Azilal rugs were always woven for the home, and there is little known about the origin of these rugs. There’s some thought that there was a red rug origin as well as a white rug origin. The red rugs, from the Ait Sokhmane and the Ait Bouzid, were older than their counterparts. The white rugs on the other hand are from the Ait Bouguemez valley and Ait bou Oulli. The white rugs are what we think of as the prototypical Azilal rug.

It’s interesting, though sad to note that during some of the French protectorate area, there was suppression of the rug weaving culture, such that there were some years in which no Azilal rugs were produced. After the year 1934, rug production began again, where the rugs were knotted, rather than woven as they had been prior to this time.