The missing hamlet

I read with interest the letter on hamlets in the 16th century (August 26). Victor Ross probably left one hamlet out. This was Hal Sifleni et Gellud which was situated where Carter's supermarket is located in Luqa Road, Tarxien, nearer to Luqa. This hamlet sent 12 men for the "Dejma" in 1419 (see Militia List, Wettinger). Probably after 1592 the inhabitants of this hamlet, if there were any left, moved either to Tarxien or to Luqa.

Now the Maltese history books tell us that Bir Miftuh was alive and kicking in 1592. It continued to be the parish of Gudja, Luqa and Hal Farrug up to 1665, when the parish priest of that time decided to take all the church's books (baptismal, etc.) to the nearest village of Gudja and completely abandon Bir Miftuh.

Incidentally, up to May 1592, Bir Miftuh commanded a large area of land from Safi to Corradino. Its parish priest at that time was Fr Bartholomew Mangion, who used to be the locum tenens of Bishop Thomas Gargallo.

The bishop could not break up the parish/matrice of Bir Miftuh as the parish priest was his personal friend. When Fr Mangion died on May 23, 1592, Bishop Gargallo hastened to erect two parishes, one of Kirkop and the other of Tarxien, on May 29, 1592, as the people of these two villages had been asking to have a parish of their own since 1575.

Although Bir Miftuh now forms part of Gudja, it had been the mother church of Gudja, Tarxien, Kirkop, Mqabba, Luqa and Hal Farrug since 1436, when it was erected as such by Bishop de Mello.