Innovating Traditions

Interview with Alda Bugeja

Since childhood, Gozitan weaver, Alda Bugeja was brought up in a culture of tradition and business.

“My grandmother Ġiżwarda Caruana was widowed at a young age and she had to ensure a means of living for her five children. Like many other women at the time, she was a weaver and a lacemaker and she also sold her products. People still remember her selling from shop to shop her woven fabrics that she kept beneath her għonnella1,” reminisced Alda.

“Woven products were very much in use in those days. Clothes, bed sheets, blankets, mats, bags and various other items were woven out of wool or cotton. There was such a high demand that some people afforded to specialise in just one particular skill that is involved in the long process of weaving,” Alda explained.

“First, the sheep had to be sheared while the cotton had to be hand-picked from the fields. Then the wool would be washed, whereas seeds had to be removed from the cotton bolls. Next, the wool and cotton had to be carded to disentangle the fibres and clean them further. Fibres were then swirled onto a rolag to distribute them evenly. The next job was to twist the fibres on a spindle, turning them into yarn, which was then folded, and eventually, furled around a wooden roller. The filled roller was then placed at the back of the loom so that the weaver could unroll the yarn from it to set the loom for weaving. The weaver would use either a personally designed pattern or one designed by someone else.”

From necessity to passion

In contrast to many others, Alda’s family was involved in the whole process of weaving. Her father had a large herd of sheep and goats, as well as tended fields with the help of his sons. Her grandmother, aunts, mother and sisters processed the wool and the cotton, and wove them into fabrics or items. In the winter season, when the weather did not permit fieldwork, and since days are shorter with less daylight hours, all family members would gather at home to help out with the weaving. Even the young ones were expected to lend a hand, and soon, Alda became fascinated with this trade, so much so that at the age of five, she was already learning how to use the loom. She would often accompany her mother Josephine during her visits to various clients in Malta and Gozo to sell their products and services. This generated in her a passion for the business. Meanwhile, to enhance her expertise in the weaving industry, she attended weaving courses in Sweden, Wales and England.

Weaving a new lease of life

“Weaving retained much of its popularity until the 1990s, but then it started to wane. As our elders passed away, very few skilled people were left. Looms were not regarded as an important piece of inheritance, as in the past, and most were disposed of. This was tragic for me since I believe that weaving is an intrinsic part of what makes us Maltese and Gozitans. It is a significant element of our cultural heritage that makes us unique. The weaving patterns and designs that have been created by our ancestors define our work and our past.”

It was inconceivable for Alda to let this ancient trade die away. Instead of giving up, she became even more resolute to promote weaving and to find new ways how to create different handcrafts which would attract the new generations. Rather than focusing on souvenir products, she began to weave and knit practical and modern items. Coats, skirts, shawls, scarves, mittens, headwear, blankets, mats, handbags and wall-hanging decorations, just to name a few, were now produced by her in fashionable patterns and colours.

To raise awareness about weaving, she started to participate in Radio and TV programmes, as well as in various exhibitions, both locally and abroad. In the year 2000, as one of the few remaining artisans who specialised in the local traditional weaving craft, Alda received the National Award for Achievement in Industry. In 2004, she featured in the local documentary A Glimpse of Wool which was produced by the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment. This documentary competed with 101 other specialised films from various countries and was awarded the prestigious award from the Director of Agrofilm Institute and Director of Agriculture in Nitra, Slovakia.2 In 2012, she created woven replicas of local traditional costumes for Heritage Malta’s exhibition 'Peasant Costumes – Insights into Rural Life and Society'. Then, in 2015, she produced a collection of woven clothing that was exhibited by models during a local fashion show.