Firstly, we thank you for posting your question on our website. And secondly, we really like the query. We scouted the web seeking information on the topic and the more we researched, the more intrigued we were left. Here’s what we found on Mevlana whirling dervishes.
Mevlevi is a Sufi order, found back in the 13th century by Celaleddin Rumi, a poet, who was also known as Mevlana. He believed that dance and music offer a medium to enter a spiritual state of ecstasy which helps in discovering divine love, patience, and tolerance.
Today, Mevlevi has become synonymous with Whirling Dervishes, owing to the famous dance practice which is a form of remembrance of God. Different cultures in the world have their own way of remembering their Gods and dancing is how Mevlevi Sufis remember their God.
The participants of the ceremony are referred to as Semazen. They whirl with their right hand pointing upwards, towards God and their left hand pointing downwards towards earth. The samazens are the representative of the moon, and they typically whirl around the Sheikh who represents the sun.
Konya, Turkey, the pilgrimage site for Sufis, is where a week-day festival is celebrated to celebrate and commemorate the life of the mystic Sufi Rumi is held. It is undeniably one of the most captivating sights as several followers of the Mevlevi order come together to create a spectacle of the dizzying whirling dance. A ceremony, referred to as Sama, is held every evening of the festivals and the followers of Rumi participate in an intricate dance in which they move around and spin in white and colored skirts.
The leader, as told above, represents the sun, whereas other participants whirling around it are a symbol of stars and moon. The four dancers are also a symbol of four seasons, the four elements and the ages that every man has to go through in his life. From haunting and frightening to beautiful, the ambiance of the festival changes as the night moves ahead.
The festival is held in the month of December from 10 to 17, the last day of the festival marking the day of Rumi’s death and his ‘wedding night’ with God. It certainly is one of the most enchanting festivals in the world.
We are glad that you submitted your query on our website and gave us a chance to learn about this magnificent religion that their intriguing practice of whirling. Keep writing to us, and we will be happy to find answers to all your questions.
Thanking You,
Team AskOpinion
(Image Courtesy: 1. MDC Cave Hotel, 2. Efendi Travel)
There is going to be a Mevlana Whirling Dervishe Festival in Konya on 7 December, 2017. Since Rumi’s death in 1273, the mevlevi order has been commemorating him with a 10-day festival. In the 13th century, while most Turkish Muslims worshipped in iconic mosques, a new form of worship emerged. The purpose was to honor Allah and chronicle the spiritual path a man must take to attain enlightenment. The men are dressed in white robes and tall hats. The whirling is meant for the heavens and is performed in a trance like state. The people who perform whirling speak the name of God that is Allah. They do not think about their families, work or other people during whirling. The time is solely to think about the God and to praise him. The “Semazens” complete around 2000 turns while whirling in devotion. Each body position means to honor God and embrace his kindness. The men raise their hands wherein the right hand looks to the sky and the left hand looks to the earth suggesting that what is received should be shared among the people. The Mevlevi Order was outlawed in 1925 and it is still considered illegal but the right to perform the ritual was reinstated in 1954.
Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi is one of the spiritual masters of Islam and Mevlevi are also known as the Whirling Dervishes in the west due to their practice of whirling as a form of remembrance of God. Mevlevi is a sufi order in Konya founded by the followers of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi- Rumi, a 13th century Persian poet, Islamic theologian and Sufi mystic. The whirling is the part of the formal Sama ceremony and the participants are known as ‘semazen’. In 2008, UNESCO confirmed “The Mevlevi Sema Ceremony” of Turkey as amongst the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”. Sufi whirling is a form of Sama or physically active meditation which is widely practiced by the Sufi Dervishes of the Mevlevi order. The aim of the whirling is to worship and reach the source of all perfection which can be achieved by abandoning ego, personal desires, focusing on God and spinning oneself in repetitive circles. The repetitive circles are symbol of imitation of planets in the solar system orbiting the sun. there is a Mevlevi dergah in Istanbul where the sama is performed and is accessible to the public.
Dear Reader,
Firstly, we thank you for posting your question on our website. And secondly, we really like the query. We scouted the web seeking information on the topic and the more we researched, the more intrigued we were left. Here’s what we found on Mevlana whirling dervishes.
Mevlevi is a Sufi order, found back in the 13th century by Celaleddin Rumi, a poet, who was also known as Mevlana. He believed that dance and music offer a medium to enter a spiritual state of ecstasy which helps in discovering divine love, patience, and tolerance.
Today, Mevlevi has become synonymous with Whirling Dervishes, owing to the famous dance practice which is a form of remembrance of God. Different cultures in the world have their own way of remembering their Gods and dancing is how Mevlevi Sufis remember their God.
The participants of the ceremony are referred to as Semazen. They whirl with their right hand pointing upwards, towards God and their left hand pointing downwards towards earth. The samazens are the representative of the moon, and they typically whirl around the Sheikh who represents the sun.
Konya, Turkey, the pilgrimage site for Sufis, is where a week-day festival is celebrated to celebrate and commemorate the life of the mystic Sufi Rumi is held. It is undeniably one of the most captivating sights as several followers of the Mevlevi order come together to create a spectacle of the dizzying whirling dance. A ceremony, referred to as Sama, is held every evening of the festivals and the followers of Rumi participate in an intricate dance in which they move around and spin in white and colored skirts.
The leader, as told above, represents the sun, whereas other participants whirling around it are a symbol of stars and moon. The four dancers are also a symbol of four seasons, the four elements and the ages that every man has to go through in his life. From haunting and frightening to beautiful, the ambiance of the festival changes as the night moves ahead.
The festival is held in the month of December from 10 to 17, the last day of the festival marking the day of Rumi’s death and his ‘wedding night’ with God. It certainly is one of the most enchanting festivals in the world.
We are glad that you submitted your query on our website and gave us a chance to learn about this magnificent religion that their intriguing practice of whirling. Keep writing to us, and we will be happy to find answers to all your questions.
Thanking You,
Team AskOpinion
(Image Courtesy: 1. MDC Cave Hotel, 2. Efendi Travel)
There is going to be a Mevlana Whirling Dervishe Festival in Konya on 7 December, 2017. Since Rumi’s death in 1273, the mevlevi order has been commemorating him with a 10-day festival. In the 13th century, while most Turkish Muslims worshipped in iconic mosques, a new form of worship emerged. The purpose was to honor Allah and chronicle the spiritual path a man must take to attain enlightenment. The men are dressed in white robes and tall hats. The whirling is meant for the heavens and is performed in a trance like state. The people who perform whirling speak the name of God that is Allah. They do not think about their families, work or other people during whirling. The time is solely to think about the God and to praise him. The “Semazens” complete around 2000 turns while whirling in devotion. Each body position means to honor God and embrace his kindness. The men raise their hands wherein the right hand looks to the sky and the left hand looks to the earth suggesting that what is received should be shared among the people. The Mevlevi Order was outlawed in 1925 and it is still considered illegal but the right to perform the ritual was reinstated in 1954.
Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi is one of the spiritual masters of Islam and Mevlevi are also known as the Whirling Dervishes in the west due to their practice of whirling as a form of remembrance of God. Mevlevi is a sufi order in Konya founded by the followers of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi- Rumi, a 13th century Persian poet, Islamic theologian and Sufi mystic. The whirling is the part of the formal Sama ceremony and the participants are known as ‘semazen’. In 2008, UNESCO confirmed “The Mevlevi Sema Ceremony” of Turkey as amongst the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”. Sufi whirling is a form of Sama or physically active meditation which is widely practiced by the Sufi Dervishes of the Mevlevi order. The aim of the whirling is to worship and reach the source of all perfection which can be achieved by abandoning ego, personal desires, focusing on God and spinning oneself in repetitive circles. The repetitive circles are symbol of imitation of planets in the solar system orbiting the sun. there is a Mevlevi dergah in Istanbul where the sama is performed and is accessible to the public.