i. The doum, the dwarf palm

The doum — Chamaerops humilis, the Barbary dwarf palm — grows wild in the semi-arid zones. Its fronds, cut at the base and split into fine strips, are the raw material of most Moroccan basketry.

Gallery

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Vannerie de palme
Palm basketry To be replaced · baskets
Vanneries du sud
Southern basketry Souss, Anti-Atlas
Fibres végétales
Plant fibres Doum, wicker, rushes

Video · The gesture in motion

to be replaced
Palm basketry Placeholder · to be replaced by a YouTube / Vimeo embed (FR · AR · EN subtitles)

Doum is plaited into wreaths, braids, mats, baskets, brooms. The technique is ancient, simple, almost universal around the Mediterranean — but in certain regions Morocco has made of it a true domestic industry.

ii. The date palm (UNESCO 2022)

In 2022, UNESCO inscribed "Date palm, knowledge, skills, traditions and practices" on the Representative List — a multinational inscription of eleven Arab states including Morocco. The candidacy covers all uses tied to the date palm: cultivation, irrigation, frond-trimming, basketry plaited from the fibres and fronds, making of fibre ropes (liff), mat weaving.

iii. The regions

  • Rif — doum straw hats (shashia) with a wool pompom, brooms, baskets.
  • Tafilalet and oases — palm baskets, liff ropes, mats for mosques.
  • Sahara and pre-Saharan — racks, mats, tent baskets.
  • Souss — doum sandals (belgha bel-doum), light, cool, perfect for summer.
2022
UNESCO date palm
4
Main fibres
100%
Plant-based
0
Fossil footprint
Worth remembering

Buying your mat

A good Moroccan mat — for prayer or the floor — is in natural doum, sometimes dyed with henna or indigo. It is recognised by its regular grain and its smell of fresh straw. A synthetic mat is recognised by its stiffness, its plastic sheen and the absence of smell.

Sources

  1. UNESCO, Date palm (2022) — https://ich.unesco.org/en/state/morocco-MA
  2. Wikipedia, Moroccan crafts — https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artisanat_marocain