A Fascinating Look at the History of North African Textiles

What makes North African textiles such a precious cultural asset is not only their functional diversity: carpets and flat woven fabrics as floor coverings, seating mats or sleeping rugs, partition walls or even accommodation (nomad tents), prayer rugs and coverings for holy sites, ritual textiles associated with the circle of life (birthing sheets, wedding veils and death shrouds), bags (transportation and storage sacks), horse equipment (saddle blankets) and finally clothing. Their inestimable value lies in the stories that these textiles narrate through their motifs and patterns, which display an infinite range of compositions and color variations, including pictograms and figures from many periods and
all areas of life.

They are textiles steeped in tradition, suffused with historical references, fulfilling changed functions, and they are, above all, textiles possessing baraka, a force of blessing. Ultimately, all these factors mean that each of these individually made products is a component in a complex, religiously reflective worldview and global context.

Here at MISHMISH is where these stories are cherished and never forgotten; our goal is to incorporate this rich, complex history into our collections and designs with unique storytelling and integrity. 

References: "Fish in the desert – North Africa’s textile tradition between indigenous identity and exogenous shifts in meaning" Author: Sylvia Dolz