Tale
Old Folktales of the Maltese Islands
Ħrejjef Missirijietna
Manwel Magri · 1902
Synopsis
A series of booklets of Maltese tales begun in 1902, each story followed by the name of the village or island where it was heard and by notes on old words. The first starts from the ancestors the author gives the Maltese, the Phoenicians, tells how the first boat was made, then follows the many-winged serpent, Butiès, and the tricks of the wise woman's son, who goes in search of the bird that sings, the tree where it perches and the beauty of beauties; the following booklets turn to giants, the underground world and the winds.
Context
The booklets appeared from 1902 to 1905 in the series Mogħdija taż-Żmien, from the press of Ġanni Muscat. In his preface, the author says he heard these tales from childhood from those who had raised him, and wants to pass them on without losing anything of the language of the elders. George Mifsud Chircop published a critical edition of them in 1994, and the National Library of Malta has digitised them. This collection inspired other collectors and, in 1984, comic strips from the Klabb Kotba Maltin.
Who it is for
Short tales, in Maltese from before modern orthography, accompanied by notes; the 1994 critical edition makes them easier to read.
Prizes and reception
The collection opened the way for collections of tales, fables and legends throughout the archipelago.