Whirling
Dervish Ceromony in Istanbul .....
Known
to the west as Whirling Dervishes, the Mevlevi Order was
founded by Mevlana Rumi in the 13th century. The Order
wrote of tolerance, forgiveness, and enlightenment. They
survive today as a cultural brotherhood. They are not
theatrical spectacles but sacred rituals. The ritual of
the Mevlevi sect, known as the sema, is a serious religious
ritual performed by Muslim priests in a prayer trance
to Allah. Mevlevi believed that during the sema the soul
was released from earthly ties, and able to freely and
jubilantly commune with the divine. Dervish literally
means "doorway" and is thought to be an entrance
from this material world to the spiritual, heavenly world.
The Whirling Dervishes played an important part in the
evolution of Ottoman high culture. From the fourteenth
to the twentieth century, their impact on classical poetry,
calligraphy and visual arts was profound. Rumi and his
followers integrated music into their rituals as an article
of faith. Rumi emphasized that music uplifts our spirit
to realms above, and we hear the tunes of the Gates of
Paradise.
http://www.lesartsturcs.com/lessons/whirling_dervish.php
Can give you more info about...
Each week
in Istanbul there are ceremonies of the Whirling Dervishes.
If you are interested you may write
us
MEVLANA
WEEK TURKEY
