Flat bottoms & flat feet? Here's how these Maltese towns & villages got their nicknames
Malta might be small, but there are differences from town to town, and we sure are proud of our localities! Over the years we’ve come up with nicknames for the inhabitants of certain spots, based on historical tales, local traits and urban legends.
Here are just a few that we’ve gotten to know. Can you think of any more?
Sliema - Tal-Pepé
Perhaps the most infamous on the list! The term is said to have come from tal-papa, which is what 'high society' people would call their fathers, imitating the Italians in Malta at the early part of the 20th century!
Birkirkara - Ta' sormhom ċatt
Surely everyone from Birkirkara can’t have a flat bottom (sormhom ċatt)! This nickname actually comes from a story which tells of he time the residents of Birkirkara fell on their backsides after pulling up the huge church bell at St Helen’s Basilica. Makes sense!
Ħal Qormi - Sa nofsinhar
Qormi is known for its amazing bakeries, where bakers work through the night to get our tasty Maltese loaves and ftiras to market by the morning! This cheeky nickname refers to locals who work until midday, due to their early morning shifts.
L-Isla - tar-rixa
People from Isla got the nickname tar-rixa - of the feather - for their tendency to display turkey or cockerel feathers in their balconies to show their neighbours how well they feasted and how well-off they were! That’s one way of doing it...
Iż-Żejtun - Ta' saqajhom ċatta
Legend has it that the people of Zejtun gained their strange flat-footed nickname because they banged their feet and chased St Paul through the streets of the town because they didn’t want to believe in the teachings of Christianity. Ok, then!
Il-Birgu - tat-toqba
The fortified city of Vittoriosa, or Birgu, is a regatta loving locality, surrounded by the deep blue Med. On the Kalkara side of Birgu you’ll find a tunnel in the bastions which leads down to the sea, nicknamed it-toqba (the hole)!
L-Imsida - tal-ħama
We all know how Msida roundabout gets after a downpour! Tal-hama refers to the sludge that gathers in the valley after the drains flood and the street dirt gets washed away!
Ħal-Tarxien - tar-redus
Oh dear, this one refers to all the goat droppings coming from livestock in this pretty southern farming town! We'd prefer to think of Tarxien's outstanding Megalithic Temples!
Raħal Ġdid - tal-midjunin
Raħal Ġdid was a new city built by Grandmaster Antoine De Paul, hence its other name, Paola. It’s said that to get people to inhabit the locality, all new residents would have their debts cleared, hence the nickname... sounds good to us!
Did you know all of these nicknames? Which did we miss out?