| Titre : | Amazigh arts in Morocco : Women shaping Berber identity |
| Auteurs : | Cynthia J. Becker, Auteur |
| Type de document : | texte imprimé |
| Editeur : | Austin : University of Texas Press, 2006 |
| ISBN/ISSN/EAN : | 978-0-292-71295-9 |
| Format : | 1 vol. (XIII-225 p.) / ill., couv. ill. / 23 cm |
| Note générale : |
Fonds mYSLm
Contents - Index |
| Langues: | Anglais |
| Index. décimale : | 700 (Les arts. Beaux arts et arts décoratifs) |
| Catégories : | |
| Mots-clés: | Textiles, Identity, Amazigh, Wedding, Slavery, Ait Khabbash |
| Résumé : |
In southeastern Morocco, around the oasis of Tafilalet, the Ait Khabbash people weave brightly colored carpets, embroider indigo head coverings, paint their faces with saffron, and wear ornate jewelry. Their extraordinarily detailed arts are rich in cultural symbolism ; they are always breathtakingly beautiful — and they are typically made by women. Like other Amazigh (Berber) groups (but in contrast to the Arab societies of North Africa), the Ait Khabbash have entrusted their artistic responsibilities to women. Cynthia Becker spent years in Morocco living among these women and, through family connections and female fellowship, achieved unprecedented access to the artistic rituals of the Ait Khabbash. The result is more than a stunning examination of the arts themselves, it is also an illumination of women's roles in Islamic North Africa and the many ways in which women negotiate complex social and religious issues.
One of the reasons Amazigh women are artists is that the arts are expressions of ethnic identity, and it follows that the guardians of Amazigh identity ought to be those who literally ensure its continuation from generation to generation, the Amazigh women. Not surprisingly, the arts are visual expressions of womanhood, and fertility symbols are prevalent. Controlling the visual symbols of Amazigh identity has given these women power and prestige. Their clothing, tattoos, and jewelry are public identity statements; such public artistic expressions contrast with the stereotype that women in the Islamic world are secluded and veiled. But their role as public identity symbols can also be restrictive, and history (French colonialism, the subsequent rise of an Arab-dominated government in Morocco, and the recent emergence of a transnational Berber movement) has forced Ait Khabbash women to adapt their arts as their people adapt to the contemporary world. By framing Amazigh arts with historical and cultural context, Cynthia Becker allows the reader to see the full measure of these fascinating artworks. |
| Note de contenu : |
Contents
A Note on Transcription and Transliteration Acknowledments Introduction Ait Khabbash Textiles : Weaving Metaphors of Identity The Art of Dressing the Body Dance Performance : Negotiating Gender and Social Change Women as Public Symbols of Identity: The Adornment of the Bride and Groom Performing Amazigh Gender Roles: Wedding Ceremonies Oh, My Sudanese Mother: The Legacy of Slavery in Ait Khabbash Art Contemporary Amazigh Arts: Giving Material Form to Amazigh Consciousness Selected Songs from Ait Khabbash Weddings p. 19 : " Particular tattoo motifs, composed of a variety of geometric designs, varied from group to group in Morocco, thereby allowing a woman to express ethnic identity publicly and permanently through her tattoos. The Ait Khabbash women I encountered during my fieldwork felt that their tattoos continued an ancient artistic tradition into the present and frequently evoked the proverb 'Sker mayd skern imeqwura', "Do what the first ones did." While most scholars would agree that tattoos have been a means of expressing ethnic identity, there is very little agreement concerning the names and significance of individual tattoo designs. Although they did not have a specific name for the patterns they used, on their foreheads Ait Khabbash women typically tattooed two straight, diagonal lines that crossed each other at the top, creating two v-shapes or chevrons, with three straight lines that radiated from the sides of the larger bottom one and three small dots that hovered above the entire composition. This tattoo style allowed a woman to be identified as Ait Khabbash. […] In addition, Amazigh women often designed personalized tattoos, tattooing airplanes, wristwatches, crosses, or weaver's combs on their wrists and upper arms. […] Tattoos served both an expressive and social function among the Ait Khabbash. Although the practice of tattooing has almost disappeared, the artistic forms and symbolism formerly expressed by tattoos have been transferred to the embroidered head coverings worn by women, demonstrating the living and dynamic nature of Ait Khabbash arts. The media that women use have changed, but their art still serves as a public expression of their social status and group identity. At the time when religious teachings were discouraging female tattooing, women began to alter the style of the head coverings. For several generations prior to the 1970s, Ait Khabbash women had worn long sparsely decorated head coverings made from indigo-dyed cotton cloth as modesty garments. Women told me that in the 1970s, coinciding with the disappearance of tattoos, they began to embroider elaborate vegetal motifs on their indigo head coverings, demonstrating not only their artistic creativity but their negotiation between Islamic beliefs and indigenous definitions of women as the carriers of Ait Khabbash identity." |
Exemplaires (1)
| Code-barres | Cote | Support | Localisation | Section | Disponibilité |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04520 | 700 BEC | Livre | Bibliothèque principale mYSLm | Documentaires | Disponible |
