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Comino - Local Placenames
For the benefit of those who do not have Maltese fonts we list the Comino placenames in normal Latin text, supplemented by graphic images that show the proper spelling in the Maltese language.
In the above table we list the Comino placenames in their proper Maltese spelling,
whereas below (in geographical order) they appear in plain Latin text.
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Local Name
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Ref
|
English meaning
|
|
Bejn il-Kmiemen
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1
|
Betwixt the Cominos
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il-Hobza
|
8
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the Loaf
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il-Bejta tal-Fenek
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5
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the Rabbit's Burrow
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l-Ghar tal-Mazz
|
15
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'Tal-Mazz' (Pile) Cave
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Taht il-Mazz
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15
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beneath the 'Mazz' (Pile)
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Ras l-Irqieqa
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18
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Narrow Point
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it-Torri
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13
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the Tower
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il-Palazz
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12
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the Palace [sic. hospital]
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Wied Ernu
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23
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Ernu Valley
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it-Trunciera
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14
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the Battery
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Ta’ Prexxa
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21
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of the Breach lit.
|
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id-Darsa
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4
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the Molar
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l-Imkebba
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16
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the Wrapped One lit.
|
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Ras l-Imnieri
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17
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Lanterns Point
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il-Kola
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10
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[Santa Maria] Bay
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il-Kappella
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9
|
the Chapel
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San Niklaw, il-Qala ta’
|
19
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Saint Nicholas' Bay
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tal-Hmara
|
22
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of the Donkey
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Ghar Ghana
|
2
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Song Cave
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ic-Cimiterju
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3
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the Cemetery
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il-Forn
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6
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the Bakery
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il-Hazina
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7
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the Waste
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Stazzjon tal-Birdlife
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20
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'Birdlife' Station
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Wied l-Ahmar
|
24
|
Red Valley
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il-Modd
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11
|
il-Modd a unit of measure
|
|
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Protecting our Oral Heritage
my-malta.com was extremely preoccupied by the lack of documentation concerning Comino's toponomy. The most authoritative work on vernacular placenames, Placenames of the Maltese Islands, 1300-1800, the product of avid research by Professor Godfrey Wettinger, gives little information about Comino.
This is understandable considering the source of information was notarial deeds that primarily dealt with arable land. For hundreds of years, Comino was an exclusive hunting ground for the Knights of S. John and, therefore, the sparse tracts of land under cultivation were unleased.
Most of its garigue was noted for the production of cumin and its famed wild thyme honey. British cartographers scaled the island's waters in order to chart treacherous reefs, rocks and boulders that dot its eastern and south-eastern coasts.
We are concerned that modern commercial maps contain erroneous information about the local placenames. One clear example is l-Imnieri, that is repeatedly referred to as Ghemieri. The latter is the plural of the Maltese word Ghamra, that means 'an abode'. The singular of Imnieri is Imnara, 'a lantern'. It is all too obvious that no abode could be built on a narrow headland that at times is submerged in rough weather. The same site housed a lantern that warned sailing vessels to stay clear. We are also aware that the battery, referred to by the islanders as it-Trunciera, should in precise military terms be referred to as batterija. We do, however, feel that we have to respect the islanders' common usage of the word it-Trunciera despite this technical anomaly.
I took the task to document the oral testimony of old seafarers, now octogenerians, who knew the Cominan and Gozitan coastline and waters by heart.
Steve Borg
Very Important:
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