WRANA, Zuzana. Evil Mythical Creatures in Maltese Tradition and Folklore; A Collection of Old Maltese Fairy Tales by Priest Emmanwel Magri. In International Conference for Doctoral Students IMAGINATION - INSPIRATION - INTERPRETATION, Catholic Theological Faculty of Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. 2022.
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Basic information
Original name Evil Mythical Creatures in Maltese Tradition and Folklore; A Collection of Old Maltese Fairy Tales by Priest Emmanwel Magri
Name in Czech Zlá bájná stvoření v maltské tradici a folklóru; sbírka starých maltských pohádek od kněze Emmanwela Magriho
Authors WRANA, Zuzana.
Edition International Conference for Doctoral Students IMAGINATION - INSPIRATION - INTERPRETATION, Catholic Theological Faculty of Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic, 2022.
Other information
Original language English
Type of outcome Presentations at conferences
Field of Study 60206 Specific literatures
Country of publisher Czech Republic
Confidentiality degree is not subject to a state or trade secret
Organization unit Faculty of Arts
Keywords (in Czech) pohádka, mýtus, zlo, Malta
Keywords in English fairy tale, myth, evil, Malta
Tags kontrola_RIV
Tags International impact
Changed by Changed by: doc. Mgr. Ivo Buzek, Ph.D., učo 103619. Changed: 23/1/2023 10:25.
Abstract
Manwel Magri (1851-1907) was an outstanding Maltese linguist, archaeologist and a devout priest who could preach in many languages. Magri always had a reverence and boundless love for his native archipelago and sought to map all Maltese traditions and to collect and record the cultural heritage and fairy tales of the Maltese Islands. In all, Magri collected 62 tales (some of which have 13 variants) by visiting Maltese citizens and having these tales told. It is generally accepted that fairy tales are an important literary genre and aspect of social history, as they shed light not only on the way people lived, but also on the interactions and important cultural links between very diverse national circumstances. Various fairy tale motifs in the Mediterranean have constantly travelled and been transmitted by oral tradition, which may to some extent mirror the collective national memories of different Mediterranean national literatures. It is the meeting of familiar southern European bestiary (or fairy tale) motifs with Arabic ones that creates unique stories in Malta that straddle three religions: Islam, Christianity and Judaism. While giants, witches and dragons, and other creatures representing evil in stories, appear in many tales across Europe, Asia and Africa, some Maltese tales contain endemic mythical creatures such as Kaw kaw, Il-Belliegha and L-Imphalla. The traditional Maltese obsession with maintaining spiritual (or ritual) purity meant that many of these creatures were tasked with policing forbidden or restricted areas of human interest, and attacking individuals who violated the strict codes of conduct that characterised 19th century Maltese island pre-industrial society.
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