Nisa, Jgħannu - Women, Chanting

Since the early 20th century, and particularly in post-war Malta, the public practice of traditional chant, għana (Maltese traditional folk singing), has been dominated by men. This context is mainly reserved to male-dominated environments such as bars, tea shops and każini or social clubs, where għannejja (traditional Maltese folk singers)  would get together at the end of the day to verbalise and process the events of their daily life. 

Typically improvised four-line stanzas, traditional singing is usually accompanied by the sound of guitars, where words and sung poetry serve as a catharsis; both individual and collective. Saying what needs to be said, għannejja would gather in public and sing their hearts out to express themselves. 

Troubadours of renown are surrounded by dilettanti (aficionados) who document, record and transmit their verses, passing on the legacy of their bravado. Furthermore, from the middle of the 20th century, male singers and guitarists were extensively recorded on the national radio Rediffusion forging their words on magnetic tape for posterity. By the eighties, għana became more and more associated with male gatherings with short-fused practitioners who would often engage in scuffles. 

Performances of għana by women, on the other hand, are hard to come by, as it would mainly take place behind closed doors, at home, or occasionally allowed within these male-dominated contexts. Therefore, female singing is associated with domestic chores like clothes washing, where supposedly women traded verses from roof to roof. Women’s voices are conspicuously absent when it comes to recorded material from the 20th century.

Nisa, Jgħannu proposes a fresh encounter with għana through women's perspective. It aims to encourage women of different ages to come together and express themselves using the traditional format, contributing by way of musicality, creative use of words and poetry, and choreography for the delivery of self-expression and social catharsis. Nisa, Jgħannu is being proposed as an ongoing collective where female individuals can bring their forte to the table and contribute to a collective project.

Artistic Direction & Research Facilitation 

Florinda Camilleri 

Core Artistic Team 

Fatima A.M., Rachelle Deguara, Yasmin Kuymizakis, Nicole Mangion, Ella Pullicino

Guest Artists

Rose Spagnol, Denise Vella, supported by Żeppi Spagnol tal-Kelba and Johnny Tal-Belt

Production & Research Assistant 

Abigail Agius

Special Thanks

Francesco Sultana