Weaving a Story

 

The small village of Tametoutche lies just at the opening of Todra Gorge, Moroccos’s 12km long version of the Grand Canyon. The red cliffs soar overhead as you wind your way along a cool mountain river. The village itself is a collection of small alleys and streets with residential and commercial businesses mixed in throughout. While out wandering, we were invited into an Amazaigh (Berber) rug shop, a stop that turned into one of my favorite experiences with a local family.

cobalt for blue dye

Mohammed, the owner, learned English by studying with peace corps workers when they worked in the area. Je welcomed us in and began to tell us the story of the rugs, his family, and the area. His family is Amazaigh (Berber). the shop was started by his father and grandfather, who would venture to different groups of Amazaigh, buying rugs and weavings to bring back to the shop. The family also produces their own rugs in a variety for styles made from sheep and camel wool, and silk crafted from a agave cactuses. Each thread has different textual qualities, and is dyed with all natural materials. Mohammed showed us jars of cobalt for blue, henna for orange, poppy for red, iron for green, and Turmeric and saffron for yellow.

Tools of the trade

Fatima at her loom.  This rug will take 2-3 months to complete

We were introduced to his daughter Fatima, who demonstrated how to card wool and spin it into thread before taking her spot behind the loom.Weaving is done by the women, and it is only they who truly know the story told in each piece. There are common symbols, but the colors she uses, and the pattern she creates with them tells a story of what she is thinking about, values, or what occasion they are to be crated for. Mohammed explained several of the symbols and how they connect. It was fascinating to learn a different visual cultural language, and exciting to begin to recognize the patterns in the rugs he continued to pile in front of us.

Here's a video of Mohammed speaking about what different symbols mean in each of the rugs:

Various rugs in the shop

The pile grew as he brought out big rugs, small rugs, fluffy rugs and silky ones. Pillow covers, decorative pieces, even antique belts made from a specific group of Jewish Amazaigh from the south. It was an absolute delight of colors, textures and patterns! Our hosts brought out mint tea while we browsed and chatted, a much welcome treat in the heat. Eventually we selected a few items, and thanked Mohammed and Fatima for their time and stories.

While not extensive, check out these guides to symbolism in Amazaigh rugs!