Feasts risk extinction in 20 years’ time, initial survey results suggest

In 20 years’ time, Maltese society could be looking back and discussing how “festas used to be” if upcoming generations and youths do not take an active interest in local feasts, initial results of a survey suggest.

A new research related to the involvement of young people in local feasts points to a possible extinction of the traditional festa unless participation in the different spheres of organisation increases.

“We might end up in a situation talking about how feasts used to be. Youths actively involved in the organisation do so to socialise but also out of interest in the festa and the devotion towards their patron saint.

“But statistics also show that the love for the feasts is usually inherited from the parents, and if we don’t do something this inheritance from one generation to the next will be lost,” University of Malta senior lecturer in youth and community studies, Andrew Azzopardi, told a news conference.

The study, funded by the European Commission under the Youth in Action programme, is coordinated by youth members of the Society of St Mary and King George V Band Club of Mqabba.

The majority of 500 youths who took part in the study come from working class backgrounds. This, Azzopardi said, showed that active participation was linked to the youths’ roots.

In 1969, Dutch anthropologist Jeremy Boissevain suggested the possibility of the gradual decline of the Maltese village festa under pressure of modernity, with locals moving out and away from the island. He later went on to change his prediction, expressing surprise at how the local patronage networks had grown larger.

“This research indicates that the feasts might die as band clubs and societies fail to attract younger generations. Because nothing happens on its own, the government and stakeholders must establish a policy and a strategy to see what these groups need to do to preserve themselves and attract more youths,” Azzopardi said.

The research, which canvassed youth members of Maltese band clubs and pyrotechnic groups, will show how young people are engaged in the festa organisation, closely involved in all that is happening.

“There seems to be a mix of socialization, devotion and spirituality.What seems to be significant is that the young people who are involved in the feasts are engaged because there is a sense of community and belonging, and this sense of community makes them come together to work for a common cause,” Azzopardi said.

The research also claims that beyond the fandom of parish saints, treated just like football teams, “there still is, in the majority of cases, an attempt to link up beyond the cult symbolisms.”

The study however says that the Maltese festa remains closed to people with a disability and those from diverse cultures.

While 10% of the Maltese population suffers from a disability, only 1.9% of youths involved in feasts are persons with disability.

Taking on anthropologist Boissevain’s own analysis back in the late 1960s and 1970s, the study also suggests that the migration of people to other villages so far has not impacted much on the fervour or the organisation of the feast. “Young people born and raised in that respective village feel that they are part of it.”

Festas also remain the preserve of the working class, rather than the professional class.

“The scale of involvement, the number of hours dedicated to the organization and the involvement of young people is a very clear indication that the festa is a religious feast first and foremost, and that young people feel attached to the patron saint in question.”

Nationalist MP Robert Cutajar, spokesman for youths, said voluntary work should not be lost and the opposition will be putting forward proposals on how to safeguard this “Maltese value”.

Culture Minister Owen Bonnici and parliamentary secretary for youths Chris Agius could not attend the presentation.