Berber jewelry includes some of the most interesting pieces of goldsmithing, not only for their aesthetic value but also for their symbolic value. In these lines we give you the keys to these objects that you will find during your trip and that you can buy as a souvenir full of meaning and power.
Berber jewelry materials and properties
Berber jewelry is mostly made of silver, as gold is considered evil in this culture. This silver is usually marked with the figure 925, which means that it is 92.50% silver and 7.50% of other metals. In addition to silver, some jewelry may have complementary inlays or details of other materials, such as coral, amber or ebony. Rare minerals, such as amazonite and carnelian, are also used.
A detail to take into account is that Berber jewelry has magical, protective and even medicinal attributions, according to popular belief. Without going any further, silver is often considered a remedy against rheumatism, while amber is a remedy against colds, as well as having aphrodisiac powers and keeping witchcraft and the evil eye at bay. Coral, on the other hand, is a source of fertility.
Another key aspect is that Berber jewelry is closely related to women: they are the ones who wear this type of pieces most profusely, as well as the ones in charge of gathering the family collections and preserving them. It is normal for a woman to inherit jewelry from her mother until the time of her marriage. And for the wedding, the bride usually receives as a dowry a set of jewelry provided by the mother or sister of the groom, as is the case with the tyafer, keeping them thereafter for the rest of her life.
Some of these jewels have so much material and symbolic value that they are reserved for special occasions, such as weddings or banquets. Others, on the other hand, are used on a daily basis, extending their power to every day of the year.
Which Berber jewelry to buy
There is a great variety of Berber jewelry, adapted to very different parts of the body and to very specific functions. In fact, as well as the aforementioned healing and protective properties of the materials, each jewel also has a magical belief associated with it. This is a brief list of jewelry that you can buy, with corresponding explanation:
- Necklaces: this is a Berber jewelry worn not only by women, but also by men. They are attributed talismanic functions
- Bracelets: some of them are very wide.
- Fibulas: these are brooches used to fasten certain articles of clothing and usually adopt very imaginative shapes and profuse decoration.
- Earrings: they usually have a dangling design, which makes them more spectacular and elegant.
- Ajorca: these are ankle bracelets, although with a more subtle and discreet design than the bracelets.
Where to buy Berber jewelry
Although you may find Berber jewelry in tourist spots throughout the country, there is no doubt that it is more abundant and genuine in those places where the Amazigh population is more representative. Especially in the south of the country, in the vast territory that opens up on the other side of the Atlas Mountains, in small villages in the desert and in towns on the Atlantic coast.
Special mention should be made of Tiznit, a town near Agadir where the production of Berber jewelry is widespread, especially in silver, as a legacy of the work carried out in the past by Jewish goldsmiths. Its pieces enjoy enormous prestige and this activity is still today an important source of work and wealth for its goldsmiths. Visiting its silver souk is quite a tourist experience for those who have time and reach this humble destination.
