f Costume in carnival: Social performance, rank and status

This article deals with the range and evolution of costume in organized and spontaneous carnivals in Malta during the British colonial period (1800–1964). It discusses the performative qualities of carnival costume. The article also delves into the type of connections that can be made between costume, social stratification and political power in particular periods of Maltese colonial history. It shows how costume revealed social aspiration or recognition in certain contexts, while also providing a means to play with identity and dissimulation in others. It examines how control and power were affirmed on a micrological level through choice of costume, especially when the latter became subject to prohibition.