The language of church bells (1)

Alexander Cortis wrote to The Times (Zabbar Church Bells, June 30) saying that he considers himself fortunate that he found a property in the old Zabbar village core, presumably close to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Graces. Unfortunately he is getting annoyed with the ringing of the bells of the sanctuary and expects them not to be rung anymore or have their ringing drastically curtailed.

I can understand his frustration because he refers to their pealing as "long, loud and seemingly pointless". They speak a language that he does not understand.

The sanctuary has two categories of bells, one pertaining to the clock mechanism and the other is a set of five bells which are rung manually.

The clock mechanism which has been running since 1931 involves six relatively small bells of different weights and ring briefly every 15 minutes, a maximum 10 strokes. An added feature of this Maltese clock made by Salvu Demanuele is that every four hours the Ave Maria is chimed. On the seven feast days dedicated to Our Lady the Ave Maria is chimed every hour. The clockwork and its bells operate mechanically and do not have electric timers or winders.

The other bells, two cast by the Triganzas in 1778 and 1811 and the other three by Gulju Cauchi cast in 1891 and 1892 are all rung manually either from the steeple or from the ground. Every peal conveys a message. They announce deaths, funerals, church functions, sunrise and sunset, notify masses and commemorate religious events.

I can assure Mr Cortis that once he gets used to the bells and what is more important learns the meaning of each distinctive peal, he will himself miss them if they don't ring, just as we parishioners do.

Incidentally, everybody involved in keeping the clock mechanism in good running order and those who do the ringing are all volunteers, including the sacristan, therefore no money is being wasted as Mr Cortis assumed.

Finally, I suggest that Mr Cortis obtains more first hand information about the technicalities of bell ringing from the volunteers themselves. Also if the parish priest approves he might have a close look at the bells and the clock mechanism. If he is interested, he can contact me and I would be more than happy to facilitate his visit. I assure him that the experience will help him integrate further with the people of Zabbar and their traditions.