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The Mevlevi sema,
or dervish mystic religious rite,
is an elaboration of the whirling done
by Mevlana Jelaleddin
Rumi in ecstasy
on the streets of Konya,
Turkey in the 13th
century.
You can witness the sema in
Konya's splendid Mevlana
Cultural Center on
a Rumi
Tour. A somewhat shorter
version is performed
every week in
Istanbul.
The ceremony has
seven parts symbolizing the whirling
dervish's love of God, humankind
and all creation:
1. Natt-i
Serif: praise for God
the Creator, for the Prophet Muhammed,
and for the
prophets preceding
him (Musa/Moses
and Isa/Jesus, etc.)
2. Kudum:
the beating of a small kettledrum symbolizes
the command of God which created the
universe: "Be!"
3. Ney:
The soulful, breathy music of the ney, the
open-ended reed flute of the Mevlevi,
symbolizes the breathing of life into
all creatures.
4. Greeting: the
dervishes greet each
other three times, a symbol of the
soul being greeted by its secret soul.
5. Whirling: the
dervishes drop their black cloaks to
reveal white
costumes fitted to the torso, but with
long, flowing skirts. The dropping
of the
cloak symbolizes the casting
off of falsehood and the revelation
of truth.
Each dervish places his arms on his
chest to symbolize his belief in the
Oneness of God, "the One." Bowing,
he kisses the hand of the Sheikh
Efendi (spiritual
leader) and seeks permission to enter
the sema.
As he enters, each dervish slowly
unfurls his arms, his right
hand reaching
up to heaven to receive its blessings,
the left hand down to communicate them
to earth. He whirls counter-clockwise
(anti-clockwise), right to left, with
his heart at the axis of the turn.
The dervishes complete four whirling
sessions of approximately 15 minutes
each, resting
briefly between sessions. The Sheikh
Efendi joins in the final session,
turning slowly.
6. Prayer: prayers
are recited from the Kur'an in praise of God.
7. Fatiha: recitation
of the
Fatiha, or first chapter of
the Kur'an,
in memory of all prophets, martyrs
and believers, followed by a prayer
for the welfare of the nation and its
leaders.
Non-dervishes, Muslim and
non-Muslim, have always been welcome
to witness the sema,
a spiritual gift to all creation.
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