The
Nadur Carnival: Against
Established Order
- by Dr Vicki Ann Cremona
Carnival
is not simply a safety valve, a mechanism among others that allows
society to observe, represent and evaluate itself.
It contains in its very structure the possibility of social criticism and transformation: 'Cultural performances are not simply reflectors or agencies of culture, or even of changing culture, but may themselves be active agencies of change, representing the eye by which culture sees itself and the drawing board on which creative actors sketch out what they believe to be more apt or interesting "designs for living"' (Turner, 1992).
'There are carnivals (as for example the one in Sampeyre) in which it is possible to assume only certain roles, which are sharply defined, where the separation among the participants (carnevalanti) and the public is very rigid: and there are others (as that of Schignano) containing categories of masked persons, within which an unlimited number of figurative solutions are possible, and it is possible for a person to change from one role to a completely different one' (Italo Sordi, 1980). According to this definition, the Carnival in Nadur has an open structure, and the organized Carnivals a closed one.
In Nadur, carnival has always taken place in the night. It is in fact called 'Il-festa tax-Xitan' (the devil's feast). Its subversive nature is already manifested by this choice of time, which goes against Maltese law stating that during carnival masked activities are to end before dusk. In Nadur, people wait until after dusk to put on their masks and come out into the street. In the shops and on billboards there is hardly any publicity concerning carnival, no indication of what is to come.
In
fact, until 1990, the feasting took place in almost total darkness as it
was only lit up by the weak light coming from the streetlamps. This
coupled with the dark and costumes and masks, gave it very eerie
atmosphere, as it was more difficult to make out people in the dark and
what one perceived was principally their silhouettes. in 1991 Government
arbitrarily decided to contribute towards the carnival by sending
floodlights and flags and this has contributed greatly in modifying the
prevailing mood and atmosphere.
Even space in this carnival is used subversively. The area of play is defined and limited by two clubs placed at either end of December 13th Street. At the top of the street is the Nadur football club. Its bar is today the symbol of the traditional elements of this carnival, which have progressively left the outside (the street) but may still be said to be part of the feast, though in a more limited dimension. This applies especially to the music within the bar. Which is provided by the orld traditional instruments: the accordeon (which probably replaced the instrument known as iz-zaqq, a sort of bagpipe), it-trepied (triangle), it-tamburlin (tambourine) and iz-zafzafa or ir-rumbaba (an instrument made by stretching the stomach of a cat or goat over a tin. Pierced in the middle to introduce along bamboo reed which is rubbed with a wet sponge or cloth in an upward/downward movement). These homemade instruments produce a rhythm not a melody, and in the case of the rumbaba, permit a sort of licentious gestuality.
At the bottom of the road lies the other precinct of the Carnival space - the band club. This establishment is responsible for the change in the type of music in the streets, as it was the first to introduce a disco during the Carnival festivities and set a 'rock' band on the stage it had erected in the space it gives on to. When this happened the older members of the community opposed the change bitterly stating that this was 'against the laws of Carnival'. The use of the term 'law' is very significant. As Paul Sant Cassia has pointed out in a personal communication, it reflects the older men's view of Carnival as something having rules, which they define and embody. The men appeal to this notional idea of carnival in order to control it by establishing what goes and what doesn't. Their authority is, however, being questioned and subverted by the young who use a rock band in order to insert their own view of culture. The young are therefore marking their opposition, affirming their own identity and point of view by using a 'modern' idiom against a 'traditional' one. By their refusal to uphold the notion of 'anything goes' during Carnival the older men are in a way setting the scene for the accepted areas of contestation, leaving out new areas of play, which replicate what happens in the wider society.
Space
near the church is considered taboo. When the villagers of Nadur were
asked why they did not hold their carnival in the large square in front
of the church, they seemed to shun the idea. It therefore appears that
the inhabitants dissociate Carnival from church. Some villagers even
privately complained about the clergy's negative attitude towards the
festivity, which seems to reflect general clerical opposition to popular
celebrations (Boissevain, 1993).
Marianne Mesnil (1976), when discussing the use of the mask, states the following: "The mask is the prime instrument to create a rupture between the order of being and the social order of everyday life of a given society, and the order of appearance of representation. In other words, it is not so much the instrument for dissimulation but rather that of affirmation."
The concealment of one's identity provides the risk. The 'alea', in this type of carnival: to remain unrecognized. The 'agon' or contest consists of the person in disguise going up to people he knows and teasing them thus daring them to recognize him. The success of the venture is savoured the next morning when friends are teased because the person managed to remain incognito.
Recognition of somebody means that he is eliminated from the game. The person has to retreat, either to reappear in his true identity wearing normal clothing, or to try his luck again in another disguise.
There
are three main types of costume and they are all characterized by their
lack of elaborateness. These are female garb, sheets and boiler suits
which may be worn simply or adorned with branches, plastic bottles,
paper or any other decoration that may take the wearer's fancy. The
fundamental idea behind any costume is its spontaneity. Costumes are
rarely planned; they are generally assembled on the spur of the moment
and consist of old clothes people have rummaged up at home with no sense
of harmony or colour. In fact they are defined as imbarazz
(rubbish). Men pinch old clothes from their wives, mothers or sisters,
women wear their fathers' trousers or husband's pyjamas. Sheets are one
of the oldest disguises and were used all over the island, including in
the Rabat Carnival before 1952. Boiler suits are generally dark, blue,
green or gray, and sometimes people wearing them carry placards pinned
to their backs or fronts explaining who they are or bearing some
humorous comment. Often these identities are inspired by fictitious or
real characters seen on television. More rarely, as I have already
pointed out, one comes across people disguised as priests, nuns or
policemen, which is against the law and other disguises include hooded
penitents, reminiscent of Good Friday processions. The idea is not to
look nice but to produce mirth, and more important to hide one's
identity. Under the clothing 'props' are added to hide the person's
shape: cushions or bundles form breasts, protruding bellies particularly
in the case of men disguised as pregnant women buttocks, hunchbacks,
etc. To these are added things that the wearers carry, which can range
from anything like branches, sticks, dolls to doors or even
wardrobes.
Improvisation and concealment are extended to the way persons in disguise walk up and down the street: they hide their normal gait by stooping shuffling, striding and adopting all sorts of physical postures aimed at making themselves unrecognizable. The 'agon' thus includes a combination of costume and act which can be limited to walking up and down the street, or take one more elaborate theatrical qualities, with mime and improvisation, where the 'props' carried can assume a new importance.
Elaborate, fancy dress costumes are worn only be very young children, and by the Maltese who go to the carnival and stick out like a sore thumb.
Carnival
in Nadur is a loose, spontaneous structure, providing the opportunity to
the community to deviate from normal patterns of behaviour (Laniernari,
1981), especially by means of disguise, which conceals the identity of
the wearer, thus leaving him / her free to 'misbehave'. Protected from
recognition, the revelers transgress social taboos: they poke fun at
others, touch them, taunt friends or enemies, and get up to all sorts of
mischief.
In the past this has even degenerated into violence, as a man would take advantage of his disguise to pay back his enemy for any wrong done to him by hitting or even knifing him, as aspect of the carnival which was often repeated to my group, particularly by older men (Poppi, 1992).
The apparent spontaneity, the freedom from regulations specifying the shape and appearance that carnival is to take is what renders the carnival in Nadur more attractive both to other Gozitans and Maltese, and accounts for its increasing popularity. The underlying rules are not normative; they determine the game of non-recognition the villagers play among themselves. They are sufficiently elastic to allow outsiders who are not aware of them to establish a parallel type of revelry at the same time. Where in a society which is very conscious of outward appearances, the 'alea' or risk is simply to dare to put on a disguise in the road and behave differently.
Conclusion
In
the minds of most Maltese and Gozitans Carnival is identified with a
very rigid organized structure, where the majority of the people are
limited to passively watching proceedings. This is true of the
'official' carnivals held in Rabat and Valletta, which are planned by a
national organizing committee, financed by the state. The structure of
these carnivals has become so repetitive that interest is waning and
less and less people go to watch them. Under their present form these
carnivals will continue to exist as long ass money is pumped into them.
Many participants see them as a source of income rather than fun. The
main reason people interviewed give for attending is "to take the
children to watch the Carnival", but when asked if they enjoy them
they are generally, at best, hesitant. The most successful type of
Carnival is that which has no fixed structure. Its element of
spontaneity allows it to blend with the times and integrate new trends.
'Paidia' allows for imagination, creativity and resourcefulness. It does
not limit its participants to a definite role: spectators are not
obliged simply to watch, they can choose to take an active part in the
revelry if they so wish (Turner, 1982). Moreover, it is very easy to
join the active participants, no elaborate costume is required. It is
important, however, to respect the underlying codes of the Carnival,
which call for total anonymity.
The popularity of the Nadur carnival can be attributed to the fact that it conforms better to the patterns of a constantly fast-changing world, and provides catharsis through the pliability of its structures which can be made to express anything. It is thus better suited to formulate a 'critique [...] of the social life it grows out of (Turner, 1987). This explains why so many people flock to this Carnival, and abandon carnivals which are certainly much prettier but which can only be watched. The fact that this more spontaneous form of revelry is being adopted on the fringes or organized carnivals could indicate the beginnings of a progressive transformation, but only time will tell if and how this will take place.
(This
is an extract from the paper "Carnival in Gozo: Waning Traditions
and Thriving Celebrations" which is the result of four years
fieldwork (1989-1992) during Carnival with students following the
Theatre Studies Programme at the Mediterranean Institute of the
University of Malta. A preliminary study was carried out in 1988 and in
1994 I returned to Nadur to see how the celebrations had evolved.)
©
Dr Vicki Ann Cremona, 'Journal of the Mediterranean Studies', 1995,
vol.5, no.1, 68-95.
