By Kay Campbell- The Huntsville Times - Huntsville,AL,USA
Friday, February 2, 2007
Whirling dervishes seem as legendary as the tales of genies and sheiks and long camel caravans, but they continue to belong to a thriving modern Sufi practice.
Masters of the spinning prayer will demonstrate their ancient practice to traditional music Feb. 15 in a program sponsored by the Peace Valley Foundation, a local nonprofit dedicated to increasing interfaith understanding, particularly about moderate aspects of Islam.
This year marks the 800th birthday of Rumi, the mystical poet of the area in what is now Turkey, Afghanistan and Iran. Rumi's meditations are said to have triggered the first known systematic, meditative whirling. The whirling itself, done by semazen, or trained mystics, in long, white skirts, evokes the circles of energy in the universe, from the orbits of planets to the orbits of electrons.
"Revolving shows in the existence of all things in nature," said Ramazan Aygun, who, with Satilmis Budak, helped organize the program. "When a person does sema (the whirling), one hand is turned toward the sky, toward God, and the other toward the Earth. The open hand is to receive God's blessings, then the other hand for sharing those with the Earth."
"This is not like ecstasy or becoming unconscious," Budak said. "This signifies that we are all one: From God we come, to God we will return."
The Islamic Sufi doctrine advocates worship of God, love, tolerance, charity and community and personal development. Rumi's poems have been popular in the West since the 19th century, when they were first widely translated.
The program Feb. 15 at the Von Braun Center Concert Hall will feature an explanation of the detailed symbolism of the ritual, from the black cloaks and tall camel-hair hats the semazen wear as they walk in to the posture they assume, with hands crossed over their chests, as they exit.
In the third stage of the sema, the actual whirling, the semazen are symbolizing the dissolving into the love of God, Ramazan said.
Even the musical instruments used have symbolic import.
"The beat of the kudum (drum) means the divine command, the 'Be' creation of the universe," Aygun said. "The ney (reed flute) symbolizes the divine breath giving life to everything."
Sunday, February 04, 2007
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Sunday, February 04, 2007
Give it a Whirl
Friday, February 2, 2007
Whirling dervishes seem as legendary as the tales of genies and sheiks and long camel caravans, but they continue to belong to a thriving modern Sufi practice.
Masters of the spinning prayer will demonstrate their ancient practice to traditional music Feb. 15 in a program sponsored by the Peace Valley Foundation, a local nonprofit dedicated to increasing interfaith understanding, particularly about moderate aspects of Islam.
This year marks the 800th birthday of Rumi, the mystical poet of the area in what is now Turkey, Afghanistan and Iran. Rumi's meditations are said to have triggered the first known systematic, meditative whirling. The whirling itself, done by semazen, or trained mystics, in long, white skirts, evokes the circles of energy in the universe, from the orbits of planets to the orbits of electrons.
"Revolving shows in the existence of all things in nature," said Ramazan Aygun, who, with Satilmis Budak, helped organize the program. "When a person does sema (the whirling), one hand is turned toward the sky, toward God, and the other toward the Earth. The open hand is to receive God's blessings, then the other hand for sharing those with the Earth."
"This is not like ecstasy or becoming unconscious," Budak said. "This signifies that we are all one: From God we come, to God we will return."
The Islamic Sufi doctrine advocates worship of God, love, tolerance, charity and community and personal development. Rumi's poems have been popular in the West since the 19th century, when they were first widely translated.
The program Feb. 15 at the Von Braun Center Concert Hall will feature an explanation of the detailed symbolism of the ritual, from the black cloaks and tall camel-hair hats the semazen wear as they walk in to the posture they assume, with hands crossed over their chests, as they exit.
In the third stage of the sema, the actual whirling, the semazen are symbolizing the dissolving into the love of God, Ramazan said.
Even the musical instruments used have symbolic import.
"The beat of the kudum (drum) means the divine command, the 'Be' creation of the universe," Aygun said. "The ney (reed flute) symbolizes the divine breath giving life to everything."
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By Kay Campbell- The Huntsville Times - Huntsville,AL,USAFriday, February 2, 2007
Whirling dervishes seem as legendary as the tales of genies and sheiks and long camel caravans, but they continue to belong to a thriving modern Sufi practice.
Masters of the spinning prayer will demonstrate their ancient practice to traditional music Feb. 15 in a program sponsored by the Peace Valley Foundation, a local nonprofit dedicated to increasing interfaith understanding, particularly about moderate aspects of Islam.
This year marks the 800th birthday of Rumi, the mystical poet of the area in what is now Turkey, Afghanistan and Iran. Rumi's meditations are said to have triggered the first known systematic, meditative whirling. The whirling itself, done by semazen, or trained mystics, in long, white skirts, evokes the circles of energy in the universe, from the orbits of planets to the orbits of electrons.
"Revolving shows in the existence of all things in nature," said Ramazan Aygun, who, with Satilmis Budak, helped organize the program. "When a person does sema (the whirling), one hand is turned toward the sky, toward God, and the other toward the Earth. The open hand is to receive God's blessings, then the other hand for sharing those with the Earth."
"This is not like ecstasy or becoming unconscious," Budak said. "This signifies that we are all one: From God we come, to God we will return."
The Islamic Sufi doctrine advocates worship of God, love, tolerance, charity and community and personal development. Rumi's poems have been popular in the West since the 19th century, when they were first widely translated.
The program Feb. 15 at the Von Braun Center Concert Hall will feature an explanation of the detailed symbolism of the ritual, from the black cloaks and tall camel-hair hats the semazen wear as they walk in to the posture they assume, with hands crossed over their chests, as they exit.
In the third stage of the sema, the actual whirling, the semazen are symbolizing the dissolving into the love of God, Ramazan said.
Even the musical instruments used have symbolic import.
"The beat of the kudum (drum) means the divine command, the 'Be' creation of the universe," Aygun said. "The ney (reed flute) symbolizes the divine breath giving life to everything."
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