of 'spectacle' - than Maltese Għa- na. Now: I won't ask you why these two folk-music traditions (which clearly have influences in common) evolved so very differ- ently, over time. What I will ask, however, is: do you think that Għana should likewise 'evolve' beyond the confines of its com- munity-based trappings? Well, when I make comparisons between Għana and Flamen- co, it's not so much because the traditions themselves 'resemble each other', in any immediate sense. It's more because Flamen- co, in partuicular , is a very good example of a local cultural tra- dition that still exists – and still has validity – partly because the traditional context for it, also still exists (as is the case with Maltese Għana); but partly also because – at one point or other - it was 'taken out' of that context, and developed upon artistically. So I think that, when it comes to Għana – which is still very much 'alive'; but only within a very spe- cific (and to some extent, margin- alised) social context – something similar could happen, yes. If it is taught, and shared, Għana could remain the local, regional cultural tradition it has always been... but it could also exist beyond that; and have a musical, artistic devel- opment, on the level of virtuosity. But of course, any such develop- ment would also have to be rooted in the authenticity of the tradition. All the same, however: yes, I be- lieve it CAN go that way... espe- cially now, at this point in time. Is this what the programme meant by 'traditional Maltese folk music interwoven into con- temporary sound'? Does Ritmu intend to help 'push' Maltese folk-music, towards a more 'in- ternational' audience? It's not what the festival is ALL about, no. Like I said at the be- ginning, the primary intention is to support the local pracitioners of Għana: because local tradi- tions do need support, if they are to continue surviving in future. On top of that, another main objective is simply to 'transmit information'... to educate people about what Għana really is; and hopefully, to inspire more people to somehow get involved: either as practitioners themselves, or as part of the audience; or just as people who have a connection – an affinity, of some kind – with their own national folklore.... And there are other aspects to the festival, too. I should men- tion that it is dedicated to the late ghannej, Mikiel Abela 'Il-Bambi- nu': who is remembered as hu- morous storyteller (makkjettist); and and also for his 'spirtu pront', and ballads. But otherwise, yes: part of the idea is also that, possibly, Maltese Għana could also start existing on an artistic level, that goes beyond the confines of the local culture it currently thrives in. To give one example: on Saturday (10 June), there will be a performance by 'La Mal Coiffee', a French trou- badour ensemble from Occitane; who sing in that region's lan- guage, 'Languedoc'. They are, in fact, a very good example of a singing tradition – previously restricted only to a very remote, localised culture - that was 'revived'; and today, there are multitiudes of contem- porary groups, making new vocal arrangements based on 'poly- phonic chants, with traditional instuments'. And some of them are now touring the world.... What it also means, however, is that - at some point in time – somebody must have come along, and 'raised the bar'. So it can be done, at the end of the day.... but for something like that to happen, in the local context, there would have be a change in perspective, regarding folk tradi- tions such as Maltese Għana. We would have to move beyond this idea, that these things exist mere- ly to be 'preserved'; and maybe 'looked at from a distance', every once in a while. We would, in nutshell, have to be more than just 'passive observ- ers'. We would have to somehow engage with it more; and make it more of a part of our daily lives. And this is true for the għan- nejja themselves; and the people who still appreciate Għana. It's all very well to 'preserve the tra- dition' – and long may they keep meeting, reguarly, to keep it alive – but unless their knowledge is shared, and passed on to subse- quent generations: it, too, will one day fade out of memory... like so many other things. But it all has to start, I would say, by fostering a better under- standing – and hopefully, appre- ciation – of what Għana really is. And that, ultimately, is what the Roots festival is all about. Ritmu: Roots Festival Malta will be held at Argotti Gardens, and elsewhere, from June 2-10 (https://www.festivals.mt/ritmu)