Whirling Dervishes

Whirling Dervishes

“Come, come again, whoever you are, come!
Heathen, fire worshipper or idolatrous, come!
Come even if you broke your penitence a hundred times,
Ours is the portal of hope, come as you are.

Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi

Turkish people call Whirling Dervishes as Mevlevi due to their famous practice of whirling as a form of God. Dervish is a term for man who is in path of Sufism. Whirling is the parth of Sema Ceromony and participants are Semazens. Semazens are Whirling Dervishes in English.

Everything in the universe, from atoms to the solar system and to the blood which circulates in the body, revolves. Therefore, Sema Ceremony is a ritual, a spiritual journey . This journey makes the soul to God as it becomes mature and attains unity. After this journey of whirling dervishes, it returns to its life and to serve humankind again.

Mevlevi Order is approximately 750 years old. And It has been a living tradition based on teachings of Rumi. He has been leader of Sufism based on love and tolerance. Shems-I Tebriz-I was a spiritual mentor and Rumi’s friend. He was also in order within Sufism more widely.

In 2005, the Mevlevi Sema Ceremony was proclaimed as a part of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intengible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. It is one of the most important richness of the Turkish Culture as a tradition of 800 years.