Weaving has been a tradition for cultures worldwide for thousands of years. It is a skill that is passed down from one generation to another, usually women. One can say that it is probably the oldest form of art in Amazigh tradition and it has been practiced side by side with pottery. With the rise of cultural awareness among the Amazigh natives, weaving has become a form of cultural resistance used to revive a deeper interest in Amazigh Identity.
I remember my grandmother worked side by side with other women from the neighborhood. They weaved beautiful carpets that we used for years during different seasons. They invested so much love, compassion and support in their work and considered it almost a ritual that required celebration by the end. Singing and dancing are therefore part of the weaving.
Nowadays, few younger weavers are learning to weave, and the mostly older women who continued to weave are finding it increasingly difficult to preserve this tradition. The increasing standards of living as well as the lack of local fair trade market have made a current revival nearly impossible. As I grow older, I long for those days when everything we needed we made with our own hands.
Look what we found today!
You can donate here! https://www.gofundme.com/manage/amazigh-weaving-revival
- Habib
The primary weaving material is for Amazigh weaving is sheep’s wool, harvested directly from their own flocks.
"Like the dead, the loom cannot be transported at night. That would be disrespectful."