| Ħal Għargħur Il-Kunsill Lokali ta' Ħal Għargħur |
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| — Local council — | |||
| Ħal Għargħur | |||
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| Motto: Excelsior (The Highest) | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Malta | ||
| Island | Malta | ||
| District | |||
| Borders | Iklin, Naxxar, San Ġwann, Swieqi | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Mario Gauci (PN) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 2.0 km2 (0.8 sq mi) | ||
| Population (Nov 2005) | |||
| • Total | 2,352 | ||
| • Density | 1,176/km2 (3,045.8/sq mi) | ||
| Demonym | Għargħuri (m), Għargħurija (f), Għargħurin (pl) | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | GĦR | ||
| Dialing code | 356 | ||
| Patron saint | St. Bartholomew | ||
| Day of festa | August 24 (or last Sunday of August) | ||
| Website | Official website | ||
Ħal Għargħur is one of the smallest and oldest towns of Malta.
Ħal Għargħur is situated on a hilltop between two valleys in the North-East of Malta with a population of 2,389 (Nov 2005). Its coat of arms is a red star over a red triangle on a silver shield with the motto 'Excelsior' which means 'The Highest'. This motto indicates the fact that this town is geographically one of the highest in Malta. Ħal Għargħur is the highest town of Malta, but it's not the highest point of Malta. In his Lexicon Melitense (Maltese Dictionary) of 1796, Vassalli gives this description of Għargħur: "Ħal *RGĦ*ar*RGĦ*ur, it. Gregorio, Bel Villaggio alla parte settentrionale di Malta" (A pretty village in the northern part of Malta).[1]Please note that instead of the present "Għ" (għajn) in the village's name, Vassalli uses the "Rgħ", a stronger form of the vocalised Għ.
Some Roman artifacts, found during road construction, were carried to the Domus Romana (Roman Villa), a Roman Villa and Museum, situated in the old town of Rabat. A Muslim-style oven is still found in a house in Sqaq Warda. In the same alley one finds a home with Arab-style decorations on the facade. There is documented reference of Ħal Għargħur as far back as 1419, in the lists of the Dejma, which was a Militia that guarded the locals from pirate attacks. This settlement suffered from severe de-population during the High Middle Ages and some years later due to continuous pirate attacks. Exiles from the central Italian city of Celano settled in Ħal Għargħur and built the town's oldest church, that of St. John (next to which one finds the town's graveyard). The citizens of Celano were exiled in the year 1223 by Emperor Frederick II.
The main event of the year is the village festa which is celebrated on the 24th (if this turns out to be a Sunday) or the last Sunday of August. The statue of the saint is carried shoulder high along the illuminated streets of the village accompanied by musical bands. A display of colourful fireworks, ends the village festival. Many tourists tend to take part in the celebration of the saint's day, by visiting the church and the well-known fireworks display.
There is little written information about the people of Għargħur in earlier days. One source of information is the Dejma list, which mentions Għargħur in conjunction with Ħal Samudi (Madliena). In the Middle Ages, Għargħur was most probably a very small rural community. An abbey was established in Ħal Għargħur in the Middle Ages, in an area now called Tar-Rħieb (Friars' (old Maltese) place). There is no evidence as to when and why this abbey was abandoned, but the reason could have been the constant pirate attacks on the village, which led to a severe de-population in both Għargħur and nearby settlements. During these raids, settlements were looted and those fit were taken into slavery. Indeed, in this period houses in Għargħur were built in a way so that the residents could lock up themselves. One feature of these houses was a secret room in which females used to hide during these attacks. Also, the old streets and alleys are planned in a way that would confuse and person unused to them. These raids continued well into the years, even after Għargħur became a parish. Indeed, on one occasion the residents of Għargħur found refuge in the Parish Church and vowed that if they were unharmed, an annual pilgrimage would take place every year to the shrine of [Mellieħa]. Indeed, no one was harmed or taken into slavery and thus the tradition of holding this pilgrimage was started.
As regards places of worship, it is likely that the early Christians used some of the caves found in the village as churches. Two such caves are those found at Ġebel San Pietru (Saint Peter's Hill (Old Maltese) or Stone (Modern Maltese)) and Għar San Brinkat (Saint Patrick's cave). Later on chapels were built. St. John the Baptist's chapel is considered to be the first chapel built in Għargħur, even if this chapel was rebuilt in the 17th century and thus the one present is not the Medieval original. Another two Medieval chapels were those of St. Nicholas, St Bartholomew in the village of Għargħur and those of St. Catherine and St. Gregory (both in Xwieki) and St. Mary Magdalene (Madliena) in the surrounding countryside.
The people of Ħal Għargħur had long felt that they were separate and autonomous from the Naxxar parish, however until 1598 they were not given the right to form their own parish. However, in 1598 Bishop Gargallo (for whom one finds a street named in Ħal Għargħur) listened to the appeals that the Għargħurin had been making for long time and decided to grant the people of Ħal Għargħur the charter establishing a parish. Thus, the first baptisms, marriages and funerals started being done in Ħal Għargħur. Dun Mattew Schiriha from Senglea, responsible for the chapel of Saint Bartholomew (which existed on the site of the present parish church) started signing documents as "Cappellano della parrochia di Casal Gregorio".
Sadly, the Naxxar parish refused to accept the new status enjoyed by Ħal Għargħur. Dun Giljan Borg, parish priest of Naxxar, complained about the financial loss that Naxxar would suffer with the separation from it of Ħal Għargħur. Rev. Borg also complained that the Naxxar parish was losing the authority it had over the Ħal Għargħur community. Here it is important to point out that despite the fact that Ħal Għargħur and Mosta formed part of the Naxxar parish, both Mosta and Ħal Għargħur were regarded as being separate entities from Naxxar and, in fact, on the birth registers of Naxxar, at the time when these two other villages fell under Naxxar, it was written next to the person's name whether he was from Naxxar, Mosta or Ħal Għargħur.
Even if the Ħal Għargħur community strived hardly for the preservation of their new status, this was suspended in 1601 by the Bishop's curia. This was done because Rev. Borg's (Naxxar's parish priest) health was deteriorating due to this problem. The Ħal Għargħur community resorted to the Inquisitor, to whom they complained about their situation. The Inquisitor (Monsigneur Verallo) decided in favour of Ħal Għargħur, and thus as from 1604 Saint Bartholomew's church could be used again as a parish church, despite the fact that officially it had been re-integrated into Naxxar, It is interesting to note that between 1590 and 1591, the Naxxar parish priest had served a prison sentence at the Inquisitor's prison. He had to serve this sentence after he baptised twice a pair of twins born in Ħal Għargħur. He did so because the twins had been baptised by the midwife as they were in the danger of death. Rev. Birg was not supposed to baptise these two babies again, however he did. It is very possible that the Ħal Għargħur community resorted to the Inquisitor when their parish status was taken away because Rev. Borg was already in the bad books of the Inquisitor.
With the death of Rev. Borg in 1610, Bishop Gargallo felt that he could finally confirm Ħal Għargħur's status as a separate parish. The residents of Ħal Għargħur, most of whom were farmers, promised that they would give part of their produce (cotton, wheat and barley) for the preservation of the parish.[2]
Ħal Għargħur was a rural community located in an area particularly lacking fertile soil and fresh water. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of this area were able to finance the building of a parish church and several other chapels which host Baroque fine arts. The main attraction of the village, besides the countryside, is the parish church dedicated to Saint Bartholomew the Apostle. Its interior is of the Doric order but it has a fine Baroque façade. The original façade was demolished and the one seen today was built in 1743. The church was built between 1610 and 1638 and was designed by Maltese architect Tumas Dingli.
Its treasures include a wooden statue of Saint Bartholomew sculptured in Rome attributed to Maltese artist Melchiore Gafa. The statue was made circa 1666 and it is believed to be the model for the similar statue in San Giovanni Laterano, Rome. It was brought to the town in 1772. Restorations on it were held in 1912. In 2005 the statue had further preservation and its niche was restructured. The statue is the second heaviest in the Maltese islands.
The Victoria Lines, named after Queen Victoria, and which divide the island of Malta from east to west, passes through this locality. Other fortifications can also be found. Ħal Għargħur hosts much of Malta's telecommunication infrastructure.
Before World War II and prior to the installation of radar, a concave wall was constructed in Ħal Għargħur to with the aim of detect incoming Italian aircraft.[3] This acoustic mirror is called "il-Widna" by locals (lit. the ear). Ħal Għargħur hosted a number a refugees from the harbour area during that war. These refugees were seeking shelter from the continuous air raids by the Axis Powers. The public school was used as a dormitory for these refugees.
In modern times a controversy has risen over the real name of this village - whether it should be called Gargur or Ħal Għargħur. The original name was Ħal Għargħur (pronounced hal arur). 'Ħal' is an old abbreviation of 'Raħal', which means a "village/small town". 'Għargħur' most probably derives from 'Gregorio' — in the middle of the 15th century, the village was called Casal Gregorio. In Hebrew, Gargur or Gargiur is the name given to small communities. The current pronunciation is possibly related to the influence of English rule (1800–1964).[4] It is also possible that the name Gregorio emerged as a result of the process of Italianisation which the Maltese language underwent. Similar example are the names of the town of Żurrieq, which on official documents appeared as Zurico and Naxxar, which on various documents and maps was referred to as Nascario. Most probably, the name Ħal Għargħur derives from the Għargħar, Malta's national tree. It is interesting to note that in the North-Eastern part of Malta there are other place names which possibly have their origin to this particular tree. These are San Ġwann ta' l-Għargħar and Il-Ħotba tal-Għargħar.
Another reason for the two versions of the name might be linguistic/phonologiic. Originally the Maltese letter "GĦ" was spelt (it still is by a small number of people). It is possible that when the usage of the "GĦ " in speech was dying out, some people dropped the "GĦ " (in the same way as was done with other words) while others retained it but transformed it into a G sound. Similar cases can be found in the Maltese language. For example, the word "ħarħar" was originally spelt as "għargħar"; in this case the "Għ" was replaced by an "ħ".
Traditionally, the people of Għargħur speak in their own dialect. Unfortunately, this dialect, like others on the island of Malta, is highly endangered. This is mainly due to the influence of the media, where the harbour-area accents are used, as well as an education system which discourages the use of dialects. Socio-cultural stigma associated with dialects also contributed to the gradual demise of the dialect. As older generations stopped talking to their children in dialect, the dialect started dying out.
There are various features associated with this dialect. One of them is the pronunciation of the letter "Q" in certain words, namely "daħq", "ċagħaq", "qagħaq" and "sriedaq" as a voiceless uvular plosive (sounds as a "k" to the unexpert ear). In standard Maltese, the Q is prounounced as a glottal stop. Another feature, which however now has largely disappeared, is the pronunciation of the "h" which is otherwise silent in Maltese. Another feature is an un-trilled "R", a letter which is normally trilled in standard Maltese. A word which is associated with this dialect is "ħuuri", which means "look". In the Ħal Għargħur dialect, a kite is called "ħamiema" (pigeon), while in standard Maltese it is called tajra. Some find a resemblance between the Ħal Għargħur dialect and the dialect of Għarb in Gozo.
One of the legends found in Għargħur is that of St. Patrick's Cave (Għar San Brinkat). It was believed, in the old times, that demons had infested this cave. Thus, people were afraid to pass by it. Once, a painting on wood that featured a crucified Christ and St. Patrick came ashore in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq. Promptly, the people of Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq took the painting to this cave and the demons left. A spring found in this cave was dais to be miraculous, however the faithful stopped drinking from it after lepers started bathing in it in order to heal. The painting can still be seen in the cave, a mass is said here once a year, when a small feast is held.
The aim of Dwal Godda is to present Maltese Theatre in its cultural setting. As well as the works of members of the group, mainly the prolific playwright Martin Gauci, Dwal Godda's repertoire includes classic plays by international dramatists and work by living writers.
Traditionally, the hamlets of Madliena and Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq, as well as part of Magħtab, form part of Ħal Għargħur. Likewise, the zones of St. Andrew's and High Ridge formed part of Ħal Għargħur before being integrated within the locality of Swieqi. The modern town of Pembroke also used to form part of Ħal Għargħur, albeit access to this zone was restricted because this area was reserved for military purpose.
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