The High Atlas mountains are an unforgivingly cold place in the winter, and striped shawls like this one offer an added layer of warmth to the women of the semi-nomadic Aït Haddidou tribe. Traditionally fastened with a fibula, shawls are often first worn by a young woman for her wedding day. Hand-woven using rich natural dyes of red, brown, turquoise and green, the thickness of this unusual shawl’s weave makes it ideal as a wall hanging, carpet or blanket.
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Every September the Aït Haddidou tribe gather in the village of
Imichil in the High Atlas to celebrate the feast day of their patron saint Sidi
Mohammed el Maghani and to remember the Romeo and Juliet legend that in...
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Every September the Aït Haddidou tribe gather in the village of
Imichil in the High Atlas to celebrate the feast day of their patron saint Sidi
Mohammed el Maghani and to remember the Romeo and Juliet legend that inspired
the festival. Long ago there were two lovers from rival tribes who were
forbidden to marry. Heartbroken, they drowned themselves in the nearby lakes of
Tislit (the woman) and Isli (the man), which were formed from their tears. As
the story goes, their deaths inspired the families of both tribes to establish
a day every year for men and women of different local tribes to meet and court
one another. Today the festival draws dozens of potential brides, dressed in their
striped handira shawls, their cheeks rouged and their eyes lined with kohl, to sing,
dance, feast and flirt with their white-robed male counterparts.
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Details and Dimensions
5.83 ft L, 3.83 ft W
Antique, Wool
