Popular culture in Rabat

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation was to focus on Popular Culture in Rabat, namely, the village festas, philharmonic bands and the popular theatre. These mediums were a form of entertainment. Rabat was a very important village and experienced various unique developments when compared with the rest of the villages in Malta. It was one of the first villages to experience the rise of the philharmonic bands. So it is extremely interesting to see how these came to be. Rabat has a full liturgical calander of festas some of which are considered important not only by the locals but also by visitors from other localities. Examples of these we have the Mnarja and the Good Friday procession and St. Anthony the Abbott. Rabat‟s festas preserve much of their original and traditional features. This makes them all the more interesting and important. Written documentation about the popular theatre in Rabat was not easily available but as from word of mouth I had heard that the teatrini were very popular, I made it a point to seek more information about this subject. Via Oral History Interviews, manuscripts and photos, I collected information from amongst the locals related to this subject. My research included several visits to the archives of the L‟Isle Adam band club as well as the Count Roger band club. These visits were truly enlightening and my special thanks goes to Mr. Manuel Sapiano the President of Count Roger and the President of L‟Isle Adam band Mr. Massimo Azzopardi who allowed me to access these archives. I would also like to thank the staff of Santo Spirito Archives, the National Library of Malta and the University of Malta Melitensia who were very helpful during this research. Much appreciated help also came from Mons. John Azzopardi, Mr. Jeremy Debono, Ms. Rita Sammut, Count Paul Tonna and Mr. John Xuereb, Mr. Godwin Sharples, Mr. Paul Ferriggi, Mr. Pio Scerri, Mr. George Fenech, Mr. Dominic Micallef, Mr. Thomas Tonna and Mr. Anthony Casha who provided me with useful information, photos and interviews. Last but surely not least, a big thank you goes to my tutors: Professor Dominic Fenech and Dr. John Chircop, all my history teachers and lecturers: Professor Henry Frendo, Professor Victor Mallia Milanes, Mr. Charles Dalli, Professor Carmel Cassar, Dr. Frans Ciappara , and Dr William Zammit who through the years have helped me observe history in a better vision. Without them this dissertation would surely not have been possible.