Moroccan Amazigh carpets seem to be conquering the chic and bohemian interiors of a growing number of people, not all of whom have ever set foot on Moroccan soil. It is more poetic, when it comes from the deep High Atlas, it makes the adventurous fibre vibrate.
Moroccan Amazigh carpets are coveted for several reasons: their unique earthy character and lack of symmetry; their abstract impact; their soft and often silky hand-spun wool pile; the creativity of their weavers; and their amazing patterns and symbols, combined to create complex messages and stories rooted in Amazigh rural life.
The motifs and their meanings are part of a tradition that has remained largely independent, as the many different Amazigh tribes preferred to remain isolated in their sedentary or semi-nomadic communities.
But what do these beautiful motifs mean and how should we understand them? In general, the patterns are related to fertility, sexuality, survival, protection and the natural and agricultural world - most carpets are hand-woven by the women of the family in close-knit communities with strong cultural traditions.
For example, the main "female" symbol (alone or in a network), the diamond, is probably the most important motif in Amazigh carpets. The chevron, the M-shape and the X-shape are other important female symbols. While a large, simple lozenge can be a vigilant guardian that protects against evil, it can also be used to represent feminine attributes as well as fertility. An X could be seen as a body with arms and legs extended.
The meaning of many symbols has been lost over time, and although mothers and grandmothers have passed on specific patterns and designs through the generations, weavers might say that they simply weave what they have learned and cannot clearly express what it means.
Amazigh designs, even when they reflect certain tribal traditions and beliefs, are intensely personal and, to that end, they must be interpreted carefully, as we simply do not know what certain designs were intended for or how to translate them. And to do this, we also need to understand the songs, cultures and legends of the different tribes. For example, Berber symbols are used in tattoos as well as in carpets.
It is amazing to know that some of the simple basic shapes used in Amazigh carpets - the diamond, the chevron, the X-shape, the straight line with hatching, etc. - are used in the Amazigh carpets. - are also found as abstract signs in European rock art and in horn or bone, dating from 30,000 to 10,000 BC. Unlike any other carpet, the Amazigh carpet has retained these original pattern forms from the earliest times.
Perhaps it is time for UNESCO to take a close interest in the thousand-year-old Amazigh carpet representing the rich and original culture of Tamazgha and to raise it to the level of a universal cultural expression of humanity. Amen.
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