Malta as a place for folklore research

Abstract

The publication of a Review devoted to Maltese Folklore fills a long-felt need. For many years articles and studies on local customs and traditions appeared scattered in various local journals, mainly literary, linguistic, scientific or historical, hut publication depended largely on the hospitality provided by friendly editors interested in Maltese studies generally. The advantages of having an ad hoe folklore publication are so obvious that they need not be enumerated. The present review will, it is hoped, appeal to all those who have some useful contribution to make to the knowledge of local lore and tradition. Over the years it will also reflect the main trends and development of folklore research in Malta. Some of the best studies on Maltese folklore were carried out by foreign scholars before and after the turn of the century. They appeared in German and Italian or other periodicals that are now either unobtainable or else not available in local libraries. A few of the more important contributions, such as L. Bonelli's Saggi del folklore dell' Isola di Malta, a series of letters, addressed to the great Sicilian folklorist Giuseppe Pitre, published in Archivio per lo Studio delle tradizioni Popolari in 1895, and some hook reviews appearing in ZDMG, will be reproduced in the Maltese Folklore Review, which will thus serve as an archive repository for all that is worth preserving for future students of Maltese folklore.