Berber symbols are a collection of unique designs with a distinctive language, reflecting the creativity and imagination of its creators. The geometric shapes in Berber rugs are not only visually appealing but also carry deep symbolism and messages that were prevalent long before the invention of paper and pen. Berber rugs require a profound understanding and mathematical calculations to ensure accuracy and preserve their identity. These rugs are not just creative expressions but also mirrors reflecting various aspects of individual and collective culture.
Exploring Berber Geometric Shapes: When we delve into the world of Berber rugs, we can decipher the cultures that once prevailed and gain insights into their present-day expressions. The shapes depicted in these rugs offer a glimpse into the adaptability of Berber people to their surroundings, whether related to natural landscapes, material environments, myths, legends, or historical interactions with other civilizations. Berber rugs are laden with symbols and signs, making them a complex tapestry of meanings and contrasting images, portraying both the maker’s struggles and joys. Decrypting these symbols requires thorough analysis and keen observation.
Key Geometric Shapes in Berber Rugs
Berber rugs are renowned for their intricate geometric patterns, each shape carrying profound symbolism and cultural significance. In this article, we explore the key geometric shapes found in Berber rugs and unravel the rich tapestry of meaning woven into these designs.
1. The Triangle Shape
The triangle shapes in Berber rugs share striking similarities with the geometric heritage of ancient Egypt. This resemblance is not coincidental, as Berber culture and Pharaonic culture once coexisted. The triangular patterns, often formed from symmetrical elements, can be traced back to the pyramids. Additionally, the symbol known as ‘Amourkshi’ represents one of the ancient Berber deities. Overall, Berber symbols initially served for identification, description, and comparison, similar to hieroglyphs used by ancient humans.
2. The Square Shape
While squares in Berber rugs may appear as mere fillers, they carry profound semiotic meanings. The square symbolizes order and connection to the land, reflecting the culture of unity. Moreover, it signifies fertility, encompassing the entirety of nature as an artistic creation by Berber women. Squares also represent different phases of a woman’s life, from virginity to marriage. It signifies that the weaver was still unmarried, and her creative process involved traversing various systems and burdens. The rugs become an extension of her body, serving as a canvas to express her desires and struggles, whether they involve oppression, pleasure, or conflict. The squares also symbolize a yearning for geographical expansion and a flourishing future filled with order and harmony.
3. The Circle Shape in Berber Rugs
In Berber rugs from Morocco, the circle takes on a profound and dual semiotic significance. It serves as a symbol of both completeness and integration, alluding to the presence of an elusive partner, which in turn necessitates a sense of absence. The absence of structural and color symmetry within the rug’s design space carries a rich symbolic economy, invoking the virtual presence of the female artisan. The woven patterns evoke the presence of an unseen partner, and the very symmetry and presence within the circular motif are implied through their absence. Within this context, the human body and its symbolic surroundings engage in an intricate dance, filling the void and expressing spiritual unity. This interplay combines both presence and absence, resulting in a vibrant exchange of vitality, passion, desire, and forbidden pleasure that is skillfully conveyed through the weaver’s hands. In essence, the circle symbolizes the existence of another spirit, reflecting the creativity of the artisan. Moreover, the circle serves as a beacon of radiant light, dispelling darkness and illuminating the void. It symbolizes an unwavering source of illumination within the artisan’s heart, expressing a profound connection to a world characterized by purity. The circle exhibits various features that invoke the duality of presence and absence, encompassing dimensions of desire, necessity, darkness, light, contemplation, and distraction. It stands as a symbol of allegiance to a spiritually charged realm.
4. The Semi-Circle Shape in Berber Rugs
Within the intricate designs of Berber rugs, the semicircle shape conveys a dialogue rich in symbolism. It represents an intimate extension and a body filled with the natural pains of existence, metaphorically opening the door to the fertility of the forbidden and the prohibited. The semicircle serves as a powerful symbol of fertility and procreation, as seen in the white and red patterns that characterize Moroccan Berber rugs. These patterns signify the depth of universal narratives and carry the rhythm of a painful melody, hinting at a fertile and fruitful existence. Procreation becomes a means of breaking free from the confines of the forbidden, extending its influence even to the realm of color. In dreams, the color red symbolizes temptation’s allure, often associated with the adornment of the devil. This underscores the seductive and silent nature of temptation. The semicircular appearance in Berber rugs alludes to this adornment, connecting the body to the realm of imagination and the theme of temptation. It represents the pleasure of exchange and procreation as an attempt to unveil the forbidden and release suppressed desires. This symbolic connection, linking fertility to cosmic models and fertile earth, signifies the unconscious penetration of the prohibited and the forbidden. It embodies the essence of desire, the power of dreams, and the profound identity that shapes the scars on the wounded body. This body remains burdened by prohibition and tampering, which have silenced its voice and forgotten its pulse.
5. The Linear Shape (Rectangles) in Berber Rugs
When one explores the intricate patterns of Moroccan Berber rugs, they encounter various linear elements within the ornate design. These elements can take the form of parallel lines, intersecting lines resembling an X, or scattered, twisted pieces dispersed throughout the design. The use of these linear shapes, devoid of a specific pattern, serves as a compelling expression of the weaver’s fragmented self, highlighting the need for order within the inherent disarray of the broader system.
Parallel lines serve as semiotic evidence of an eternal conflict that cannot find resolution. This conflict is derived from the weaver’s natural movements and is expressed through the remarkable coherence within the woven space. It symbolizes an ongoing clash between opposing forces, never destined to meet, forever suspended in an eternal struggle of good versus evil. This duality, evident as the body communicates through these shapes within Moroccan Berber rugs, places parallel lines in stark opposition to other quadrilateral and triangular shapes, creating a profound representation of a world in perpetual conflict.
Conversely, when the body traverses the woven space with intersecting lines, forming an X-like pattern, it suggests that life cannot continue with the presence of two distinct souls. One soul represents the femininity of the body, while the other signifies the ruggedness of masculinity. The intersection of these two aspects perpetuates the system. Consequently, when the system breaks down, the hands of the artisan can only create metaphorical expressions in the form of scattered, straight pieces within empty spaces. These fragmented pieces signify absence and loss, devoid of decisiveness. Additionally, these linear fragments filling the void also represent the loss of identity and disintegration within the geographical space. The body appears to seek communication through these twisted symbols, embodying an inherently enigmatic nature that symbolizes estrangement and loss.
6. The Star Shape in Berber Rugs
The star shape within Berber rugs boasts a fascinating diversity of forms. At times, it resembles stars in the night sky, while on other occasions, it takes on shapes reminiscent of snowflakes. In some instances, it even bears a striking resemblance to a butterfly. Most notably, it often adopts the form of bird wings. These myriad interpretations reveal the multifaceted semiotic expressions deeply embedded in Amazigh culture since time immemorial.
The star patterns did not find their way into woven rugs by mere chance; they were carefully crafted with allegorical comparisons and mythological allusions. These intricate designs are believed to be inspired by the sensitive and impressionable feminine spirit. In their early use, these symbols served the purpose of signaling, describing, and later simulating in a style reminiscent of hieroglyphics known to ancient humans. They acted as a means of communication among the elite within a limited context, serving their purpose like other ancient inscriptions carved into stones, roots, animal hides, birds, and plants. They conveyed meaningful messages that facilitated communication in their own unique way, encapsulating the essence of their
Mixed Shapes and Their Symbolic Meanings in Berber Rugs:
All the symbols that ‘Mouzonni’ incorporates into her work are not mere decorations; they bear names and meanings drawn from the depths of history. However, due to neglect and lack of attention, many of these symbols have disappeared, and only a few remain, employed in tattoos as a means of distinguishing Amazigh identities. They also appear in the designs of various ornaments for decorative purposes and within Berber rugs, acting as a concealed form of communication. Among the remaining names, we find ‘Thaasiwan,’ which is a type of bird, ‘Thafrouth,’ meaning wing and symbolizing flight, ‘Amourkshi,’ linked to rights and divinity, and ‘Boukour,’ a member of the human body, in addition to ‘Thafenzarat,’ ‘Taawolith,’ and ‘Thachman.’
All these names signify many things, including the significant influence of the Amazigh civilization by ancient Egyptian Pharaonic cultures in its architecture, and Persian and Indian civilizations in its depictions. The Amazigh culture also drew from Jewish civilization in its beliefs. It further absorbed elements from modern Mediterranean civilizations, leading to the emergence of new forms in the woven decoration of Berber rugs. Among these, we find specialized figurative shapes portraying humans and animals in their entirety, after relying on some parts of humans and animals. There are also written shapes, with Amazigh rugs beginning to feature expressions and symbolic formulations written in characters that hold multiple meanings, after being limited to the primary character, which is ‘Za’ (ز). Other shapes include the semi-circular, rectangular, Star of David, or Solomon’s Seal, all of which are foreign shapes carrying semiotic meanings within their original culture. These shapes mainly served as interpretations of the multifaceted universe, primarily based on astrology and deep magical rituals aimed at interpreting reality through rites dedicated to gods and sacred spirits associated with the sun and moon. This was also seen in Jewish and Indian cultures.
When attempting to decipher these symbols, we indeed find ourselves lost within the woven rug. The reason for this is that the shapes introduced into the creative space were not incorporated merely at random but for multiple reasons, including economic dimensions. Consequently, the creative artisan, who once expressed their personal and collective emotions within the geographic space of the Amazigh culture, has rapidly faded away, now primarily endorsing a consumerist approach. This has resulted in the loss of symbolic cargo and concealed meanings.
We are not speaking here of the original Amazigh women who, to this day, adhere to their distinctive art and profound semiotic meanings. Instead, we are referring to newcomers among artisans, both male and female, and the foreign shapes for which we cannot find explanations within the general framework of Amazigh social construction, despite the myths, fables, and beliefs shared by many ancient cultures. This is particularly true for those expressions woven into the expansive and intricately woven space. These expressions were crafted by eager hands longing for liberation. They are signs that require deep analysis and exploration. The artisan considers the woven rug as a living body in which she excels in creation, painting it with colors associated with night, morning, sun, and moon. However, when borrowing from other cultures, she wants to convey that the inspired attribute is her original identity, the common humanity we share in values, spirit, and body.
Therefore, the woven guide, despite its influences and even if it remains symbolic and untouched, is a private and public space simultaneously. It reveals visually complex icons that call for a return to ancient writings that never ceased to solve, as expressed by El-Khatibi. Thus, the space of the woven rug for the artisan is a symbolic space that expands to accommodate the aspirations of dreams, the secrets of stories, and the splendor of myths. Moreover, the symbol, whatever its form, must, according to Dwiri, be accounted for in a game of the presence of a hidden partner necessitating absence. The absence of structural and color symmetry within the rug’s space suggests symbolic economy, invoking a virtual presence of the female artisan. The evidence woven into the rug calls forth an unseen partner, and the symmetry and presence within the rug’s design are implicit in their absence. Here, the body of the weaver interacts with its symbolic surroundings, filling the void and expressing the essence of the original culture. It signifies the existence of another spirit that mirrors the artisan’s creativity.
