|
 Strictly speaking,
għana is the generalised term for the
indigenous Maltese folk-singing which consists of
quatrains, ideally extemporised, following a rhyme
scheme of a-b-c-b, and sung to traditional tunes,
generally accompanied by a choice of guitars,
accordion and various percussion instruments. In the
past, the singers were rural villagers and
blue-collar workers, 'the washer-woman, the soldier,
the boatman, the milkman, the farmer, the
fish-seller, the coachman, the lace-maker, the maid.
. . when her mistress [was] not at home...' (Calabritto,
1930).
The songs themselves dealt with every facet of the
social lives of these people: birth, courtship,
marriage, death, nature, suffering. Although the
songs were ideally extemporised however, in practice
they were generally learnt 'as one learnt church
hymns', by hearing other people sing them. In fact,
some quatrains were standard and flexible enough to
be adapted to general kinds of situations.
However, the term għana also came to refer to
three types of singing, which was conducted in more
specific contexts: (a) La Bormliża, (b)
Fatt and (c) Spirtu Pront. In all three
genres, the singers are accompanied by three
guitarists (two strumming a steady rhythm while the
third improvises, along channelled lines, on a
traditional tune in a sort of emotional outburst in
between one quatrain and another.
La Bormliża (after the city of Bormla) is an
all but extinct genre of għana, and I will
not be considering it in this article. It consists
of four lines, with a final rhyming couplet. It was
sung by two singers, though it could also be sung
solo and it could take one of two forms: either a
line scheme of a-b-a-b-c-d, or one of a-a-a-a-b-c,
in both cases having each singer sing every other
line. The lines could be extemporised though they
are usually standard. The outstanding feature of
La Bormliża is that the words are very drawn
out, making it both very difficult to understand and
difficult to sing. In fact, it is also known as 'għana
on a high pitch' (għana fil-għoli), since
this feature requires that men sing it in a female
vocal register. For this reason it was sung to
exhibit vocal prowess and mainly by women.
Women generally sang it together while doing
communal housework, such as washing clothes in the
village basin. The gradual but definite demise of
the Bormliża is due to the fact that the
social context which enabled it to flourish has now
practically disappeared. Many of the (potential)
singers have been middle-classified: households are
now usually neo-local, the family has been urbanised
and women generally meet each other only when also
in the company of men.
This fate has not been shared by the second genre -
Fatt ('fact': plural Fattijiet,
pronounced 'Fattiyiet'). Fatt is a story
narrated by one singer, usually the composer of the
song. It can either relate a true story or a
fictional one. In both cases the subject is
traditionally a tragic one, although there are comic
narratives (not referred to by any specific name)
which deal with typical situations such as the
relationship between man and mother-in-law. There
have been Fattijiet written about the theft
of the Admiral's payroll
 of £126,740 in 1948, the
gruesome murder of a boy by his mother, and the
tragic death of a singer's young cousin, for
example. In general the fictional Fattijiet
have some understood moral, which reinforces the
traditional values and which is meant for a general
audience. Some of the changes relating to the
composition of a Fatt show the influence of
literacy. Before World War II, many Fattijiet
were obtained by buying booklets of printed għana
poems, which the semi-literate għannej could
read with some difficulty and memorise. Illiterate
għannejja sometimes composed their own
Fattijiet by dictating them to others. Also,
popular songs were performed by singers other than
the composer, even if the latter were a singer
himself. The songs were usually performed in
wine-shops or at gatherings, such as feast days or
village picnics. Nowadays the main way of listening
to a Fatt is either by obtaining a copy of it
on tape, or by hearing it on the radio. The biggest
change however, and this shows the spreading of
literacy, is that singers almost always sing their
own songs now.
It is the third genre, that of Spirtu Pront
('quick spirit/wit') which is by far the most
popular nowadays.(2)
In fact, the term għana is sometimes used to
refer to it specifically, by both the għannejja
and the middle classes. This essay will be dealing
with Spirtu Pront and its social context
mainly, and unless otherwise stated the term
għana will refer to it.
Spirtu Pront is essentially an extemporised
song-duel between two men (almost no women sing it),
each trying to best the other in argument. It is
most typically held in a wine-shop or bar. Generally
however, two song-duels go on simultaneously, with
the first singer matched against the third, and the
second against the fourth. This gives each singer
more time to think up a reply. The subject of the
argument may be selected beforehand, but it is
usually 'chosen' by the singers themselves during
the course of the song, somewhere near the
beginning. They do this by feints, trying to provoke
their opponent into taking up an argument or subject
about which they are more knowledgeable, for once a
subject is taken up, it cannot be changed without
losing face.
The subject of the duel is often the capacity at
għana of the two singers, who try and ridicule
each other by subtle insults which can poke fun at
the opponent's physical features, his (past) actions
(though one should absolutely not lie), as well as
his arguments, while at the same time attempting to
twist their opponent's insults into compliments.
These bouts can be very witty since double-entendre
- giving a compliment which is actually an insult -
is prized. The premium given to double-entendre also
leads, even when the argument is very serious, to
elaborate metaphors.
The reply and counter-reply must be given in the
form of a quatrain with a rhyme scheme of a-b-c-b.
The most awful mistake an għannej can make is to not
rhyme his quatrain for this is immediately
noticeable. Unusual rhymes are prized: however the
effect of literacy can be seen in the disagreement
between some għannejja as to which is the
more important - the rhyme in terms of
pronunciation, or the matching of the last two
letters of the last word in the second and fourth
verses. Ideally, these words should both rhyme and
end with the same two letters.
The duel lasts for an hour and the last volley on
the part of each għannej consists of two
quatrains. This is known as the gadenza.
The best għannejja are informally and by
consensus deemed to form part of the 'First
Division' (the English phrase is used) - there are
twelve such għannejja in Malta at the moment.
What distinguishes them from the other għannejja
- though when talking about this particular subject
I often got the impression that the only 'real'
għannejja were those belonging to the First
Division - is their wit, knowledge and mercilessness
in punishing a mistake on their opponent's part.
'Knowledge' would here consist of knowledge of
proverbs, archaic words and current affairs -
anything that can floor an opponent, because not
understanding a volley he would not be able to reply
adequately.
The għannejja consider themselves to be
connoisseurs of għana, appreciating it to an
extent in which few members of the 'lay' audience
(mostly made up of men) ever can. Since the
aficionados (listeners) do not sing their
appreciation is considered dilettante. The most
generous estimate I was given regarding the
proportion of aficionados who fully savoured
għana was three out of ten. Part of the reason
for this low figure is that some duels may refer
back to past encounters, sometimes even as far as
twelve years back. Thus the aficionado must avidly
follow developments in the various encounters.
However, the role of the aficionado is still
significant in a small-scale society where much of
the micro-political jousting hinges on reputation.
The għannejja depend upon the aficionados to
decide for themselves as to who the winner of a
particular bout was. The verdict is not officially
or openly passed: in fact clapping during an
encounter is forbidden, though permitted at the end.
'The people judge for themselves while we [the
duellers] go and have a drink together. 'Thus, the
audience is always a sort of participant (Sant
Cassia 1989: 162-163). |
