By late February 1676, Malta was no longer dealing with a rumour, a “bad fever”, or a handful of suspicious deaths. It was dealing with a full-blown public health disaster, and the island’s administration under the Order of St John was being forced into decisions that were both brutally practical and politically explosive. They restricted movement, isolated the sick, policed the population, and kept a port economy functioning while the disease tore through the Grand Harbour t

On 23 February 1721, Malta had just started its Carnival season under the rule of Grand Master Marc’Antonio Zondadari. This is the period most historians link to the introduction of the kukkanja into Maltese Carnival. Sources are clear on the year 1721 and on Zondadari’s role, but they do not give a clean, documented “first performance” date for the Kukkanja tradition. What we do know is that the kukkanja was introduced in 1721 and that it was a Neapolitan tradition. The kukk