P O L Y D A C T Y L I S M IN F O L K L O R E
Angelo DougaH
T h e r e have recently been some write-ups and c o m m e n t s i n a local periodical
a b o u t p a s t i n c i d e n c e o f p o l y d a c t y l i s m i n M a l t a , a n d b o u t i t s d e p i c t i o n i n art.
H o w e v e r , this article is m o r e about p o l y d a c t y l i s m i n M a l t e s e folklore, local beliefs, and
cases I h a v e c o m e t o k n o w about.
A d m i t t e d l y , p o l y d a c t y l i s m i s a v e r y rare p h e n o m e n o n and sparsely w r i t t e n
about.
W h e n e v e r m e n t i o n e d , i t i s i n a n u n d e r t o n e ; p r a c t i c a l l y t r e a t e d as t a b o o .
S u r e l y t h i s p h e n o m e n o n h a s o c c u r r e d from t i m e t o t i m e i n M a l t a , a n d p e r s o n s h a v i n g
five
fingers
and a t h u m b o n each hand, a n d six toes o n each foot h a v e been depicted i n
art a n d w r i t t e n about i n m e d i c a l j o u r n a l s , w i t h r e l a t i v e scientific c o m m e n t s a n d
observations.
P o l y d a c t y l i s m h a s been k n o w n i n M a l t a since N e o l i t h i c times. I n D r . P a u l
C a s s a r ' s a u t h o r a t i v e w o r k " M e d i c a l H i s t o r y o f M a l t a " ( 1 9 6 4 ) p . 5 , i t i s stated t h a t a
s t a t u e t t e h a s b e e n f o u n d w i t h five fingers a n d a t h u m b .
S o m e art c r i t i c s h a v e l o o k e d
u p o n o f p o l y d a c t i l i s m i n a r t as t h e a r t i s t ' s m i s t a k e o r w h i m ; i t i s n i e t h e r case.
One
l i t t l e k n o w n d e p i c t i o n o f P o l y d a c t y l y is a h a r d l y noticable detail i n the 18 century
m u r a l i n the refectory o f the O l d S e m i n a r y i n F l o r i a n a . H e r e too, critics have
s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e e u n u c h w i t h five fingers a n d a t h u m b c o u l d b e a n e r r o r b y t h e artist.
S u r e l y i t is not!
Personally I must admit I w a s m o r e interested i n the o l d folkloristic
and c u l i n a r y details painted i n the magnificent murals, and could hardly notice that
p e c u l i a r i t y . T h i s p h e n o m e n o n i s k n o w n t o h a v e o c c u r r e d also i n n e i g h b o u r i n g S i c i l y
w h e r e i t is held i n supersticious horror. I was once reading o n S i c i l i a n f o l k l o r e and
f o u n d that this a b n o r m a l i t y is associated w i t h m i s f o r t u n e , dread and bad luck.
In
M a l t a , s o m e h o w i t is held i n similar apprehension, although m o r e philosophically
c o n s i d e r e d t o b e a freak o f n a t u r e (skerz tan-natura) i n m a n .
A s t o its p o r t r a y a l i n art,
artists m u s t h a v e e i t h e r h e a r d o r k n o w n a b o u t i t at s o m e t i m e o r a n o t h e r , o r h a v e
personally encountered this unusual incidence.
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Polydactylism f o l k l o r e in Malta
I t is i n d e e d a v e r y r a r e p e c u l i a r i t y , a n d
g e n e r a l l y b e l i e v e d b y m a n y , t o b e a freak t r a n s m i s s i o n o f a g e n e t i c a l t r a i t o f t h a t
" a n t e d i l u v i a n race o f giants" m e n t i o n e d i n the b o o k o f Genesis i n the B i b l e and the
Apocrypha.
times.
I t is b e l i e v e d t o be a t r a i t o f t h e g i a n t s t h a t i n h a b i t e d t h e e a r t h i n b y g o n e
O n c e I h e a r d m y f a t h e r t a l k i n g a b o u t o n e s u c h case f o u n d s o m e y e a r s b a c k i n
B o r m l a , and that the smaller extra fingers w e r e surgically r e m o v e d i n infancy to m a k e
the person n o r m a l !
I n C o s p i c u a t h e i n d i v i d u a l w a s n i c k n a m e d l7l~Buswab" a n d
r e f e r r e d t o as "raġel buswab".
Other cases I know of.
M y friend C a p t . J o s e p h M . W i s m a y e r , i n h i s w o r k
" T h e F l e e t o f t h e O r d e r o f S a i n t J o h n " , m e n t i o n s t h e case i n t h e 1 8 t h c e n t u r y o f t h e
A l g e r i a n B e y o f A l g i e r s w h o had seven fingers o n each h a n d and seven toes o n each
f o o t ; h e w a s a p p r o p r i a t e l y n a m e d "Buswaba" b y h i s A l g e r i a n f r i e n d s !
P o l y d a c t y l i s m is a l s o m e t w i t h i n S a i n t J o h n ' s c o - C a t h e d r a l i n V a l l e t t a . O n
t h e m a r b l e m e m o r i a l slab o n the t o m b o f C h e v . Charles Glandeves (about the m i d d l e o f
t h e n a v e ) , t h e a n g e l o n t h e right is s h o w n q u i t e c l e a r l y w i t h s i x t o e s o n h i s right f o o t
H i s left f o o t and b o t h his hands are obscured artificially.
H e r e the artist w h o
d e s i g n e d t h e m e m o r i a l c o u l d i n d e e d h a v e s o m e h i d d e n m e s s a g e , a n d o n e c o u l d suspect
that Chev. Glandeves could have been a polydactyl knight!
I n the early 70s I saw a photograph i n an A m e r i c a n magazine, o f a coloured boy
a b o u t s i x y e a r s o l d , i n t h e state o f M i s s i s s i p p i , U . S . A . , w i t h s t r o n g A f r i c a n features,
w h o h a d five fingers a n d a t h u m b o n e a c h h a n d a n d s i x toes o n e a c h f o o t . T h e
photograph showed this polydactyl kid, playing happily, a l l smiles, o n a home-made
" g o - c a r t " , s i m i l a r t o e q u a l l y h o m e - m a d e carts c h i l d r e n p l a y e d w i t h i n p r e - w a r M a l t a .
W h e n 1 was l i v i n g i n D e t r o i t - M i c h i g a n I was told, i n a hush hush tone, b y some
M a l t e s e i m m i g r a n t s , t h a t t h e y r e m e m b e r e d a case o f p o l y d a c t y l i s m , a b o y b o r n t o
M a l t e s e p a r e n t s ; t h e s e p e r s o n s c o u l d p r o b a b l y be s t i l l a l i v e t o d a y .
A s has a l r e a d y b e e n m e n t i o n e d , i n l o c a l f o l k l o r e p o l y d a c t y l i s m is treated w i t h
some apprehension.
A y o u n g a r t i s t f r i e n d o f m i n e o n c e t o l d m e t h a t h e used t o c o u n t
h i s b a b y s o n ' s fingers e v e r y e v e n i n g t o m a k e s u r e t h a t h e had t e n ; I s u p p o s e he w a s so
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W o r r i e d and apprehensive that his son
could bea polydactyl!
V e r y likely he
m u s t have heard o f this oddity o f nature!
W h i l e it seems that polydactylism
is a v e r y rare w o r l d w i d e p h e n o m e n o n i t
has been k n o w n i n M a l t a since N e o l i t h i c
times.
I t has also occurred i n n e i g h ­
bouring Sicily, i n N o r t h A f r i c a and N o r t h
A m e r i c a , but i n M a l t a w e have a folkloristic
explanation for polydactylism.
Drawing of left hand based on a photograph
in an Italian periodical, April 2001.
Kitbiet ghal "L-Imnara M
D a w n i r i d u j k u n u b a i a t i f u q riċerka j e w e s p e r j e n z i p e r s o n a l i T a l - k i t t i e b , u j k o l l h o m
r
dejjem konnessjoni mal-folklor lokali.
Guido
K u l l k i t b a ghandha tasal ghand
Lanfranco, 78, T r i q San T r o f i m u , Tas-Sliema, S L M 02
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1-editur,