Etymology

Ħal Tarxien is a small village in the south east of Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

. The etymology

Etymology

Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...

 of the village may be a corruption of Tirix, meaning a large stone, similar to those used for the village's noted temple

Temple

A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...

s. The village motto is Tyrii Genure Coloni ("The Phoenicia

Phoenicia

Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...

ns created me").

Population

Today, the village is inhabited by just 7,724 villagers (Dec 2008). When the summer comes, the heat drives most of the citizens of Ħal Tarxien to the seaside villages of Malta, often bringing down the population of the village to about two-thirds of what it is during the colder months.

Prehistoric temples

The oldest temple is said to date back to about 2800 BCE. The temples feature various statues

Statues

Statues is a popular children's game, often played in Australia but with versions throughout the world.-General rules:# A person starts out as the "Curator" and stands at the end of a field. Everyone else playing stands at the far end...

 and reliefs of animal

Animal

Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...

s, including goat

Goat

The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...

s (for which Malta is noted) and pig

Pig

A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...

s. Most notable of the statues found in the Temples are about 2.5 m in height, and are said to represent a sort of Mother Goddess

Mother goddess

Mother goddess is a term used to refer to a goddess who represents motherhood, fertility, creation or embodies the bounty of the Earth. When equated with the Earth or the natural world such goddesses are sometimes referred to as Mother Earth or as the Earth Mother.Many different goddesses have...

. There are several of these statues scattered around the various temples, and are thought to represent fertility

Fertility

Fertility is the natural capability of producing offsprings. As a measure, "fertility rate" is the number of children born per couple, person or population. Fertility differs from fecundity, which is defined as the potential for reproduction...

.

Churches

The parish church of Ħal Tarxien is dedicated to the Annunciation of Our Lady, hence the Tarxinizi (the people of Ħal Tarxien) consider the Blessed Virgin Mary, particularly at Her Annunciation as the Patron and Protector of their town and its whole population. The church was elevated to the status of parish in 1592, making it one of the oldest parishes of Malta. A key part of Ħal Tarxien culture is the feast of the Annunciation

Annunciation

The Annunciation, also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Virgin Mary, that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus the Son of God. Gabriel told Mary to name her...

, whose feast is celebrated in late May or first Sunday of June. It is celebrated with religious celebrations and liturgical services at the parish church, and publicly with street decorations, band marches in the village streets and large aerial and ground firework displays.

The second largest church in town is dedicated to the Resurrection of Christ better known by the locals as "Ta' l-Erwieħ" (Maltese pronunciation: tɐlɛrˈwɪːħ). The word means "of the souls" and it is used due to the old cemetery that surrounds the church. This church is right next to the renowned Tarxien Neolithic Temples and is visited by many tourists as many of the prehistoric remains were also found in the mentioned cemetery.

There are two other small chapels in Ħal Tarxien. These are dedicated to St. Bartholomew and St. Mary respectively.

There is also another chapel which is housed in the convent of the Sisters of Charity. This is dedicated to 'Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception'. The same congregation have a school.

There is also another church dedicated to St. Nicholas of Tolentino and a convent which belongs to the Augustinian Friars.

Local Council

The current Ħal Tarxien local council members are:

• Farrugia Paul (Mayor, PL)
• Agius Frans (Vice Mayor, PL)
• Darmanin Keith (PL)
• Vella Maria Doris (PL)
• Bonavia Lawrence (PN)
• Claudine Lanzon (PL)
• Dalli Ismael (PN)

Band Clubs

The only band club in Ħal Tarxien is the Għaqda Mużikali Marija Annunzjata founded in 1862. The Ħal Tarxien Band Club main aims are to promote the music culture amongst the locals of Ħal Tarxien and to co-organise the external titular festivities in honour of the Annunciation of Our Lady, Patroness of Ħal Tarxien, held annually during the last week of May.

• The Annunciation Band Club (L-Għaqda Mużikali Marija Annunzjata) http://www.tarxienbandclub.com

There is also another club, a social one, dedicated to Our Lady of Catholic Doctrine.

• Our lady of Christian Doctrine Social Club(Ghaqda Socjali Madonna Tad-Duttrina) http://madonnatadduttrina.com/

Fireworks organization

• Ghaqda tan-nar Madonna Tad-Duttrina
• Ghaqda tan-nar San Gabriel www.stgabrielfireworkstarxien.com

Famous people

Former Prime Minister of Malta

Prime Minister of Malta

The Prime Minister of Malta is the Head of Government of Malta.-Establishment of the office and developments:The office of "Head of Ministry" was created as soon as Malta was granted autonomous government in 1921. The 1921 constitution was suspended twice before being revoked...

 Dominic Mintoff lives in retirement in Ħal Tarxien.
Former Minister Magistrate Dr. Joseph Cassar lives in Ħal Tarxien.
Former Speaker of the House of the Representatives and Ambassador of Malta to the Vatican, Chev. Dr. Jimmy Farrugia lived at Ħal Tarxien until his death in 2007...
Thea Garrett, singer. She represented Malta at Eurovision Song Contest 2010.

Main roads

• Misraħ ir-Repubblika (Republic Square)
• Misraħ is-Suq (Market Square)
• Triq Birżebbuġa (Birzebbuga Road)
• Triq Brittanika (Brittany Street)
• Triq Ħal Tarxien (Ħal Tarxien Road)
• Triq id-Dejma (Dejma Street)
• Triq il-Kbira (Main Street)
• Triq il-Palma (Palm Street)
• Triq Paola (Paola Road)
• Triq San Anard (St Leonard Road)
• Triq Santa Marija (St Mary Street)
• Triq Tal-Barrani (Outer Road)
• Triq il-Knisja (Church Street)
• Triq iz-Zejtun (Olive Road)
• Triq Marju Schembri (Mario Schembri Street)

External links

• Tarxien Local Council
• The Tarxien Temples - Article from Grip magazine (Maltese publication)