Watchful eyes
Luzzus are essentially traditional Maltese fishing boats. They are typically painted in traditional bright colours including blue,
yellow, red and green. You can normally spot a rather large number of luzzus in Malta’s seaside villages.
There is quite a lot of superstition surrounding the luzzu, the most prominent of them all being the painted or engraved pair of eyes on the front of the boat. These eyes are believed to be a modern survival of an old Phoenician tradition, and are normally referred to as the Eye of Orisis, or the Eye of Horus – the Phoenicians’ god of protection from evil. They are a symbol of protection and good health, and are believed to protect the fishermen from any harm while they are out at sea.
In addition to this, luzzus are normally inherited from a person’s father and grandfather. However, although the exact colours of each luzzu vary from one another, the colours of each luzzu are normally kept exactly the same due to superstitious belief. Therefore, when the old paint is completely stripped off the boat every five years, in order for the fisherman to closely inspect his boat for anything that needs to be replaced, the boat is then re-painted in exactly the same colours that the person’s father and grandfather had used.
Watchful eyes
Luzzus are essentially traditional Maltese fishing boats. They are typically painted in traditional bright colours including blue,
yellow, red and green. You can normally spot a rather large number of luzzus in Malta’s seaside villages.
There is quite a lot of superstition surrounding the luzzu, the most prominent of them all being the painted or engraved pair of eyes on the front of the boat. These eyes are believed to be a modern survival of an old Phoenician tradition, and are normally referred to as the Eye of Orisis, or the Eye of Horus – the Phoenicians’ god of protection from evil. They are a symbol of protection and good health, and are believed to protect the fishermen from any harm while they are out at sea.
In addition to this, luzzus are normally inherited from a person’s father and grandfather. However, although the exact colours of each luzzu vary from one another, the colours of each luzzu are normally kept exactly the same due to superstitious belief. Therefore, when the old paint is completely stripped off the boat every five years, in order for the fisherman to closely inspect his boat for anything that needs to be replaced, the boat is then re-painted in exactly the same colours that the person’s father and grandfather had used.