Oral tradition and historical source : the Maltese ghannejja

Abstract

Maltese ghannejja (folk singers) are storytellers by vocation. They must have the ability to express a body of collective knowledge - sometimes encapsulated in myth - in an ex- pected poetical tone. As the Maltese word for history - storja - suggests in its double meaning, both history and fiction converge in the vocal and musical transmission of the ghannejja. In fact, it is this subtle convergence of history and invention that Maltese folk singing transmits to the people in various styles.