Berber carpet Berber carpet Berber carpets are carpets hand-woven by the Berber autochthones in North Africa and the Sahara. The carpets come in traditional and modern designs, which are distinguished by different knotting patterns, dyes and fabric textures. The origin carpet weaving by the Berber populations dates back several millennia. The hand spun cloth they created was named for the individual tribe, and they used natural fibers to create cloaks, rugs, and other fabrics. Modern industrialized Berber carpets are distinguished by a loop pile construction type that gives a similar appearance to the distinct knot of traditionally woven Berber carpets. The modern
Names of the Berber people Names of the Berber people The ethnonym Berber dates to the 19th century, derived from "Barbary" the term for the Maghreb coast used during the early modern period, itself from Greek "barbaria" "land of barbarians". The contemporary self-designation current mostly in Morocco is "Imazighen" (singular "Amazigh"). This term is common in Morocco, especially among Central Atlas, Rifian and Shilah speakers in 1980, but elsewhere within the Berber homeland sometimes a local, more particular term, such as Kabyle (Kabyle comes from Arabic: tribal confederation) or Chaoui, is more often used instead in Algeria. The Berber tribal populations of antiquity are known