Moroccan Wedding Blanket

Moroccan wed­ding blan­kets, or handira, are an ancient Berber tra­di­tion and are cre­ated in antic­i­pa­tion of a wed­ding by the bride’s female rel­a­tives. One-​​of-​​a-​​kind moroccan wed­ding blan­kets are a beau­tiful example of the weaving of the women of the Beni Ourain Tribe in the Atlas Moun­tains. Woven in soft cotton and wool with nat­u­rally col­ored stripes of white on white, this lovely hand-​​made tex­tile is also accented with silver. They are woven on looms by hand out of sheep’s wool, cotton and linen. Tra­di­tion and skill passed from gen­er­a­tion to gen­er­a­tion. This thoughtful process of hand weaving infuses the blanket with bless­ings, and when com­plete, it is not only func­tional and beau­tiful, but is a symbol of fer­tility and good luck. Prospec­tive brides and their rel­a­tives patiently take sev­eral weeks working to attach the hun­dreds of mir­rored sequins to the blanket. During these hours of sewing, the bride’s rel­a­tives teach her about her mar­ital duties and expectations.Upon com­ple­tion of the blanket, the nup­tials are per­formed and the bride is draped in her blanket as she travels to her husband’s home. The blanket serves as a cape of sorts that is secured around the neck with often-​​elaborate ties. It is also believed that the blan­kets have a tal­is­manic power and that it will pro­tect its user from the evil eye.