Joseph Camilleri: Ġabra ta’ Leggendi, Wise Owl Publications, 2010, 64pp. €6.99

The word ‘legend’ is one of those words which unfortunately has for many in today’s fame-obsessed age lost its original exotic meaning.

As a child, on hearing this word, I would immediately get a dreamy look in my eyes as castles, ogres, dwarves and other mythical creatures sprang to mind.

I know my mind was colonised with these images from British lore but these were the only legends I could find to read at the time.

Fortunately, I grew up in a story-telling community which in the summer evenings used to meet outside our homes among the adults’ chairs and the children’s adventurous play acting.

There was one particular woman who had such a natural gift for narrating stories that silence would fall since all listeners felt pity for the Mosta bride, was petrified in the darkness of Hassan’s cave, and together went on other exciting exploits.

These stories raised a strange sense of nostalgia for things we had not really experienced but which seemed thrilling enough to make us want them to be true.

It was with the same yearning that I picked up Joseph Camilleri’s Ġabra ta’ Leġġendi, which promised to take me back not only to these tales’ past but also to my innocent childhood days.

Legends are obviously stories which, according to folklore expert Guze Cassar Pullicino, spring from people’s fantasy. It is not important whether these legends have in reality happened or not. What is important is these narratives are connected with a situation or character which is real. In fact, this is what distinguishes legends from fables.

Although fables too are entirely made up, they are not connected with reality, although they reflect it. Such anecdotes call for a suspension of belief and what is interesting about them is the creative imagination involved in spinning a stirring tale.

Many legends have in fact come down through generations by word of mouth as they were retold by adults to the young ones. Such ‘loose’ repetition has indeed led to variations on the original stories but this too is of interest as it divulges how people’s outlook on life changes through the ages.

In fact, such legends present a good anthropological study of any society as at their core they have the main people’s beliefs and fears. Camilleri’s book is divided into various parts which present a cross-section of the Maltese psyche.

Some of the stories deal with the roots of the Maltese population which give very imaginative possibilities of how the first people came to these islands.

According to Camilleri, there are stories stemming from Tripoli, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco that have left great influence on the Maltese legends, which might indicate that our origins can be traced back to any of these countries.

Moreover, the importance of religion for these islands is evident in the many sections dedicated to stories which tend to revolve either around statues representing Christ, Our Lady and other saints.

Obviously, there could not but be a whole batch of anecdotes dedicated to St Paul and the fact that he brought the Roman Catholic religion to our shores.

Another section deals with stories connected to the historical figure of Count Roger and his famous flag which many believe inspired the Maltese flag.

It is understandable that since Malta is an island, many of these tales also deal with the sea. It is interesting that some stories tend to change even from village to village and that some tend to be localised to particular villages rather than connected with general Maltese history. What is important is that from each legend a moral message is derived.

It is crucial that such books are published as they collect stories which would otherwise be lost to future generations.

Young children will enjoy listening and eventually reading these stories which present to them an overview of their ancestors and how they viewed life.

Unfortunately, in our fast paced cynical times the tendency to overlook such stories as a waste of time would be a pity as we lose touch with where we came from and that which has made us who we are as Maltese.