Ġostra participants are poles apart

Several festa aficionados lined up for a chance at the bragging rights attached to the flag at the end of the traditional greasy pole, or ġostra, during the feast of St Julian’s yesterday. The greased pole raised over the sea was once a common sight at the local feasts of seaside localities but has since been reduced to intermittent appearances at a handful of festi. Men, women and children scramble along the pole, with the overwhelming majority ending up in the sea below. Among the sport’s attractions is the vast array of methods used by those daring to attempt the 10-metre long slippery stunt. The word ġostra is believed to derive from the Italian giostra, meaning joust tournament. Many scholars subscribe to the idea that the seaside sport evolved alongside the maypole and kukkanja, which were commonplace in Palace Square, Valletta, until the 1800s.