The earliest known piece of literature in Maltese, Pietro Caxaro’s 15th century poem Il-Kantilena, has been nominated for inclusion in Unesco’s world heritage list, securing its conservation and accessibility.
Formally submitted yesterday by the government and the Office of the Permanent Delegation of Malta to Unesco, this is Malta’s first nomination for a literary work to be included in Unesco’s Memory of the World Register.
The register is an international initiative launched to safeguard the documentary heritage of humanity against collective amnesia, neglect, the ravages of time and climatic conditions as well as wilful and deliberate destruction.
It includes about 300 documents and approved collections from about 100 countries.
The initiative will also see elements of the Maltese language recognised as Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Mgr Joe Vella Gauci, Malta’s Ambassador to Unesco, said the nomination had no precedent in Maltese history.
This year, he said, was peppered with anniversaries of historic events but he had yet to witness a celebration that brought together all the organisations that worked towards promoting the Maltese tongue.
The nomination document was prepared with the help of the Akkademja tal-Malti and supported by the Department of Maltese at the University of Malta and various other organisations.
Culture Parliamentary Secretary José Herrera flagged 2014 as a particular year of interest.
The 250th anniversary from the birth of Maltese linguist and philosopher Mikiel Anton Vassalli was marked earlier this month.
Dr Herrera said the government was working hard towards preserving and elevating the Maltese language.
He described the Notarial Archives in Valletta, where Il -Kantilena was housed, as a veritable gem that was in dire need of refurbishment as water seeped through in winter.
Dr Herrera was pushing the government to allocate a portion of the United Nation’s Emergency Response Funds towards the refurbishment of the premises.
A lecture on Il-Kantilena by the head of the Department of Maltese, Bernard Micallef, will be held on Friday at 6pm at Europe House.
All about Il-Kantilena
Xideu il-Qada, or Il-Kantilena, was written in medieval Maltese by notary Pietro Caxaro, who died in 1485.
It was recorded by Caxaro’s nephew, Brandano, in his notarial register (December 1533 – May 1536) and was discovered in 1966 by Godfrey Wettinger and Fr Mikiel Fsadni, who spent two years studying it before revealing their find to the public.
Though written in Latin script, the poem throws unique light on the still predominantly Arabic nature of the Maltese vocabulary in its poetic form.
It seems to refer to the biblical parable of the foolish man who built his house on sand, only for it to crumble.
The poem, however, appears to respond to the parable, repeatedly stating that it was not the builder’s fault and that, after a fall, one should rise, dust himself off and start over again.