Marrakesh Express
Women Weavers OnLine
Ben Smim
This is Aicha Amrar, who made the rugs below. She is shown with her one son, who is a little over a year old. Women traditionally carry their babies in a sling on their backs like this - the baby gets lots of body contact, and the mother's hands are free. You might see her husband, a guardian at the village primary school, holding up rugs in some of the photos. She notes wryly that most of her rugs were made before her son was born, when she had more time to sit down and weave. She began weaving in 1994, learning from her mother by making a small bag. She made two rugs and six pillows to bring to her new home after marriage. This is a custom in this area: young women and their mothers make a trousseau for the girls to take with them when they marry. If she sells enough pieces, she plans to use the money to buy a refrigerator, so she can cool her son's milk in the hot summer months.
This is Muhsin, the baby above, about six months after the previous photo. He was almost walking at this point. He is with his father Ali, the guard at the school where we have photographed many rugs. Moroccan fathers usually have very warm relations with their small children, and you can see that in this picture.
Piece 2.12331 is a detail of a piece from Aicha's trousseau. She made it with her mother before she was married, and it took them about a year and a half, working every afternoon except Fridays. The overall design can be seen here. It is white on a black ground, with small touches of red, green and blue in the small diamonds, and lots of sequins; you can see these best by clicking on the small photo. It's quite expensive, both because of the time and fine work, and of all the sequins. Additionally, the size makes it heavy to mail. It measures 5'1" x 12'6" and costs $765.
Piece 3.12885 is a knotted rug in royal blue with accents in white, black and dark red. In the photo you see the flat face of the rug, and you can see a close-up of it here. Click here to see a full photo of the pile side, and here for a close-up. Moroccans use both faces of these rugs: the flat side is cool in the summer, and the knotted or pile side is warmer in the winter. This is a medium-sized piece, measuring about 3'4" x 6', and the price is $380.
