Sufi Whirling

Origin
In the 12th century, Sufi fraternities (tariqa) were first organized as an established leadership in
which a member followed a prescribed discipline in service to a sheikh or master in order to
establish rapport with him. A member of such a fraternity is referred to as a Persian darwish. These
turuk (plural of tariqa) were responsible for organizing an Islamic expression of religious life, often
founded by independent saints or resulted from the division of existing orders. Each Sufi tariqa
stems from a unique silsila, or "chain of order" in which a member must learn, as the silsila binds
each member to Allah through one's chain of order. One's silsila extends through the member's
individual teacher, to their teacher and so on, through time until one is connected to the Prophet and
thus Allah. The Prophet himself is revered as the originator of Sufism, which has in turn been traced
down through a series of saints.
Sufi whirling
Sufi whirling (or Sufi spinning) is a form of Sama or physically active meditation which
originated among Sufis, and which is still practiced by the Sufi Dervishes of the Mevlevi order. It is
a customary dance performed within the Sema, or worship ceremony, through which dervishes (also
called semazens) aim to reach the source of all perfection, or kemal. This is sought through
abandoning one's nafs, egos or personal desires, by listening to the music, focusing on God, and
spinning one's body in repetitive circles, which has been seen as a symbolic imitation of planets in
the Solar System orbiting the sun. As explained by Sufis:
In the symbolism of the Sema ritual, the semazen's camel's hair hat (sikke) represents the tombstone
of the ego; his wide, white skirt represents the ego's shroud. By removing his black cloak, he is
spiritually reborn to the truth. At the beginning of the Sema, by holding his arms crosswise, the
semazen appears to represent the number one, thus testifying to God's unity. While whirling, his
arms are open: his right arm is directed to the sky, ready to receive God's beneficence; his left hand,
upon which his eyes are fastened, is turned toward the earth. The semazen conveys God's spiritual
gift to those who are witnessing the Sema. Revolving from right to left around the heart, the
semazen embraces all humanity with love. The human being has been created with love in order to
love. Mevlna Jalluddn Rumi says, "All loves are a bridge to Divine love. Yet, those who have
not had a taste of it do not know!"
Practice
A dervish practices multiple rituals, the primary of which is the dhikr, a remembering of Allah. The
dhikr involves recitation of devotional Islamic prayer. This dhikr is coupled with physical exertions
of movement, specifically dancing and whirling, in order to reach a state assumed by outsiders to be
one of "ecstatic trances" Among the Mevlevi order, the practice of dhikr is performed in a
traditional dress: a tennure, a sleeveless white frock, the destegul, a long sleeved jacket, a belt, and
a black overcoat or khirqa to be removed before the whirling begins. As the ritual dance begins, the
dervish dons a felt cap, a sikke, in addition to a turban wrapped around the head, a trademark of the
Mevlevi order. The sheikh leads the ritual with strict regulations. To begin,
The sheikh stands in the most honored corner of the dancing place, and the dervishes pass by him
three times, each time exchanging greetings, until the circling movement starts. The rotation itself is
on the left foot, the center of the rotation being the ball of the left foot and the whole surface of the
foot staying in contact with the floor. The impetus for the rotation is provided by the right foot, in a
full 360-degree step. If a dervish should become too enraptured, another Sufi, who is in charge of
the orderly performance, will gently touch his frock in order to curb his movement, The dance of
the dervishes is one of the most impressive features of the mystical life in Islam, and the music
accompanying it is of exquisite beauty, beginning with the great hymn in honor of the Prophet (na't-
i sharif, written by Jalaluddin himself) and ending with short, enthusiastic songs, some things sung
in Turkish.
The Western world, having witnessed Sufi whirling through tourism, have described the various
forms of dhikr as "barking, howling, dancing, etc." The practice of each tariqa is unique to its
individual order, specific traditions and customs may differ across countries. The same tariqa in one
country will not mirror that of another country as each order's ritual stresses "emotional religious
life" in various forms. The Mevleviyah order, like many others, practice the dhikr by performing a
whirling meditation. Accompanying the dhikr practices of whirling and prayer, the custom of sama
serves to further one's "nourishment of the soul" through devotional "hearing" of the "'subtle'
sounds of the hidden world or of the cosmos." In contrast to the use of sama, whirling and
devotional prayer in the practice of dhikr, the tariqa orders perform Sufi whirling in addition to
playing musical instruments, consuming glowing embers, live scorpions and glass, puncturing body
parts with needles and spikes, or practicing clairvoyance and levitation. The dervish practice can be
performed by community residents or lay members, members have typically been those of lower
classes. Within Islamic faith, unlike Middle Eastern law, women have equal status to men, allowing
women to participate in dhikr as dervishes themselves. Women were received into a tariqa order by
a male sheikh, but traditionally were instructed to practice the dhikr alone or with an established
branch of females within a specific order. Sufi whirling, a worship of dhikr, became a gender and
class neutral practice throughout the Central Islamic region.
The custom of sama among Sufi orders has a history of controversy within the Islamic faith. In one
argument, the use of the term sama is considered to suggest physically "listening" in a spiritual
context. A differing opinion argues that sama is in fact "hearing", as "to hear" can pertain to any
sound in addition to any "subtle" sounds of the spiritual realm. Those in support of sama further
claim that the term is actually synonymous with "understanding" and therefore recognition and
application of the Revelation as well as the act of "attaining higher knowledge." The spread of sama
among Sufi orders began some time around the mid 3rd/9th century C.E. in Baghdad, eventually
finding acceptance and favor in Persian, Turkish and Indian Islam. The custom of sama evolved in
practice over time as it complimented Sufi dhkir, whirling and among some orders dancing and a
meal. Rules of propriety and conditions were adopted upon the widespread concern surrounding the
necessity of sama with the dhikr; in order to distinguish between entertainment and valuable
spiritual practice, the sama was distinguished as heard from the ego, heart or spirit. Despite the
application of rules, some sheikhs continued to limit or disapprove the practice of sama. While
controversy continuously questioned the place of sama in Sufi orders, the music itself was not
affected. More recently, the custom of sama is most commonly performed within a dhikr ceremony.
Those in support of sama continue to argue that "according to that which it is not sama and dance
which induce ecstasy, but ecstasy which arouses dance, or furthermore, that sama is only a
revealing instrument and that it only supplies that which is brought to it by the hearer."
In 2005, UNESCO proclaimed the "The Mevlevi Sema Ceremony" of Turkey as one of the
Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Today
Dervish communities, in the Middle Ages, served a central role in social, religious and political life
throughout "central Islamic lands." Dervish orders were at one time much larger in size than they
are today, as the government has taken control over most Dervish monasteries throughout this area.
In 1925, Turkey ordered the dissolution of all Sufi fraternities by decree, the Mevlevi managed to
survive among small villages throughout the Middle East. In 1954, the Turkish government granted
the Mevlevi order a special permission to perform ritual whirling practices for tourists during two
weeks each year. Outside of tourist entertainment, Orthodox theologians have now vocally
discounted the Dervish practice resulting in faqirs, or wandering, mendicant dervishes throughout
central Islamic regions. Despite strict government control over Dervish practices, the Mevleviyah
order continued its existence in Turkey until the early 21st century.