Elibende

Elibende (also Elbende, Elbendi) is a goddess figure that appears in Anatolian, Caucasian, and Central Asian kilim traditions. She is typically rendered as a bilaterally symmetrical figure: a central lozenge or hourglass torso, arms bent upward and outward at the elbows (the "hands on hips" position from which one interpretation of her name derives), and legs descending in stepped geometric form. In kilim weaving, all curves are replaced by diagonals and steps, her form is built entirely from the angular logic of weft-faced construction.

Elibende appears across a continuous belt from Anatolia through the Caucasus to Central Asia, a geographic range that suggests an ancient pre-Islamic origin. She is associated with fertility, protection, and female power. Her relationship to the North African Tanit figure and to other Mediterranean goddess forms is noted by scholars who study the continuity of female divine imagery across the ancient world.

Unlike Tanit, Elibende does not have a strong documented presence in Moroccan Amazigh weaving specifically, though related goddess-adjacent forms appear in some Saharan and eastern Moroccan textile traditions. The connection is more through visual family and cultural continuity than direct citation.