The whirling dervishes of turkey turkey travel blog. Enjoy a traditional show in the egyptian capital, with this dance of the famous whirling dervishes. The dervishes repeated the dance three times, whirling faster and faster until some of their faces were covered with perspiration. They had been waiting among the low dunes for two days, a few goats feeding nearby on an impoverished growth of desert grass. Shems friedlander, author, annemarie schimmel, foreword by, nezih uzel, other, foreword by. The sama is only one of the many sufi ceremonies performed to try to reach religious ecstasy majdhb, fana. The mevlevis are also known as the whirling dervishes due to their famous.
As the wonderful book rumi and his sufi path of love edited by. Whirling dervish definition and meaning collins english. Rumi and the whirling dervishes by shems friedlander, 9780930407599, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. The sufis impart knowledge through lineages that go back to the prophet muhammud. Mevlana and the manifestation of whirling dervishes in the city of konya especially. Perusing rugs one afternoon, i ran into omar kaczmarczyk pronounced very nearly like his nickname, cash my cheque, an a. However, the dervish is much more than a visual spectacle, dating back over 700 years as part of sufism and the mevlevi order. Its purpose is to convey direct knowledge of the eternal. Cnn a million people are expected to descend on konya, a.
After rumis death in 1273, the whirling dance, or sema, was established as part of the mevlevis prayer ritual, and it has been performed by them ever since. Dance of the whirling dervishes the new york times. A spiritual apprentice who wished to join the mevlevi sufi brotherhood the whirling dervishes was expected to first learn to achieve 18 kinds of. Pollifax and the whirling dervish book by dorothy gilman.
The last time, the old sheikh joined the dance with a kind of a. An unforgettable night, topped off with a delicious dinner. Rumi and the whirling dervishes by shems friedlander. The dervish originates from the mevlevi sufi order which was founded in the th century by celaleddin mevlana rumi on a visit, and ultimate stay, in konya. The dance of the whirling dervishes is not only a sight to behold for spectators, it is a sacred ritual for followers of this mystical and philosophical strand of islam. The mevlevi order or mawlawiyya is a sufi order that originated in konya and which was founded by the followers of jalaluddin muhammad balkhi rumi, a thcentury persian poet, sufi mystic, and islamic theologian. We take a look at the history of the dervish, their beliefs, and the significance of the. Sacred 18 of the whirling dervish books the guardian.
This book, beautifully illustrated with rare photographs of dervishes, tells the tale of the sufi order and of one of its founders, poet and mystic mevlana jalaluddin rumi. The bosnian writer mesa selimovic wrote the book the dervish and death. Pollifax is on hand in morocco to back up an inept cia agent, and its a good thing. Being an account of the sufi order known as the mevlevis and its founder. Its central ritual is the elaborate sama, best known for its whirling. Established by the followers of the thirteenth century persian poet, rumi, the mevlevi order whirling dervishes are a muslim order who dance as a form of prayer the ceremony begins with 15 minutes of traditional turkish music played by some of the best local orchestras in the city, followed by the mevlevi order performing the dance ritual of the whirling derviches. Excerpts from a sama, or whirling dervish ceremony performed at the. This 800year old tradition is a personal and mystic. Everyone is familiar with the image of the whirling dervish, clad completely in white and spinning expertly as if in a trance. Sema, during which whirling dervishes perform rotations on themselves more and more. The sufi whirling, also known as sama, is one of turkeys bestknown and most inspiring ceremonies. The whirling dance or sufi whirling that is proverbially associated with dervishes is best known in the west by the practices performances of the mevlevi order in turkey, and is part of a formal ceremony known as the sama. In fact, the method of the sufis is zikr, and the manner in which zikr is. Roberta strauss feuerlicht travel article on whirling dervishes of turkey, who meet yrly in konya to celebrate wedding night of their founder jalal aldin rumi, who is called mevlana.
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