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CARPET:bérbére MODE Of EXPRESSION IN
The TOP AND The AVERAGE MOROCCAN ATLAS. (Symbol of Berber
civilization). Like any cultural, artistic and folk act, the carpet
is an objet d'art based on a knowledge of ancestral civilization of
the people which have, all along the history, expressed their
knowledge through decorative means, sculptures, poems, drawings
various, of couleurs... etc. The carpet is thus an artistic object
carried out in families of great pastoral traditions and which live
in general breeding and agriculture (thus of the rural families).
The manufacture of the traditional carpets, under all their forms,
requires the presence of certain conditions, the means and the
material of bases of which, in particular: the pure and healthy
wool, as raw material which will be transformed into wire with
various dimensions and varied properties, of the natural dyes... an
adequate material (weaving loom) various forms, according to the
desired use, a qualified personnel controlling the traditional
techniques of weaving and decorative reasons., The weaving of the
carpets constitutes a sometimes essential activity in certain
mediums, because that plays a paramount economic part in the
subsistence of the families. It is a mode of traditional trade
based on barter. In a household the man and the woman work in
co-operation. The woman occupies herself of weaving and the
modelling of the carpets and the husband occupy themselves of
marketing in the weekly markets, and made, in against part, the
purchase of the foodstuffs and other products which they need to
live. From artistic point of view, the best carpet is still made in
certain Berber areas containing local natural products
(colorants).Les decorative reasons used is the expression of the
culture of the tribe in which the product is originating. These
reasons report the spirit of cohabitation which always existed in
these tributes since a history remote with the people of various
convictions and of various civilizations (Moslems, Jews, Berber,
Christian) the Berber tribes constitute the example more striking
this spirit of tolerance and cohabitation; because in more the
share of them one can even, today still, to meet Jewish craftsmen.
Control of art to weave the carpets transmitted of mother to girl,
which constitutes a tradition of training in the rural mediums. The
common traditional visual language of the community as well as the
techniques making it possible to tie with doigter the wire of a
weaving is also learned on the heap, in confrontation with reality.
The decorative reasons being reproduced on various weavings are
very significant. These elements different from a tribe with
another, which makes this art a true mosaic. The presentation of
the figures and the decorative symbols are made poetic manners and
reveal a musical?uvre, a table of art made with taste and the good
direction. The tonality of the colors forms an unequalled visual
melody. The carpet is a tradition rather berbérophone bus, C
` is in the Moroccan South, the Top and the Average Atlas, that the
carpet knew its blooming (under the name: Tazarbit). The
improvement of this?uvre of art significant of a plural culture,
and of knowing ancestral, is one of the daily concerns of the
families of these areas. The Center Has Ouaouzguit, in the province
of Ouarzazate, is one of the principal cradles of this artisanal
production. This Center of world fame, is located in the High
Atlas, where the clothes industry of the carpets prevails. As a
high place of the craft industry in general and carpet in
particular, Ouaouzguit Has is in its turn made up of several points
of production and in particular: - Tamassin - Semgane Has - Have
Waya - Ougharda Has - Tidili - Taznakt - Ouchen Has - Ameur Has,
Znaga and Sektana like points bordering. The area of the thousand
Kasbahs counts two principal co-operatives: The co-operative of
Ouarzazate, the Co-operative of Taznakt. The classification of the
carpets: The carpets are classified in two main categories: 1 the
Berber carpet of tradition: it is the most important category and
most representative at world level C' is a production typically
Atlasique with a decoration and reasons exceptional, specific to a
quite precise tribe. We consider, for this purpose, under following
categories: Has the carpet of the average Atlas (area of
Méknés, - Reduction), tribe Zemmour- Zaer- Zain- Bani
After the various operations related to the preparation of wool,
weaving itself can start. It is in fact of the smoothness and the
solidity of wire of chain and weft threads that the value depends
on a carpet. Two essential parts make it up: the long wool and the
basic fabric. The number of n?uds to the square decimetre varies
between 50 in a carpet from the High-Atlas and 400 in a town carpet
of Reduction. One classifies in the family of the rural carpets the
carpets of the Average Atlas, the carpets of the High Atlas and the
carpets of Haouz de Marrakech. Tease and weaving Nowadays still, in
certain areas of Morocco, the wool is regarded as a gift of the
sky; one allots the gift to protect to him the man from the malefic
forces. From shearing to warping, the wool thus is treated
carefully and is worked according to a very precise ritual, which
is transmitted from generation to generation. Thus, after shearing,
the wool is kept in a discrete corner of the house. At the time of
the washing of wool to the river the tisseuses ones pronounce these
words: "the wool as corn generates abundance". As for the dyeing,
which has the aim of modifying the aspect of wool without modifying
of them principal qualities of heat insulator, resistance with use
and visual and tactile comfort, it still obeys in certain areas
with a precise rite. The day before of the operation of dyeing, one
exposes the various baths to the gleam of stars to drive out the
malefic forces. The tisseuse one, fumigates wool lends to being
dyed and hiding place it far from the glances, then, it purifies
itself as if it prepared for the prayer. The following day, at
dawn, the tisseuse one turns over towards the bath which it exposed
to stars without turning itself neither left nor on the right then
it begins the operation of dyeing after having pronounced a prayer,
the "Basmala". For warping, the tisseuse request with two neighbors
to help it to assemble her weaving loom. After having planted the
two stakes of the warping frame, the owner of the weaving loom
pronounces the "Basmala" then crushes a few pieces of sugar between
the two stakes. Then, the three tisseuses ones start to sing the
following sentences: "We want to assemble the trade, each trade
being born must be completed". Unfortunately, the ancestral
techniques of dyeing tend to be lost. If the oral tradition of the
vegetable dyeings is always in the memories, they any more are not
very often employed nowadays for the wools which use the
manufacture of the Moroccan carpet. For a few years, the
authorities have begun research in order to find the old processes
of natural dyeing. An ambitious project which will return to the
carpets its letters of nobility. Did you know? In certain tribes of
the Atlas, when a woman buys a carpet (of which the clothes
industry takes often more than one year), the advent is lived like
a basket of God and gives place to a true festival. On the other
hand, in other tribes, the completion of a carpet is regarded as
the loss of a child whom one designed, raised and considering
growing for finally seeing it leaving. Its completion is then
accomodated by cries and tears. Town carpets The name of "town
carpets" applies especially for the carpets of Reduction and
Médiouna, both of Eastern inspiration. Those count between
40.000 and 90.000 points with the square meter following the
desired level of quality. The carpets of Médiouna are made
conspicuous by the importance attached to the central field which
often comprises several medallions. The town carpets are in general
very long, almost disproportionate. It is a simple adaptation to
dimensions of the Moroccan rooms, of Andalusian architecture.
Carpets of the Average Atlas The Average Atlas shelters the major
part of the tribes which weave the carpets (Blessed to Me
Guild...). These carpets are known for their white and silky
velvets. The n?uds have a height which reaches sometimes 10 cm or
more. These carpets are used of mattress, covers, and show a simple
decoration makes rhombuses. These carpets are called "achdif". The
carpets of the Average Atlas are woven according to techniques'
which somewhat vary from one tribe to another. Carpets of the High
Atlas The carpets of the High-Atlas are woven according to a
similar technique with that of the town carpet. The carpets of the
High Atlas are also called the carpets of Aït Ouaouzguites,
tribe which populates the territory being between Ouarzazate and
Taznakht. Weaving looms The weaving looms used called locally
"Astta" are in their great majority out of wood and metal. The
amounts are metal, the beams are containing madrilliers out of
wooden at rectangular base. Weaving on these trades gives a carpet
with fringes on only one side. The entirely metal trades,
cylindrical beams allows the weaving of carpet with fringes on the
two sides. They are very few. Carpets of Haouz de Marrakech The
carpets of Haouz de Marrakech form part of the rural carpets. The
knotty tribes of carpets which surround Marrakech are almost very
of Arab origin; one quotes here the carpets of Rehamna, the carpets
of H' mar and the carpets of Oulades Bousebaâ. In these three
tribes, the n?ud used is the symmetrical n?ud. The wire of chains
are in hair of goat or in a mixture of hair of goat and black wool,
the lines of n?uds are separated by four to twelve weft threads,
the screen is often out of red wool, the weaving of these carpets
is loose, one notes the same number of n?uds in length and width.
One of the characteristics of the carpets of Haouz is their edge
woven in teeth of saw penetrating tied velvet, these border are
woven in hair of goat. In a general way, the artistic composition
uses simple reasons which take all the possible forms: rhombus,
square, triangle, line in zigzag etc...
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