Gozo homecrafts

Abstract

Marija holds the history of the island of Gozo in her hands in the continuity of a craft tradition that has passed from generation to generation in an unbroken line from the time of the builders of the world famous Ggantija Temples to the present day - a thrilling human link over five thousand years old. Marija is one of the last weavers of Gozo. In this last edition of The Malta Year Book for the twentieth century and for the second millennium, it is apt to describe the crafts of Gozo past, crafts that are slowly becoming fossilised just like the great builders of the megalithic temples of the past millennia, their works and their wares. Craft work was an integral part of the rural community of Gozo since early times because clothes and other cloth items for daily use were all homemade. Up to the mid-1940s, that is the end of the second World War, the number of imported items was a minimum. Weaving and sewing were virtually obligatory for young girls who usually learned the crafts at their mother's knees. Other crafts were mastered by young men and women, when they grew up to make a living or to supplement their inconsiderable income. During the past century, several crafts have been mostly kept alive through courses imparted by the nuns in their convents. It was only recently that the Government stepped in with specialised schools to perpetuate the old homecrafts of Gozo. [excerpt]