Kilims from the Sahara Desert in Morocco

Kilims occupy a central place in the evolution of carpet styles. Their intriguing beauty gives pleasure to a broad audience. Over the last few decades, kilims have achieved significant prominence. Kilims have appeared in many publications which have both codified and legitimized the kilim making process, hence increasing their value. As a result, there has been a surge of interest in the decorative, practical and collectable qualities kilims possess, particularly in the western hemisphere. Countries where kilims are manufactured have responded to the wide-spread demand.

Overall, Moroccan carpet production is now a key industry of the economy. Carpet weaving is the principal occupation of one in three persons of the north western town of Khemisset, Morocco. The output of kilims in Morocco has increased over100 percent since the early1900s. The Morocco Ministry for Crafts and Social Affairs has established numerous kilim-producing cooperatives in each region to effectively respond to the demand.

Kilims have both decorative and functional purposes. The technique of flat weaving evolved from the basic needs of the earliest civilizations for clothing, shelter, storage, and for simple comforts such as floor coverings, bedding covers, prayer rugs and wall hangings for tents, houses and mosques. In Middle Eastern, Asian and African societies, kilims were symbols of a family’s wealth and could be exchanged for other goods and services; they play a central role in the family as part of the dowry or bride price. Each piece embodies the inheritance of family tradition and tribal folklore. Kilims were used to barter and trade among highly nomadic societies and were always considered an essential piece of decorative, practical and portable furniture for the people of North Africa. The domestication and breeding of sheep, goat, and camel meant that wool for weaving was readily available. While the traditional textile production is still practiced by Berber women, the utility and religious and cultural significance have been mostly supplanted by profit and commerce.

Kilim creations, consists of patterns and sophisticated designs which form elaborate compositions. In some kilims, there is a rich complexity of interrelating, intricate adornments, while others use limited patterns to produce highly abstract and simple, although aesthetically pleasing effects. In the Sahara, movements of people on both the caravan routes and on the paths of seasonal migrations, from mountains to low-land inhabitants yield key cultural and commercial relations, which produce cross fertilization of ideas and designs.

Initially, attraction to kilims may be purely visual as they show an almost infinite variety of designs, some bold and strong, other delicate and subdued. Closer examination reveals that designs repeat themselves, patterns and compositions recur. Kilims are rich in symbolism. To understand a kilim, is to understand the culture of the society in which they are made. For example, in Islamic countries, the artistic expression in the kilim is seen as the harmonious blend of form, decoration and function, integrated seamlessly into the whole of the kilim.

Symbolism touches the very essence of Islamic tradition and is to be found in all of man’s creations, from monumental architecture to the nomad’s kilim. It is through symbolism that the order in the natural and spiritual world is recreated by man. It is expressed by a statement of faith, “There is no god but god,” .i.e., everything derives from god and everything represents him. This metaphor is represented in kilim making. For the Berber craftsman, working within their tradition and with the use of symbols, they express the eternal truth of the omnipotence of god.