Once there were about 25-30 million Amazigh tribes in North Africa, most of them were living in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia ,Libia. Smaller Amazigh-speaking populations were also in Maurituania, Burkina Faso and Egypt. The Amazigh-"free people " were recognised by the name of "berbers" by other non-nomadic populations.
Soon this land got conquered by Islam, berber traditions got mixed with the Arab civilisation and just few of the berber tribes stayed until today. Nomadic tribes have really interesting traditions; these societies used to be matriarchal. The man used to spend long times far away from homes and women and children were in charge of their villages. Foods, architecture, art and crafts. The origin of berber carpets is in this villages. Weaving was a traditional practice for which every woman entering her adult age had to weave in the traditional tribe technique a carpet with her dreams for her future lifestyle. Some women kept weaving carpet with the same symbols and techniques until today. Scrolling down you will find a list of different style of berber carpets that still exist today. Each corresponds to a tribe that occupies an area of the moroccan territory .
Beni Ourain Carpets
One of the most popular carpets in the West is called the Beni Ourain which is made of 100% sheep’s wool and comes from the region of the Middle Atlas between Khenifra and Taza. Beni is an Arabic word that translates to ‘son of’ or people/tribe/kin, the tribes always lived in proximity and their designs are somewhat similar with subtle differences in design elements and color. The base of Beni Ourain carpet is mostly a light shade of cream or white - the natural colour of the wool used - then woven with brightly tinted wool coloured by the regional flora.
Azilal Carpets.
Azilal rugs often tell stories through their use of bold colours and patterns. Originating from the high Atlas mountains, these sought-after creations are single-knotted, and woven in wool with intricate patterns and symbolism.
Boujad Carpets.
Boujad region rugs most often appear in warm red, pink and orange hues. They are created with the typical knotting techniques practiced by Berber tribes - but with the knot being pulled tighter, the rugs require less wool. This enables the weaver to create the intricate geometric patterns that Boujad rugs are famous for.
The colours are created by natural dyes - from flowers, berries, leaves and henna.
Bachelite Carpets.
The rugs are completely pile less and flat woven, making them lightweight and more easily transportable and they are made with any type of fabric -made with scraps and old clothes.
These thinner rugs lend themselves to hotter climes, and can be used to create a carpet that fills an entire room’s floor space.
Spending loads of time in the country of Morocco and documenting this catalogation from tribes , carpets dealers new and old books or documents we have found more than 50 Amazingh symbols that were used by the tribes in carpet weaving:
