January 19, 2020

On rugs and language

The thing which became clear while researching and subsequently sourcing rugs in Morocco is the many, many layers of translation involved. At the beginning, our buying and research teams were obsessed with understanding as much as we could about each piece. “What does this symbol mean?” we would ask, and “What is this rug called?” What we learned over time is that the answers are not precise or definitive, or they have morphed significantly from one language, or intention, to another. Like a game of telephone. 

The Moroccan rugs we sell on our site are made by Amazigh artisans, widely known as Berbers. Berber derives from Barbarus, the Latin word for barbarian, or Barbaros, the Greek version. The syllables “bar-bar” are meaningless in Greek; this term was a phonetic spelling of what exotic, unknown languages (i.e., not-Greek) sounded like to Greek ears. It was used by the Romans to refer to any people who spoke a language they didn’t understand: the Gauls, Celts, Germans, everyone else, everyone other. 

 
Illustrated map of Amazigh groups. Source unknown.

Berber refers to the indigenous people of North Africa, who call themselves the Imazighen, or the Amazigh people, meaning “free” and “noble” in their dialect. But primarily, Amazigh people identify themselves with the name of their individual group or region. Ait Bou Ichaouen is the name of a group of tribes, as is Beni Ourain. Ait is a Tamazight word for “people of”. Beni is an Arabic styling of “son of”. The following word—Bou Ichaouen, Ourain, Mguild—refers to the location the people inhabited, or, the name of the male ancestor. 

The Amazigh people speak one of three main dialects: Tarifit in the north, Tamazight in the Middle Atlas, and Taselhit in the High Atlas and Anti-Atlas. 

These dialects refer to primarily oral, not written, languages. Phonetic interpretations explain why there are multiple spellings of the same name, and no “correct” way: Ourain is also Ouarain, and Zayane is Zayan or Zaiane. 

The Tamazight alphabet is called Tifinagh. Image from essaouira.nu

There is also a visual component, which requires a flexible understanding of what we see differently. With translation, whether in text or textile, some of it is ungraspable, some of it is unknowable, or better felt than explained. The allure of these rugs, made with such care and intention that they’ve been able to survive for decades, isn’t as singular as pattern or color. Each piece carries with it a hint of the unknown, hidden layers of language. A secret of the weaver’s.

Bibliography:
Amazigh Arts in Morocco, by Cynthia Becker
Berber: Tribal Carpets and Weavings from Morocco, by Wilfried Stanzer