Whirling Dervishes
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Whirling Dervishes The Whirling Dervishes, are a spiritual Sufi order founded in Turkey by the followers of Rumi, a 13th century poet, jurist, and theologian. They are actually known as the Whirling Dervishes due to their famous practice of whirling as a form of dhikr (remembrance of God). Dervish is a common term for an initiate of the Sufi path; the whirling is part of the formal Sema ceremony and the participants are properly known as semazen-s.
In 2005, UNESCO proclaimed the "Sema Ceremony of the Whirling Dervishes" of Turkey as amongst the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Sema is part of the inspiration of Rumi (1207- 1273) as well as of Turkish custom, history, beliefs and culture.
The Whirling Ceremony:
After Rumi (1207-1273 A.D.) passed away by doing what he called “Hakka Vuslat” (reunion with God), his son, Sultan Veled, and his relatives founded the Mevlevi Order based on his ideas and thoughts, so that followers of the manners and essentials of said order were called ‘Mevlevi Dervishes’. The word ‘Mevlevi’ was coined by uniting the first name of his with the Arabic term ‘tevellu’ as used in the Koran in the sense “You will see an aspect of Allah wherever you turn to”.
The whirling ceremony, officially called ‘mukabele’ (meaning to recite the Koran by heart) within the Mevlevi Order, is performed at Mevlevi convents or dervish meetinghouses to symbolize various levels of the two Mevlevi ways called ‘Mutlak Kemal’ (absolute perfection) and ‘Hakka Vuslat’ (reunion with God). The whirling ceremony has to be performed in strict accordance with a certain choreography.
Every dervish meetinghouse has the same layout: a platform called ‘mutrib’ where the musicians and vocalists sit on, a dance floor in front of said platform for the whirling dervishes, and a post for the local sheik situated right across said dance floor. An imaginary line is considered to extend from said seat to the entrance of the meetinghouse, and is called ‘hatt-ı istiva’ (equator). It is considered the shortest way to ‘vahdet’ (unity). It is forbidden to trespass said line.
Local sheik is considered the representative of both the science of God and the Revelations of Prophet Mohammed, and his post is considered to represent Mevlana Jalaladdin Rumi. The post is the most supreme position and is colored red. After the congregation, whirling dervishes and sheik take their seats, the preacher reads out loud a prayer entitled ‘Na’at-ı Şerif’.
It is followed by a hymn entitled ‘Na’at-ı Mevlana’ composed by Itri, whose lyrics praise both Prophet Mohammed and Mevlana. Then the ney (a reed flute) player plays a solo to emphasize both its yearning to return to its natural reed origins, and the dervishes’ yearning to unite with God.
Then comes the part entitled the ‘Age of Sultan Veled’ performed in three acts by the sheik, the congregation and the whirling dervishes respectively at different tempos.
The conical felt caps worn by whirling dervishes symbolize their tombstones, their woolen cloaks symbolize their graves, and their wide skirts symbolize their shrouds. They are considered moths secluded from worldly affairs, circling around the fire of divine love. The right side of the meeting house represents the known realm, its left side represents the unseen and unknown spiritual realm. Whirling dervishes are considered to be people of the spiritual realm. The Age of Sultan Veled encompasses death, resurrection and passing to eternal life under the sheik’s guidance. The first act represents learning about God by science, the second act represents seeing, and the third act represents uniting with God.
The first act is performed in three tours by the sheik who faces the youngest and therefore the lowest ranking whirling dervish at the end of the first tour. They salute each other with their heads to emphasize humbleness and to point out that they pray at the altar of each other’s spirit. After completing the third tour, the sheik returns to his post, and the whirling dervishes take their place.
Now comes the main act of the whirling ceremony. The whirling dervishes take off their woolen cloaks to symbolize their seclusion from worldly affairs. They form a file and step towards the sheik. The senior dervish kisses the sheik’s right hand; the sheik returns the compliment by kissing the dervish’s headdress. This part is performed to obtain a consent from the sheik. Then the other dervishes repeat the part and raise their hands to Heavens. They perform the whirling ceremony by pointing up with their right hands up and pointing down with their left hands. Said position represents the belief that they take from God, give it away to the people, save nothing for themselves, and they are nothing but images acting as middlemen. In other words, they emphasize that their existence is lost in God’s mercy.
Whirling dervishes spin around themselves and circle around the dance floor at the same time the way Earth and the other planets rotate on their axis and revolve around the Sun. The whirling ceremony is considered a revolution around Allah who is the sun of all universes. The whirling ceremony is a means of ecstasy, a kind of state of intoxication reached through whirling, a “garment worn by one’s spirit to embrace the divine love, to enter the realm of unity with God, to raise the curtains between one’s self and the divine truth” as described by Mevlana. The first part of the whirling ceremony is to watch the realms in question, to perceive the grandeur and supremacy of God.
It is followed by the second part entitled ‘salaam’. Whirling dervishes make the first salaam to get rid of one’s doubts and to believe in monotheism. They make the second salaam to adopt the principle of unity with Allah. They make the third salaam to turn their insights into knowledge, where they lose their selves at the entrance of the absolute existence. The fourth and last salaam makes them spin around their own axis in order to insist on staying at said entrance. The ceremony is directed by the senior whirling dervish, so that the other dervishes dance in harmony with his feet and head. The third salaam is a cue for the sheik to join the ceremony, so that he stands on the middle point of ‘hatt-ı istiva’ (equator) to represent Mevlana. Then the sheik begins to walk slowly towards his post; the ceremony will end when he reaches it.
The Whirling Dervishes