Women and the Codification of the Amazigh Language

Often associated with the rural, the exotic or the folkloric, Amazigh womens ancestral art of weaving has not received much attention in Amazigh Studies. Drawing on primary sources, manuscripts, and printed texts, in libraries and archives, this book sheds new light on Amazigh womens weaving practices, arguing that it was the ancestral rug designs that inspired the Amazigh alphabet Tifinagh. In doing so, the author reveals the active role women played in the process of codifying the Amazigh language. This book is of interest to scholars in Amazigh studies, womens history, anthropology, and linguistics.