The absence of ecclesiastical authorities at a seminar on feasts yesterday was criticised from the floor as a way to distance the Church from them.
The organisers, the Soċjetà Mużikali Madonna tal-Ġilju of Mqabba, said official invitations were sent out and attendees felt the Church was sending a message through its absence.
The point was also highlighted by Fr Adrian Cachia, who insisted “feasts not only started and ended in the Church, but were also created by it”.
Fr Cachia, the spiritual director of eight band clubs, said he was not criticising the Curia but just opening its eyes when he passionately warned against the distancing of the Church from feasts. “The people will not be converted from the pulpit alone but from the streets,” he said.
The seminar, Feasts: Culture and Identity, held at the Madonna tal-Ġilju band club to mark the band club’s centenary, brought together academics and enthusiasts, elevating fireworks to new heights.
Leading anthropologists, sociologists and politicians made a case for village feasts, considering them from the fireworks, theatrical and religious perspectives.
According to research by social anthropologist Mark Anthony Falzon and Christine Cassar, an anthropology student at Cambridge University, there is “no feast without fireworks”.
The ties between the two were indisputable, they said. Fireworks are an intrinsic element of the soundscape of feasts, a sound that can be “felt” and is practically physical. They also provide a structure and sequence, without which the feasts would lose their rhythm and die, and they widen their geographical reach in an impressive way.
English-language newspapers, particularly The Times and The Sunday Times, came under fire for being prejudiced against fireworks, circulating the most criticism.
The point was stressed by Prof. Jeremy Boissevain, who has been studying Maltese feasts for 50 years. He said the constant criticism received hardly any reactions, primarily because the people from the south were not aware of what was written in the English-language newspapers.
Few wrote back in favour because the level of English of those who were involved in fireworks was low, most of them having attended government schools, where they were taught in Maltese.
Prof. Boissevain said fireworks split the country between those who loved and those who hated them. There was a “certain class distinction, with a tendency for the working class to be involved and others to look down on them”.
He was pleased to note from the seminar that the spirit of the feasts remained alive and strong today. In 1960, there were 50 band clubs, which increased to 83 in 2010; while today, 27 localities had two or more as opposed to 19 about 50 years ago. Feasts have also grown from three days to a week.
The seminar was addressed by Maltese Ambassador to Tunisia Vicki Ann Cremona and Franco Debono, parliamentary assistant in the Office of the Prime Minister, who praised the initiative and suggested collating the papers presented into one publication.
Labour MP Marlene Pullicino, speaking from the floor as “Marlene miż-Żurrieq”, was passionate about the personal and emotional aspect of the village feast, going back to her childhood when her father was a member of the band and her village club offered her the opportunity to have music lessons, which her parents could not afford.
The importance of band clubs – “centres of culture” – was also highlighted during the seminar, and parents were urged to send their children to learn the arts, crafts and other skills they taught.