Smithsonian Libraries African Art Index Project DSI Search this
Type:
Articles
Place:
Morocco
Middle Atlas Mountains
Date:
1987
Notes:
Women's domestic weaving in North Africa is characterized by what Messick calls "subordinate discourse," that is, the exclusively female view of the world as embodied in weaving ritual. This discourse expresses gender relationships, as between mother and son -- weaver: warp as mother: son. Based on research in the Middle Atlas village of Azrou, Messick asserts that the subordinate discourse coexists with the dominant patriarchial ideology. With changing socio-economic conditions, the pre-capitalist weaving craft is changing fundamentally and is taken outside the home. The discourse is dissolving.
