The Berber Carpet- A divine gift

The carpet is a work of art that draws from the wisdom of an ancient civilization of people who communicated their history and knowledge via decorative art forms like sculptures, poems, drawings, and paintings, among other artistic mediums.

The carpetis a work of art that was created by rural families that have strong pastoral traditions and who rely heavily on farming and agriculture to make a living. Traditional carpet production calls for a few prerequisites, fundamental techniques, and tools, including:

• As raw materials, pure and high-quality wool will be turned into threads with various dimensions, characteristics, and natural hues.
• Appropriate tools (weaving looms) with various shapes for different purposes.
• Relevant staff that is skilled in the conventional weaving techniques and ornamental patterns.

Because it is vital to the economic survival of families, carpet weaving is a necessary occupation in some socioeconomic classes. Additionally, it is a time-honored barter-based commercial approach. Villagers from the Atlas Mountains make up the majority of carpet makers. The guy and the wife collaborate in the home. They are able to purchase the food and other necessities of life by dealing with the husband's commercialization in the marketplaces and the wife's weaving and modeling of the carpets.

From an artistic perspective, the best carpet is still made in select Berber districts using natural resources found there (tints). The tribes display their culture and heritage through colorful designs. According to legends from the past, these patterns depict the spirit of coexistence that these tribes have always had with people of other religions and cultures (Muslim, Jewish, Berber, and Christian).

The art of carpet weaving is passed down from mother to daughter. In rural social standings, it establishes a learning tradition in this way.

Various Berber carpet types

• The carpet from Ait-Ouaouzguite

The High Atlas region's carpet, the Ait-Ouaouzguite, is made by a tribe from the Taznakhet region and features well-worked sheep wool, vibrant colors, and well-planned geometric patterns.

The Berber tradition carpets are the most significant and globally representative type of Moroccan carpet (with the Rbati Carpets made in the Capital of Morocco - Rabat). It is a characteristic Atlas manufacture with exquisite designs and patterns that are specific to each tribe.

• Berber rugs made at Beni-ouarain

The Middle Atlas region's Beni Ouarain carpet is typically woven into a huge white carpet with brown designs. Thickness makes it more comfy and heat-retaining.

• The carpet from High Atlas

They are woven using the same technique as city carpet. They are also known as Ait Ouaouzguite carpets, after the tribe that lived in the region between Taznakht and Ouarzazate.

• Marrakech's Haouz carpet

A rural carpet, that is. The tribes that weave carpets near Marrakech (Rehamma, H'mar, and Oulades Bouseba) are almost exclusively of Arabic descent. The sizes, hues, and patterns of the High Atlas carpets vary.

Officially, there are four quality levels: standard (green), average - medium (yellow), high (blue), and extremely high (orange).

Techniques of carpets manufacture

Wool is now considered as a gift from God in various Moroccan regions. Some claim that it can shield a person from evil forces. The wool is meticulously handled and managed in accordance with a very exact ritual that is passed down from generation to generation, from cutting to weaving. Following the cut, the wool is stored in a private area of the home. The weavers claim that wool, like wheat, brings abundance when they wash it in the river. Wool is once again worked according to precise rituals regarding the dye, which will alter the appearance of the fiber without altering its ability to act as a thermal insulator, as well as its resistance and comfort.The night before the dye, they display the baths by the light of the sky to expel its evil propensities.

The weaver purifies herself as though getting ready for prayer by fumigating the wool that will be colored, hiding it, and doing so. She returns to the bath she displayed to the stars the next day at dawn without looking back. She then says the "Basmala" prayer before starting the coloring. The weaver enlists the assistance of two neighbors to set up her weaving loom for the weaving. The owner of the weaving loom speaks the "Basmala" and then smashes some sugar between the two stakes after hammering the two stakes into the ground.

When a woman buys or sells a carpet that took more than a year to make, it is considered a sign from the gods and causes a big celebration among some Atlas tribes. However, among some other tribes, the weaving's end is regarded as the death of a child we knew and raised. Cries and tears mark the weaving's conclusion. The art of weaving quickly became widespread across the "douars," communities, and beyond. Women coil a thread extremely tightly and consistently on a stick they have cut, creating threads of wool that are between 3 and 5 cm long apiece. They pass each thread around two threads of chain, creating the beautiful knots.