Symbols and magic in the arts of Kabyle women

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Makilam's research on the history of women and Berber culture, one of North Africa's most ancient civilizations, demonstrates that the Kabyle women's magic practices, graphic symbols, and rites of passage permit a new interpretation of their cultural identity from those that have traditionally been attributed to them by Western observers. This completely new vision of the symbolic grammar of the «decorations, » notably expressed in pottery, weaving, tattoos, and wall-paintings, leads us to reconsider the meaning of the Kabyle arts and contributes to our knowledge of Maghreb cultures and the role of women in «traditional» societies.