I’d only just landed in Malta an hour and a half before, it was a massive rush to get to my hotel, check in and jump back into a taxi to get to the other side of the island. But there I was standing in front of a church in some town called Zejtun at 9:00 at night waiting for a man I’d never met. This isn’t something I normally do, especially since I often travel alone but Noel, the man I was meeting, had promised to show me Ghana in its real setting so how could I refuse.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, I’d read about these band clubs in each town in Malta. In my head I pictured something like the old Italian sports clubs in the US with wood paneling, and flimsy chairs, old men playing cards in the corner, cigarette hanging from their mouths. I wasn’t so far off base! The chairs were a little sturdier and because it was Ghana night, there were no men playing cards. The room was full of men, mostly older, smoke was in the air and there were no ashtrays—you just threw your cigarette on the floor! The beer was flowing and like most of these places, the food was the best you’ll get, nothing fancy, just good.

I was excited to hear the real Ghana (pronounced A-na) singing in it’s natural habitat. Within a Ghana evening, there are usually 3 sessions of male singers, usually 6, and 3 guitarists (1 lead and 2 accompany). Each session lasts approx 45 minutes. We had just come in at the end of the first session. Each session is improvised and they usually take turns poking fun at another singer. Singer 1 starts and he would make a comment about singer 4 then when it was his turn, singer 4 would respond to singer 1 and poke fun at him. It continued this way in pairs-singers 2 and 5 and 3 and 6. Or they may decide to make fun of someone else in the room as one singer did in one of the sessions I saw he razed one of the guys at the bar who happened to be another singer. Each singer sings 4 lines at each turn until the last round when each has to wrap it up and make good with their counterpart and they sing 8 lines and lines 2 and 4 have to rhyme. Though I couldn’t understand the Maltese language, Noel, who is one of the organizers of the annual Ghana Festival, was able to translate some of the verses for me. Not only were their voices amazing but it was quite remarkable that it was all improvisation. You could see some of the singers thinking and practicing what they would say while waiting for their turn. What was translated to me seemed tame in nature but apparently things can sometimes get pretty heated. These were rough guys, you could see it in their demeanors.

This was only one of the styles of Ghana, there are other styles that include singing traditional songs and a style with a high pitched voice called La Bormliza.

Ghana is in danger of dying out, on the island there are only about 40 Ghana singers left, most of which are older and although there are some, the younger generation does not seem very interested. It’s also not something that is taught, you really just grow up with it. Noel is trying to change that by making the world more aware of the art form but given the typical bar setting for which Ghana is performed, it’s hard to create a scenario for the stage at festivals.

I had to ask if any women ever sang Ghana, Noel said there was one many years ago but he never met her. I have to imagine she was fierce!

I’m so happy that I got to have this experience, it was a highlight of my trip.