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Stage of weaving Amazigh carpets

The Amazigh art of weaving, also called azetta is a rural art traditionally practiced by nomadic or semi-nomadic Berber women. Historically, this art comes from one of the three great Berber groups, namely the Masmouda, the Zenets, and the Sanhadja, each tribe has tried to develop a particular aesthetic style and technique in the weaving of its own carpets.  The weaving became the standard of the name of each of these tribes, in the expression of their respective qualities, their simplicity, their rusticity, and their sobriety, but also their vivacity made of good mood and an almost naive melancholy. As mentioned in the previous article, there are several types of carpets that differ according to the different regions of the Berber territory. The weaving of Amazigh carpets must respect a certain number of stages and traditions. In this article, we'll present to you the process of weaving Amazigh carpets. We can mention six stages of the weaving of Amazigh carpets.

The different types of Amazigh carpets

The different types of Amazigh carpets

 

Stage of weaving Amazigh carpets

The first stage of weaving the Amazigh carpets: Buying wool

Traditionally, the Amazighs consider wool as a sending from God. They confirm that wool protects against evil forces.

The wool allows you to determine the aesthetic aspect of your carpet, the quality of which differs depending on the region. The dense, very soft and silky wool of Amazigh carpets makes them high quality and expensive.

The second stage of weaving the Amazigh carpets: washing the wool

Il est nécessaire de laver la laine avant le tissage ! Qu’elle se soit la nature de la laine, haut de gamme faite-mains ou une laine nouée en machine, elle est vivante et souvent teintée.  Elle peut encore lâcher des résidus parasites (huiles naturelles) lorsque le tapis sera nettoyé.

When the Amazigh women wash the wool in the river, they say:

La laine comme le blé crée l’abondance“. 

The third stage of weaving the Amazigh carpets: cutting the wool.

After having intensely cleaned the wool, the next step is to cut it according to the size that the Berber woman wishes to give to the carpet. It is necessary to choose between a short or long wool, a flat or soft carpet!

The fourth stage of weaving the Amazigh carpets: preparing the loom

During the preparation of the loom, the Amazigh weavers take care of two important elements: t'di and immerguel. The knotting of the wool threads is done on t'di, these long cotton threads structure the carpet. 

La préparation du métier à tisser est le moment de la détermination de la taille du tapis. L’immerguel s’agit de la structure qui tend le tapis lors du tissage. D’une manière essentielle, il est composé de pièces en métal et de bout de bois. L’immerguel n’a pas beaucoup changé depuis des décennies.

iUne-femme-berbere-qui-utilise-limmerguel (1) 
A Berber woman who uses immerguel

The loom remains the ultimate symbol of magical protection. It was considered a living human being and was treated as such. Looms are believed to possess baraka (blessings).

Le montage du métier à tisser nécessite plusieurs personnes. C’est pour cela que la femme tisserande demande l’aide à deux de ces voisines.  Après le fait d’enfoncer deux piquets dans le sol, la tisserande dit le “Basmala” en écrasant des morceaux de sucre entre les deux piquets. Ensuite, les tisserandes participantes chantent les phrases suivantes :

We want to mount the loom.

Every loom that comes into being

Must be completed,

And Allah will sanctify him

And Allah will sanctify him

The evil eye

And of bad luck

Today and always“.

The fifth step: Weaving

The weaving process is in the form of a simple but repetitive gesture. Each cut wool thread is tied one by one manually. 

The weaving of Berber carpets is considered as a meticulous and long work requiring patience and a great rigor. The weaver gives life to the carpet while being inspired by her personal life and her emotions to weave a carpet with the desired shapes and colors.

Lors du tissage, les tisserandes amazighes n’utilisent qu’une petite image du dessin comme référence lors du tissage du tapis. La compréhension de l’endroit du commencement et de fin des lignes et des formes est uniquement basée sur l’instinct. Ce dernier est un savoir qui leur a été transmis par leurs mères et leurs grands-mères berbères. 

The carpet weaving stage is considered a social gathering of women. It is rarely that a woman weaves a carpet by herself. They are helped by their daughters or young girls who learn the craft as they grow up. 

Le tissage chez le peuple amazigh est une chose vivante – c’est une forme d’art enracinée dans la tradition et les frontières tribales, mais ne se limitant pas au passé en s’adaptant à la modernité et en créant de nouveaux motifs d’expression qui sont reconnus dans le monde entier comme faisant partie du lexique marocain du tissage pour ne pas dire du lexique universel.

Le tissage amazigh est une chose vivante – c’est une forme d’art enracinée dans la tradition et les frontières tribales, mais non limitée au passé, reconnue par le monde en s’adaptant à la modernité et en créant de nouvelles expressions.

Les tisserandes sont constamment conscientes du monde spirituel. La laine est considérée comme porte-bonheur, mais les tisserandes doivent veiller à ne pas laisser le mal s’infiltrer entre les fils pendant le processus de tissage. Les manches des matrices et des marteaux-peignes des tisserands sont gravés de motifs destinés à conjurer le mal. Les symboles de ces outils sont également tissés dans de nombreux tapis tribaux marocains.

The sixth step: wash and dry the prepared carpet

Once woven, the carpet must be cleaned again. This is a simple washing, using the same techniques that allow the modification of the final aspect of the carpet. Drying in the sun allows the wool to solidify and gives a certain resistance.

So, to summarize the process of making Amazigh carpets begins with the purchase of wool. After that, the sheep's wool must be cleaned because it contains natural oils. Then the wool is woven using the previously prepared loom. Once the carpet is woven, it must be washed and dried to solidify it. 

Alors dans cet article, on a essayé de présenter les étapes les plus importante de tissage des tapis. Pour, plus d’information concernant la décoration intérieure n’hésitez pas de visiter our blog.

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