The aim of this paper is to describe and analyse two ritual drama practices in Malta and Gozo. Since mediaeval times carnival has always been accompanied by parades, masquerades, pageants, and other forms of revelry recalling pre-Christian pagan rites, particularly fertility rites. In Malta Carnival had been celebrated since at least the 15th century, coinciding with Europe’s carnivals which reached their peak during the 14th and 15th centuries. Later centuries also evince the popularity of a rustic folk drama, known as "Il-Qar'illa" [(ar 0 t •illa] with the lower classes.
"Il-Qarin'a" [(a 0 rinza] was another magic-ritual drama celebrated on New Year’s Eve, still popular in fragmentation within living memory in Malta and Gozo. Here one discovers the grotesque representation of the death of the old year and the beginning of the new one. Both rituals are defined as the oldest know drama on the island, specifically the earliest fragments of Maltese comic theatre.
