Jebel Saghro is a rugged, remote mountain range in southern Morocco. In winter, it is home to the Ait Atta people, a semi-nomadic Amazigh (Berber) tribe whose mudbrick villages hug the mountainside. Come spring, the Ait Atta pile their belongings on the backs of camels, donkeys and mules, and head for summer pastures.
Isolation in this harsh wilderness has preserved the Ait Atta’s Indigenous culture. Contemporary Western fashion has hardly touched their manner of dress, which still reflects its ancient origins in Roman colonization and other invading cultures. Both men and women wear layered garments that cover their entire bodies. Men wrap cloth turbans around their heads. One or more scarves made of silk, wool or rayon cover the women’s hair.
This small, eye-catching cloth from the Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection may have been worn by an Ait Atta bride as a headdress during wedding celebrations. The headdress, called a “ilbed n’tghri,” would have been an assemblage of layered scarves (old and new), silk tassels and cords.
In this example, a central black “X” motif outlined in orange and burgundy commands attention. With the Ait Atta’s belief in magic and the supernatural powers of geometric symbols, the design may have been intended to provide protection for the bride, as well as good fortune and happiness.
Flocks of sheep and goats in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains. © Jef Wodniack/iStock.com.
