The
2001 Mnarja through the eyes of a foreigner
Certainly
worth a visit! The people of Nadur sure know how to celebrate. I'm
not particularly enthusiastic about our village festas but this Nadur
feast was something special. Mnarja falls annually on June 29th and is a
public holiday... I arrived the day before on Thursday, but my friends
Hermi and Simon (who have a farmhouse in the centre of Nadur) tell me
the activities started quite a number of days earlier... Here are
a selection of the photos I've taken...
The
Band Stand
A
band stand (known as il-plancier) is set up in the square
in front of
the church. Throughout the days leading to the festa (the locals
apparently celebrated for two weeks, one week for each of the patron
saints!) bands would walk through the main streets of the town and play
to their hearts' delight.
The
Altar at the basilica
The
basilica is luxurious on any ordinary day, but on feast days its
amazing. The procession with the statue of the patron saints has just
left the church, but the congregation remains - admiring the beauty of
their church...
Night
time...
It's
now late and the streets of the village are lit up. The church
itself is lit up with various coloured bulbs. The electricity bill
must run in the hundreds, if not thousands…
Time
to celebrate…
The
Nadur youths are notorious for their sense of fun. On feast day
itself the band was playing at eight in the morning! These photos
were taken at around lunch time. The Nadur youngsters, some with
red-painted faces and abdomens and sporting t-shirts with the number
"29" on the back, jump up and down to the rhythm of the
village band... and a brass band imported from Germany for the occasion!
Horserace
As part of the feast, traditional horseraces are held on the
steep
street leading to Rabat, and now also on a tarmaced-road in the vicinity
of Nadur. Four "beasts" took part in this particular
race. Some concerns have
been expressed in the recent past on the
stress these horses are put through on such warm days... but I saw no
signs of cruelty on the horses at this Nadur race.
Procession
with the statues
The
procession has just ended and the statue of the two patron saints -
Peter and Paul - is turned to face the crowd to the accompaniment of the
band music and the bangs of the petards and fireworks. As soon as
the sound of the fireworks and petards die down, the statue is taken
back into the church, the procession is formally concluded and the final
antifona is played inside the church.
Please
visit Oliver Magro's wesbite on www.olivermagro.com.
