Protective rites
Amazigh protective tattoos
The dots, lines and crosses once tattooed on the faces and hands of Amazigh women, said to protect and to mark belonging.
Presented by ClearTrust Customs described as customs, free to read.
In many Amazigh (Berber) communities of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, women were traditionally tattooed on the chin, forehead, cheeks, hands and ankles with small patterns. These include dots, lines, crosses and diamond shapes. Reasons given by women and by researchers include protection from harm and the evil eye, marking of tribe or marriage, and beauty.
This is an outline of a custom, said as belief and practice. It is not instruction, it does not say that the rite works, and it is not medical advice.
What goes into it
- Needle or thornToolUsed by an older woman.
- Dark pigmentSubstanceSoot or a plant-based dye mixed in a liquid.
- Dots and linesGestureSmall patterns on the chin and forehead.
- Cross and diamond motifsObjectShapes linked with protection.
- Family knowledgeWordPatterns passed from woman to woman.
- Face and handsSpaceWhere the marks are placed.
- Tool
- Substance
- Gesture
- Object
- Word
- Space
Each part has an equal wedge. The ring shows what goes into the rite, not how much. Colour is the part's role.
The steps, drawn
Each drawing shows the kind of act in that step. Details differ from place to place, family to family and practitioner to practitioner.
Step 1: Gather An older woman prepares the pigment and the needle. Step 2: Speak A blessing is said over the girl or woman. Step 3: Cast Dots and lines are tattooed in the family pattern. Step 4: Rest The skin heals over some days. Step 5: Close The marks are worn for life as a sign of protection and belonging.
Meaning and making
The marks were usually made by an older woman using a needle or thorn and a dark pigment, with the pattern passed on in the family or area. Meanings varied by region and by woman, and no single code has been shown to exist. Some marks are linked by those who wear them to the hand of Fatima or to a star, and others are explained as protecting the part of the body they cover.
Decline and revival
The custom declined through the twentieth century as Islamic teachers criticised tattooing, and as schooling and urban life changed the idea of beauty. Today few young women are tattooed in this way, and the old women who still have them are being recorded by researchers and photographers. Younger Amazigh people, in Africa and abroad, have taken up the patterns as an emblem of identity, which raises the question of who may use them.
What it is for
- Ward harm and the evil eye
- Mark belonging and marriage
Who does it
Related entries
Also part of it, and being written: Face tattoo (The wider practice.), Berbers (The peoples concerned.).
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Sources and further reading
Original text and drawings by the EveryJaadu desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Closed or sacred detail is left out. If we have something wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Hamsa: Kritzolina, CC BY-SA 4.0, source