The Mendil is one of the least-known masterpieces of Moroccan textile craft — a hand-woven striped cloth produced exclusively in the rural communes of the Fahs-Anjra province in northern Morocco, worn by women as part of the traditional dress of the Jbala region, and recognised by local authorities as the emblem of the province. Outside Morocco, it is almost entirely unknown. Inside the country, it is considered a living heritage object of the first order.
What Is the Mendil?
The Mendil is a hand-woven textile characterised by its distinctive red and white stripes. In its traditional form, it is made from cotton — a material that distinguishes the Fahs-Anjra Mendil from those produced in neighbouring regions such as Chefchaouen, where a grained wool known as mharbel is used and the stripes are finer. The Fahs-Anjra version is known for its bold, wide stripes and the quality of its cotton weave.
The cloth is worn wrapped around the waist, completing the traditional women's dress of the Jbala region alongside a fouta (a large white cloth), and a chachia — a straw hat decorated with red and green wool pompoms. The combination is specific to the eight rural communes of Fahs-Anjra and is immediately recognisable as a marker of regional identity.
In recent decades, the Mendil has evolved. While the white stripes remain a constant — a defining characteristic that weavers have chosen to preserve — the palette has expanded to include multiple colours. The format has also diversified: the Mendil is now produced in different dimensions and used as tablecloths, bedspreads, and decorative textiles in addition to its traditional role as a garment.
The Jbala Region and the Province of Fahs-Anjra
The Jbala is a mountainous region in the Rif foothills of northern Morocco, stretching between Tangier, Tétouan, and Chefchaouen. It is a region of small agricultural communities, dense forest, and a distinct cultural identity that sets it apart from both the urban north and the Amazigh-speaking Atlas regions to the south.
The province of Fahs-Anjra, immediately south of Tangier, is composed of eight rural communes. Weaving has been the primary craft activity of these communities for generations — practiced in virtually every household, on looms that are a standard feature of domestic space. The weekly souk of Khemiss-Anjra, held every Thursday, has become the principal marketplace for Mendil production, drawing weavers from across the province and attracting buyers from Tangier and beyond.
The development of the Tangier-Med port complex — one of the largest port infrastructure projects in African history — brought significant attention to the region and, with it, increased visibility for the Mendil. Local authorities subsequently adopted the textile as the official emblem of the province, a recognition of its status as the defining cultural product of Fahs-Anjra.
How the Mendil Is Made
The Mramma Loom
The Mendil is woven on a traditional loom known as the mramma — a simple vertical or horizontal frame structure that has been used in the Jbala region for centuries. Most houses in the rural communes of Fahs-Anjra have a mramma. The loom is a domestic object as much as a production tool: weaving is integrated into the daily rhythm of household life rather than confined to a dedicated workshop.
Married women typically weave in the early morning hours, particularly after the Fajr prayer, before the day's agricultural and domestic work begins. They return to the loom in the evening. This pattern of production — distributed across the day, integrated with other responsibilities — is characteristic of rural craft traditions and explains both the resilience of the practice and the difficulty of scaling it.
Materials: Cotton and Wool
The standard Fahs-Anjra Mendil is woven from cotton — a choice that produces a lighter, more fluid cloth than the wool variants found in other Jbala communities. The cotton is prepared and dyed before weaving, with the stripe pattern determined by the arrangement of coloured threads on the warp. The weaving itself is straightforward in structure but demanding in execution: the regularity of the stripes, the evenness of the tension, and the density of the weave are all indicators of the weaver's skill.
Wool variants exist — particularly in the Chefchaouen region, where the mharbel technique produces a finer, more textured cloth with narrower stripes. The two traditions are related but distinct, and experienced buyers can identify the provenance of a Mendil from its material and stripe width alone.
Festive Variants and Khassa Embroidery
For major festivals and ceremonies — including Tafza, Mingrala, Beni Hlou, and Kalaa — a more elaborate version of the Mendil is produced. These festive pieces are woven from fine wool rather than cotton and are distinguished by hand-embroidered patterns worked in silk thread. The stripes remain, but the surface is enriched with geometric and floral motifs that mark the cloth as ceremonial rather than everyday.
The most prestigious embroidery technique used on festive Mendils is Khassa — a form of hand embroidery worked with gold or silver threads combined with silk. Khassa embroidery is technically demanding and time-consuming, and pieces that feature it are among the most valued objects produced in the region. The combination of the woven stripe structure with Khassa embroidery represents the highest expression of the Fahs-Anjra textile tradition.
The Mendil in Daily Life and Ceremony
The Mendil is not a garment reserved for special occasions. In the rural communes of Fahs-Anjra, it is worn daily — inside the home and outside it, in the fields and at the market. It is a constant presence in the lives of women in the region, worn from girlhood and maintained as a practice even by those who have left for urban centres or abroad. Women who return to their villages for holidays continue to wear the Mendil as an expression of belonging — a textile identity that persists across distance and generation.
This continuity is significant. In many Moroccan craft traditions, traditional dress has retreated to ceremonial use as urban clothing norms have spread. In Fahs-Anjra, the Mendil has maintained its place in daily life — a resilience that reflects both the strength of local identity and the active role of women in preserving and transmitting the tradition.
A Living Craft Under Pressure
The Mendil tradition is alive — but it faces the structural challenges common to rural craft production across Morocco. Marketing remains the primary difficulty: the rural communes of Fahs-Anjra have limited access to national and international distribution channels, and production remains largely dependent on the weekly souk and direct sales to tourists and visitors.
Efforts to address this have included training programmes organised through the Chamber of Crafts of the Tangier wilaya and NGOs including the National Union of Women of Morocco, supported by the National Initiative for Human Development. These programmes have helped weavers develop their technical skills, exchange knowledge across communities, and organise into cooperatives — a structure that provides greater collective bargaining power and access to institutional buyers.
The cooperatives have also enabled a degree of product development: the expansion of the Mendil's colour palette, the diversification of formats, and the adaptation of the textile for contemporary home use. These changes have been made carefully, preserving the defining characteristics — the white stripes, the hand-woven structure — while making the object accessible to a wider market.
Moroccan Corridor works directly with weavers and cooperatives in the Fahs-Anjra region, sourcing Mendil textiles at prices that reflect the time and skill required to produce them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Mendil?
The Mendil is a hand-woven striped textile produced in the rural communes of the Fahs-Anjra province in northern Morocco. Characterised by its red and white stripes, it is traditionally worn by women as part of the regional dress of the Jbala region, wrapped around the waist. It is woven on a traditional loom known as the mramma and is considered the defining craft object of the Fahs-Anjra province.
Where is the Mendil made?
The Mendil is produced exclusively in the eight rural communes of the Fahs-Anjra province, south of Tangier in northern Morocco. The weekly souk of Khemiss-Anjra is the principal marketplace for Mendil production. Similar striped textiles are produced in neighbouring regions including Chefchaouen, but the Fahs-Anjra Mendil is distinguished by its cotton construction and wide stripe format.
What is the Mendil made of?
The traditional Fahs-Anjra Mendil is made from cotton, which produces a lighter and more fluid cloth than the wool variants found in other Jbala communities. Festive variants are made from fine wool and feature hand embroidery in silk thread. The most elaborate ceremonial pieces incorporate Khassa embroidery — worked in gold or silver thread combined with silk.
What is Khassa embroidery?
Khassa is a traditional embroidery technique practiced in the Jbala region, worked by hand using gold or silver threads combined with silk. It is used to decorate festive Mendils worn for major ceremonies and festivals. Khassa embroidery is technically demanding and time-consuming, and pieces that feature it are among the most valued objects produced in the Fahs-Anjra region.
How is the Mendil worn?
The Mendil is worn wrapped around the waist, as part of the traditional women's dress of the Jbala region. It is combined with a fouta (a large white cloth) and a chachia (a straw hat decorated with wool pompoms). In the rural communes of Fahs-Anjra, it is worn daily — inside and outside the home — rather than being reserved for ceremonial occasions.
Is the Mendil still made by hand?
Yes. The Mendil is woven entirely by hand on a traditional loom called the mramma. Most households in the rural communes of Fahs-Anjra have a mramma, and weaving is integrated into daily domestic life. Women typically weave in the early morning and evening hours, around agricultural and household responsibilities. No industrial production of the traditional Mendil exists.
