The moment when Jalal al-Din al-Rumi “one of the greatest leaders of Sufi thought in the world” met his teacher Shams al-Tabrizi in 1244, it marked a milestone in the life of Konya and its people.
Tabrizi left an impression in Jalals life that no one could erase. Within two years, the Sufi sect were formed in which their spiritual worship was mixed with poetry, music and dance, specifically the Whirling Dervishes.
It is also called the Samah or Dervish dance. He performs it in a special way, reflecting what they call “man’s journey to God”.
Because of the teaching of Jalals values among people such as love, tolerance and charity among all human beings, regardless of their language, religion, race or gender, the whirling dervishes reflected these values by following specific rituals.
In this famous dance, the dervishes take off the black clothes that symbolize the dirt, and they wear the white that symbolizes the shrouds, confirming the human journey to his Creator.
Jalal al-Din al-Rumi wrote about the whirling dervishes, which was inspired by his teacher, to express the ability of man to unite and dissolve in the sea of God’s love, and said: “There is a difference between the love that emanates from the soul and the threads it weaves around yourself.”
The dance was also present in the writings of many authors, most notably the “Forty Rules of Love” by the Turkish writer Elif Shafak, who told about the months that brought Jalal together with Shams, and how he was his first inspiration in writing poems, philosophical wisdom and preaching writings.
Shafak recounted the first grace dance that Jalal performed with Shams and other dervishes in Konya in June 1246. When it ended, Rumi said:
“This dance, my friends, is the hallmark, the whirling dervish dance. From today on-wards, dervishes of all ages will act the whirling dervishes dance.”
With the sound of a tambourine and flute, the dance begins by rotating 3 times around the perimeter of the male hall that the dervish enters.
And this rotation is related to the system of rotation of the universe and the spheres (the Earth’s rotation around itself and around the sun) while Muslims circumambulate around the Kaaba. As for the clothes worn by the dervishes during the whirling dervishes dance, it is made up of several pieces, each with a symbol.
The cap is similar in shape to the fez, but it is longer than it, its color is brown and it is made of camel hair. Its texture is coarse in a sign of the roughness of life. As for the sheikhs, they wrap a green turban on the tracks called “the constitution.”
As for the dress, it is short and is worn without the izar, and it symbolizes the short life. As for the skirt, it is a white dress that takes a conical shape and symbolizes the shroud. Above him, the dervish wears a loose black dress in the form of a robe, and its black color symbolizes abstinence from worldly pleasures and distance from them. And finally, the shoe, which is light black sandals, that the dervish wears while performing the dervish dance.
Dervish performances in Istanbul
Annual events commemorating the death of Jalal al-Din Rumi are held in Konya between the 7th of December and the 17th of the same month.
Although Konya is the main destination for Rumi lovers to see Dervish performances, it has spread to various cities of the world, including Istanbul.
Rumi’s fans strived to spread his mystical thought, even the dervish takayas has spreaded in many parts of the world.
Many tourists are keen to watch these performances to experience the divine journey that the Mawlawi dance embodies. One of these places offered by “Hodjapasha” in Sirkeci district of Istanbul.
As soon as the passenger leaves the Sirkeci subway station, a few meters later he finds the first sign pointing to the Hodjapasha hall, which presents performances of dervishes daily at 7 pm. The ticket price for adults is 400 Turkish lira and for children 250 Turkish lira. Interestingly, everything a visitor needs to know before entering the show is told by the receptionist at the Hodjapasha entrance.
at their meeting with Turkiyaholidays team, they said that the show extends for an hour from seven to eight in the evening, and includes only the Dervish dance. “The viewers will get to know the Sufi dance. Through the show, they will be able to remember Jalal al-Din Rumi and the first dance he performed with Shams of Tabrizi.”
The receptionist confirms that photography is strictly prohibited inside the show, and in the hall there are employees who supervise the complete prohibition of photography. In the event of some violations, the director of the exhibition hall has two employees whose job it is to delete any videos or photos that were taken!
Dressed in mysterious black robes, the lights of the hall are shining, the dervishes enter. The Mawlawi Sheikh prostrate to God first, then the dancers follow him. And after they greet each other as if they are about to start a global fight, they greet those present, take off the lions and look down on their famous white cloaks, and as soon as hands are raised towards the sky, the journey begins.
As in all Sufi rituals, it begins with a prayer of blessings upon the Prophet and the remembrance of Mawlawi. And it remains only the Mawlawi sheikh who distinguishes among all the dervishes, dressed in black and a veil.
The dervishes and the Sheikh begin to spin without stopping for more than 30 minutes straight, raising one hand up and the other down, while the audience’s attention does not miss a moment from watching them.
During the dance, the dervishes perform four salutations, the first refers to the greatness of God Almighty and servitude to Him alone, the second salute symbolizes admiration for God’s power, the third is to reach the highest level of admiration and love, and the fourth salute symbolizes the dervishes’ return to servitude.
Suddenly they stop turning, folding their arms to their chests.
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Viewers are breathing like they’ve finished the spin, too. They try to wake up from the journey of spiritual transcendence, while the sounds of chanting begin to decline slowly, until calm music permeates the hall.
Then they start reciting a section of the holy Qur’an, and they don’t finish until the Sheikh leaves the hall, followed by the dervishes one by one.
A Lebanese tourist called Ghina, who attended the Dervish Show for the first time, says she has been excited to see them for years. “I didn’t know much about Rumi or Sufi dance, but the show was great, as much as the explanation that was given by the staff” she says.
As for the Irish tourist, Mark, he decided to attend the Dervishes show at seven in the evening, followed by a show that begins at eight thirty, telling about the civilization of Turkey and includes many dances, including dervishes, ballet, Dabke and other.
Hodjapasha is the venue for dervish shows in Istanbul, and there are others such as the Galata Mevlevi Museum, the Mervlevi Whirling Dervish Hall, and it is located in Galipdede Caddesi, Taksim region. There is Tekke in Fatih district, 17 Dede Efendi Street, and “Lis Art Turk” near the Basilica Cistern on Sultanahmet Street.