Handwoven Moroccan Cotton

The work of the Berber weaver has long been a female tradition that has been passed down from mother to daughter. It is the women who ensure all the tasks that take place after the shearing, the preparation, the washing, the colors and dyes, the storage and the spinning of the wool, then finally the assembly of the loom and thus the weaving. The transformation of the wool passes entirely into the hands of the weavers who, with specific tools, which are also and often family objects and therefore personal: combs, cards, distaffs, contribute to prepare this wool which will be then woven. Still today, weaving in some Moroccan regions occupies a large part of the daily life of many women, however, this work is forbidden on days of prayer on Fridays and during religious holidays.

Some woven symbols or colors of wool protect against the forces of evil (the eye, the hand of Fatima, the number 7, the black...); others promote fertility (the snake, the scorpion...). By knotting the wool in the loom, the weaver frees herself from her fears and anxieties. The patterns she has woven can be the object of a creation, the expression of a secret writing (representation of what is taboo) or the reproduction of familiar objects.