The loom consists of two vertical solid posts and two transversal ones, made of wood such as palm, olive, or acacia.

The loom stands vertically thanks to the skilful warping of the horizontal posts and a series of ropes that tie the extremities of the loom’s vertical posts to the room.

This arrangement makes the loom perfectly adapted to the traditional way of life, as the loom built this way can be set up and removed as needed.

The weaver sits at the back of the loom, almost disappearing behind the woven garments.
She uses mirrors to check the outcomes of the patterns, which are visible in the front part of the loom for everyone entering the room to see, while she remains hidden behind her work.

An important characteristic of this weaving technique is that women do not use a shuttle, as is common with many other looms.

They use their hands to carry the thread across and execute all their motifs.

The women also use a ‘beater’, which is a heavy tool made with wood and metal, to beat the threads in place, forming a compact weft.

Expert weavers move very fast.
More than one woman can weave on the same loom, as their motifs are familiar to each group of weavers, and large looms can allow several women to sit and work together.

The threads needed for the loom were traditionally produced using sheep wool.

Sheep need shearing once a year, traditionally in springtime.
Tataouine has its own breed of sheep with very soft wool.

The best wool from the sheep would be washed first and then prepared into a thread.
Preparing the threads from wool was a time-consuming and skilful job requiring careful preparation of the wool to be spun into ‘brushed’ masses.

The tools used to do this were called combs and carders.
The combs would align the wool fibres parallel to each other, producing a thread with little stretch — ideal for the vertical threads in the loom, called the warp.

The carders would organise the wool differently, creating a softer and fluffier thread ideal for the weft — the horizontal threads.

The tool used to spin a wool thread is called a spindle.
Today, the vertical threads are often made of cotton, which is stronger than wool.

To add colours, traditionally weavers could dye the entire mergoum or dye the threads in different colours.
Weavers still use a wide variety of wild and food plants to add colour.
In the past 60 years, chemical dyes have gradually replaced the use of natural plants, but few women in the region still use plants such as henna and turmeric to dye the threads.
The motifs are often woven using coloured wool, and each village has different motifs.

Many beliefs surround the weaving and the loom itself.
For example, the loom is traditionally presented with a food offering before any new mergoum is woven.
Men are not allowed to watch the stage of warping the loom, and the part of the loom that has the warp is often covered from their sight.

Today, the crafts of weaving, thread making, and natural dyeing have almost disappeared from the region, replaced by modern textiles.
Yet, in many villages, women proudly continue this ancestral practice, weaving beautiful mergoums and other objects using this inherited technique.

Did you know that textile production is one of the most polluting industries in our modern world?
Preserving and reintroducing traditional textile economies is one of the ways we can help protect our environment.
You can also support more sustainable fashion by buying ethically and keeping your clothes longer!