The history of the Moroccan Berber rugs

To understand the history if the Moroccan Berber rug, we have to go back centuries back, to the Paleolithic area. Humans just started to use more elaborate tools and traveled more around Morocco and its various regions.The Berber rugs are thicker and heavier for a reason; they were specially made for the cold of the High Atlas Mountains, to keep the people of the tribes warm and safe from the harsh winter nights.

In other regions, the rugs were lighter and thinner, such as in the dessert. These rugs were made to hide from the sun and heat and to be able to use it as a mat at night when the temperatures are little colder.

So, the rugs were made for practical reasons at first, but started to be used as a decorative item with the years. Various designers were inspired by these tribes to create their version of a rug and sell it to the big public in Europe. But, the Moroccan Berber rugs have and still are very famous for their unique shapes, designs and patterns that have hidden meanings and history behind them.

For instance, the Berber tribes used patterns and symbols to tell a story, either about female sexuality, fertility, womanhood, elements of the mountains or the earth… etc. The colors used on these rugs also have deep meaning behind them and explanation, for an example the usage of the Blue means wisdom and knowledge, Red stands for strength and green is for peace.

The beauty of these pieces is that each and every single one of them is not perfect and unique, these rugs were handmade and weaved by hand for hours and days so some of the patterns are not symmetrical and are all over the place, which shows that the weavers just took a leap of faith and creativity on them.

Process wise, it was and is extremely difficult and meticulous one. It starts out by sheering the sheep’s in order to use their wool that has been growing for a year; they then make the natural dye from flowers, herbs and oils that grow in the nature. The women of the tribe will then begin the weaving of the rug, this process can be very long and unexpected, as you never know what will come out of it.

The women do not follow a specific pattern, they get creative with the colors, the size and the outcome is just as unique ad breathtaking as ever. Do keep in mind that sometimes, when clients demand a specific pattern or color the weavers will follow up on that and give out the wanted product.

Dedication, patience, creativity and talent to make a Moroccan Berber rug. It takes time and skilled hands to give out the best result there is, and that is what makes the Moroccan Vintage Berber rugs the best kind to purchase. Not only are people will be buying a weaved piece, they will be buying a piece of history, culture, tradition and much more.