Grotesque, macabre, spontaneous and traditional

The Nadur Carnival has become the go-to celebration before Lent, mainly due to its uniqueness and spontaneity.

Crowds assemble in all types of masks and costumes on the streets of Nadur, where people wearing all sorts of funny and grotesque creations roam.

The name Carnival originates from the Italian phrase ‘Carne vale’, literal translation meaning ‘meat is allowed’, since this event leads up to 40 days of Lent, a time when Christians in the past stopped eating meat as a sacrifice.

Carnival is meant to be a time of entertainment before 40 days of sacrifice although, with the passing of years, the entertainment increased and the sacrifices did not follow suit.

In Gozo, while the Victoria Carnival remains more traditional with floats and parades organised and is put together by Gozitan locals, the carnival in Nadur has taken on a different approach.

It has increasingly become a place where people, especially youngsters, try their mightiest to come up with the most extravagant costumes, and where satire is possibly at its height in Maltese culture.

However for some who remember the Nadur Carnival at its roots, there are worries that the Carnival is not what it used to be. Peter Paul Buttigieg, a Gozitan from Nadur and Carnival enthusiast spoke of his uneasiness at what the Carnival was becoming now.

Buttigieg described how it began on the outskirts of the village in the wine shops, but has steadily grown because of its popularity. In more recent years younger people turned up for long weekends on the sister island and used Carnival as an excuse to entertain themselves.

Speaking to The Malta Independent, Buttigieg described the way the Carnival activities developed over the years.

“The beauty of Carnival was that anyone could disguise themselves under a mask and do whatever they wanted; spectators would be the victim, and revellers would walk on the sides and not in the middle of the street. The spontaneity, the grotesque, macabre, satirical and caricature elements are all inspired by pain, fear, tragedy, differences, humour, physical defects and changes in sexuality,” Buttigieg explained.

However Buttigieg described his concern for what Nadur Carnival is becoming today.

“It is not quite like the Carnival I knew in the past, the Carnival of my home,” adding that the elaborate costumes bought from shops and abroad has taken away some of the spontaneity and grotesque nature.

The Nadur Carnival will be a fun-fest street party with all sorts of music, food, colour and mayhem over this weekend and lasting till Tuesday.