BELFRY CUQLAJTA

The cuqlajta used up in the belfry of Maltese churches is usually played by a group of young volunteers or by the regular bellringers of the church. In some villages, even though an instrument does still exist, there seems to be a shortage of reliable volunteers willing to climb up the hundred or so steps to the belfry to perform this duty.

1. Revolving cross-shaped clapper with hammers

Among the larger instruments, the type of construction most frequently found in Malta is that of a hollow wooden, equilateral cross with a varying number of solid wooden mallets or sticks hinged into each space. It is possible to find one large flap, or two to four sticks or mallets of many possible shapes. It is interesting to note that sometimes the hammers may also intentionally differ in shape and size in the same instrument (eg Qormi and Zebbug). In Zebbug, Malta, for example, the instrument has three suspensions in each space. The central one is a shorter hammer, while the two outer ones are longer and flatter in shape. This combination is intended to produce a more interesting rhythm, and also to slightly vary the pitch.

The cross-shaped instrument is generally suspended in the belfry above or below the bells. It is therefore constantly open to the elements and needs regular maintenance. The instrument is rotated or swung from side to side, either by manually turning a metal handle or by the pull of a rope. This causes the cross to revolve and the mallets to strike against each hollow section. Some cuqlajti of this type, such as those in Zejtun, Zebbug and Gudja, are now being turned

electrically rather than manually.

We find the cross-shaped instrument widely dispersed around Malta, but notably absent from the churches in Valletta, and not quite so common in Gozo. Each instrument has an average diameter in the region of 122-152cm. Some reach up to 182cm and a few even larger are claimed to have existed in the past, such as one in the parish of Siggiewi, which is said to have been 213cm (7ft) in diameter.

A few unpleasant incidents have occurred in some villages while this type of cuqlajta was being played. On one occasion, in the parish of Siggiewi, hammers came loose and landed on a bus down below. In another instance in Gharb, Gozo, the whole instrument crashed down several feet to the ground, narrowly missing passers-by.

2. Ratchet with scraping tongues

In other areas of Malta and Gozo (Dingli, Nadur and Qala) we find a cog-wheel or multi-faceted cylinder with protruding teeth, which is turned manually or mechanically, scraping rigid tongues as it turns. Each of these complex instruments is constructed with much care and attention to detail, aimed at maximum resonance and the best possible constant rhythm. The instrument in Nadur, Gozo is worth singling out. The cuqlajta is more than 32cm high. It has two sets of seven rigid sticks, 14 in all, which are scraped by the rotating toothed cylinder. 10 It is constructed with two handles, one on either side. Two people therefore turn the handles simultaneously, thus keeping the rhythm flowing more constantly.

A 19th century watercolour diary portrays a man on a roof rotating a small wooden ratchet-type cuqlajta, which is slung around his neck. The artist writes underneath his sketch: “Grinding Judas Iscariot’s bones on Good Friday, Malta, 1867”. The background buildings show the steeple of St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral in the vicinity.

3. Ratchet with scraping tongues and hammers

The parishes of Birkirkara and Balzan have another type of instrument, which is conspicuously different to other villages. Their cuqlajta is in the shape of a high box (about 148cm) with sound exits in the front and back. At first glance it looks very like a recycled confessional box, which it may well have once been.

The construction inside is very complex, having two sets of wooden mallets, one on either side of a central multi-faced wooden cylinder fitted with protrusions scattered over the facets. An external handle fixed to the cylinder is rotated manually. The protrusions on the cylinder each catch and scrape the upper and lower hammer-heads, lifting them and then dropping them alternately against the front of the box.

This instrument is therefore a combination of a ratchet and clapper.

4. Double cog wheel

This instrument has two parallel overlapping cog cylinders, which scraped against each another when the external handle was rotated. One particular example is alleged to have originally belonged to a chapel, but may have had a double function since it is very similar to the instruments previously used for grinding wheat in Malta. In later years it was being used by Birkirkara football fans.

CUQLAJTA INSIDE THE CHURCH

Among the small cuqlajti used inside the churches are some lovely antique instruments that have had the good fortune to be stored away in the sacristy, and brought out only once a year.

Many are substantially worm-eaten, but still functioning. It is usually an altar boy who is given the much-envied duty of playing this cuqlajta inside the church, generally during the elevation and Sanctus on Holy Thursday.

It should also be mentioned that during Holy Week, various varieties of the smaller type of cuqlajta became habitually used by the Society of Christian Doctrine (MUSEUM), instead of a bell, to call

children to classes, and to announce the end of

sessions.

1. Strong Clapper (It.

crotalo)

Among the variety of church instruments, we frequently find the simple clapper with a long central handle and a flap on either side. All three parts are attached together with string or leather.

It is indeed worth pointing out that this type of ancient instrument has certainly been known in Malta since the 1st century AD. A small bone clapper, now exhibited in the Museum of Roman Antiquities in Rabat, no more than 7.5cm in length, dates back to Malta’s Roman period (218BC-535AD). In this case, it would not have been associated in any way with Christianity, but may possibly have been a child’s toy, or an instrument used in Roman religious ritual. The strung clapper is also one of the musical instruments still used today by several traditional Gozitan folk groups.

2. Clapper with hinged wooden flaps (It. tabella)

Another type of wooden clapper is found in various parts of Malta and Gozo. This consists of a flat piece of strong thick wood measuring about 33cm x 18cm, with wooden flaps hinged onto it on either side. The hinges themselves are also wooden. The flaps are made to rotate at 180° when the instrument is held from above and shaken. A few of these instruments are made with much attention to aesthetic appearance (eg Mdina Cathedral, the church of St Paul in Rabat and Siggiewi).

3. Clapper with metal

handles (It. tabella)

It is very interesting to find that all the churches in the capital city, Valletta, and a few village parishes use the same type of instrument that combines wood and metal. This is very simply a rectangular piece of wood, roughly 36-48cm high x 13-17cm wide. Attached to one or both sides is a hinged metal loop, much like a simple door handle, which would have been ordered specifically from the local blacksmith. The instrument is held from an opening cut into the wood at the top edge. It is shaken or rotated, causing the metal to swing 180° and to strike against the wood. A cuqlajta of this kind was previously also used in the Dominican Priory and church in Rabat, Malta. Inside the Priory, only during Holy Week, it replaced the daily functions of the bell, such as calling the friars to prayer and meals. The same instrument was then used on Maundy Thursday inside the adjoining Dominican church.11

4. Hand-twirled ratchet (It. raganella)

A few parishes possess a handled ratchet of the type frequently referred to as a “cog-rattle.” This type of instrument is, in fact, a mechanised scraper in which a wooden cog-wheel is fixed to a handle and set into a frame, with a wooden blade acting as the scraping stick. In this case, the motion of scraping is provided by whirling the frame around the handle. The strident sound is produced by the collision of the rigid stick with the serrated edges.

5. Ratchet with sound box (It. tracola)

This type of instrument is a ratchet fitted with a resonating box. These instruments are small versions of the larger ones found in the belfry.

Perhaps one of the oldest instruments of this type still to be seen in Malta is that found in Naxxar parish church. It has a faceted cylinder with protruding teeth fixed to an external handle. When manually rotated, it scrapes against rigid wooden tongues inside the box. Much loving care was clearly lavished over this instrument some centuries ago by its maker. A smaller instrument in the Birkirkara parish church of St Helen is equally beautifully hand made.

CHILDREN’S INSTRUMENTS

In the Maltese islands, use of wooden instruments in Holy Week was by no means restricted solely to churches. Up to a generation ago, any of these instruments were also given to children who were allowed to play them inside the house and outside in the streets during Holy Week, instead of their usual toys.

In Gozo, those who did not possess wooden instruments, made do with simpler versions in cane. This custom seems to have prevailed only in Gozo, certainly in Nadur, Gharb and Rabat. The cane cuqlajta, which entailed no expense, required no more than a wooden cotton reel, an Arundo donax reed (qasba) and unlimited time and patience.

Anna Borg Cardona holds diplomas in music and carried out research on musical instruments.

Notes

10. A much larger instrument of this type was previously also used in Mellieha. Information kindly given to me by Dun Mosè Debono of Mellieha.

11. Information kindly provided by Patri Mikiel Fsadni, Dominican Priory, Rabat.

This article first appeared in the Summer 2002 issue of Treasures of Malta, which is published by Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti. Treasures of Malta is a

magazine about art and

culture that is published three times a year, and is available from all leading bookshops. Part 1 was

carried last Wednesday.