History Of The Whirling Dervishes

The whirling dance was popularized by Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273), who was a Sufi mystic and poet. As legend has it, Rumi chanced upon goldbeaters in the town marketplace singing songs in reverence to Allah, and he began spinning in a circle with arms outstretched. As Rumi whirled, he entered a trance and became ecstatic, and with that, the dance was born. After Rumi’s demise, his followers continued with the practice and formed the Mevlevi sect. The order gained prominence under the Ottoman Empire when it contributed significantly to music and poetry.

Purpose Of The Whirling Dance

Rumi, as the founder of the dance, said that the dervishes represent the planets going around the sun in the solar system. The whirling dervishes acknowledge humanity’s place in the cosmos and join in the movement of the earth. The dance is also interpreted as a re-enactment of death and resurrection, where the mind transcends, and the body is left to the ground. The dance is often viewed as a way of uniting with cosmic powers as well as with eternity and establishing a relationship between humanity and divinity.

The Sama Ceremony Of The Whirling Dervishes

The whirling dance features prominently in the Sama Ceremony performed in the ritual hall (samahane). For a boy to become a dervish he attended schools referred to as tekkes, where after 1001 days (like 1001 nights of the Arabian Nights story) , he could be allowed to perform the dance. The Whirlers had to fast for several hours before commencing the dance. The ritual is strict and predetermined, and the dancers begin by bowing to the Sheikh, around whom they whirl. (the Sheikh represents the sun) The Sheikh remains spinning on his axis. The whirlers don tall brown hats referred to as sikke which represents the tombstone.

The Devr-i-Veled Walk involves a stately procession by the whirlers around the hall while wearing black cloaks (hirka) to symbolize the grave. Next, the dervishes stretch out their arms to let the black cloaks fall off revealing white robes or tennure which represent death. The dancers proceed to spin on their left foot (representing the left hand path, or the darkside.) while their right palms are outstretched upwards, and their left ones face on the ground.  (The Baphomet symbolism of as above so below.) The right hand is placed to receive God’s beneficence which is bestowed upon the earth through the left hand. The eyes remain open but unfocused, and a musical repertoire known as ney ( Ney, which literally means an abode or space for abiding, is a sacred and spiritually powerful area source) is played. At the end of the dance, a part of the Qur’an is read (which part?), and the dervishes and the Sheikh depart with a greeting of peace.

After the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1924, whirling experienced a decline in Turkey. Whirling in tekkes was banned under Law 677 passed by the new ruler Kemal Ataturk. Kemal insists that Turkey, being a modern country, has no provision for Dervish magic. The dance is still banned in the nation today. The Mevlevi Sect is active, however, they were allowed partial rights to perform the dance in public in 1953 for tourism purposes. Dances are regularly conducted in Konya and Istanbul.
spacer

Interesting, their own government called it “DERVISH MAGID” and outlawed it.  However, it has made a comeback.  And believe it or not UNESCO is one of the forces behind that comeback.  The “Magic” connected with the Dervish dance, is of course first of all connecting man with the fallen angels.   Second: promoting the lie of the “cosmos” being the earth as one of the “planets” revolving around the sun.  Third: the CIRCLE of life lie.  That everything is one big circle and we are all connected. living, dead, spirits, ghosts… Fourth: That we can commune with the gods/fallen angels. Fifth: that there is a resurrection of the dead without the TRUE and Living God.  The lie of reincarnation or of ascended masters who reach divinity through their own efforts.  

Finding any concrete information on “SAMA” is quite nearly impossible.  In my research on this topic, I found that they sometimes spell it Sama and sometimes Sema.  Again, it appears that they are hiding truth from us.
spacer

I have done research in the past on “SAMA” and have two posts on the topic.  You can read them in the following links:
spacer

SAMA – Part 1 of 2 -The Pagan Influence on Society

SAMA – Part 2 of 2 – The Pagan Influence on Society

spacer

UNESCO

Sep 28, 2009

UNESCO: Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity – 2008 URL: https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/mevlevi-… Description: The Mevleviye is an ascetic Sufi order founded in 1273 in Konya, from where it gradually spread throughout the Ottoman Empire. Today, the Mevleviye can be found in many Turkish communities throughout the world, but the most active and famous centres of the orders activity are in Konya and Istanbul. The Mevleviye are renowned for their whirling dances. Following a recommended fast of several hours, the whirlers begin to rotate on their left feet in short twists, using the right foot to drive their bodies around the left foot. The body of the whirler is meant to be supple, with eyes open but unfocused so that images become blurred and flowing. At their dancing ceremonies, or Sema, a particular musical repertoire called ay›n is played. Based on four sections of both vocal and instrumental compositions, it is performed by at least one singer, a flute-player, called neyzen, a kettledrummer and a cymbal player. Dancers used to receive 1,001 days of reclusive training within the mevlevi-houses (mevlevihane), where they learned about ethics, codes of behaviour and beliefs by practising prayer, religious music, poetry and dance. After this training, they remained members of the order but returned to their work and families. As a result of secularization policies, all mevlevihane were closed in 1925.The Turkish government began to allow performances again, though only in public, in the 1950s, restrictions were eased in the 1990s. Some private groups are re-establishing the original spiritual and intimate characterof the Sema ceremony. However, over the thirty years the tradition was practised clandestinely, transmission focused rather on music and songs than on spiritual and religious traditions, which has deprived performances of part of their religious significance. Consequently, many sema ceremonies are no longer performed in their traditional context but for tourist audiences, and have been shortened and simplified to meet commercial requirements. Country(ies): Turkey

TO WATCH THIS VIDEO WHICH UNESCO HAS BLOCEKD FROM VIEW HERE CLICK THE LINK: HERE

spacer

The Sufi Whirling Dervishes of Konya – ritual dance, Turkey

TravelS Aerial and Nefhith

Oct 13, 2016

Dervishe Dance is a beautiful Spiritual Practice, a meditation, a mystical journey of spiritual ascent through mindto God’s Love. It originated amongst Sufis and it is a dance, done as a ritual. 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

spacer

 I hope you are not too dizzy for one more.  I found this connection to be quite puzzling.  Why on earth would Muslims be interested in paying homage to Mary.  Why would “Christians” pay homage to Mary and why would they do it with Muslims through a Muslim dance ritual that pays homage to the Sun?
spacer

Al Kindi Stabat Mater Dolorosa, Muslim and Christian Homage to Mary

Sabine Châtel

Dec 31, 2014

A musical creation by Julien Jalal Eddine Weiss and the Ensemble Al-Kindi – Featuring : The Orthodox lithurgic Choir Tropos from Athens, Sheikh Habboush (vocal), munshid from Aleppo and the whirling dervishes of Aleppo (Syria), Dogan Dikmen, Bekir Buyukbas, Ahmet and Refik Kaya from Istanbul and the whriling dervishes of Istanbul, Rania Younes (vocal) from Beyrouth.

UPDATE ADDED 4/26/2022

Neither Christianity nor Islam have been able to suppress completely such ancient pagan traditions. In Muslim countries the most holy time of the year is the fasting month: Ramadan. In the nights of Ramadan the Sudanis of Tunisia used to perform frenetic masque dances called Bou Saadia (J ahn: to be published  ), which were frightening for many women and children (Ben Abdallah 1970). On this occasion they danced in the streets with skin masques covering their faces and hoods decorated with cowries and mirrors, sometimes also with the head of a bird. They were dressed only with an apron of fur or a belt decorated with animal tails and while singing and whirling round they accompanied themselves with brass instruments resembling great castanets which they moved in both hands. Usually one of their friends would accompany them, beating a drum and collecting money from those who watched. The Tunisians considered this mainly as a kind of savage rite and
mendicancy. However, the Sudanis are Moslems, too, and some of them can relate about the origin of their Bou Saadia dances and try to give them a religious meaning (J ahn: to be published). In
addition Tunisians knew also the so called ‘ghula Ramadan’ ( ) or Ramadan ogre, a man who completely disguised under his garment and danced with a long stick which had a terrifying ugly head on top (Sadiq Er Rezqi 1967, 411). Even in the capital some Sudanis may still be invited to a private house to dance for a Ramadan party, but folk-life in the streets has died out.
END OF UPDATE

spacer

You can believe anything you like, it does not make it true.  Ecstatic dance was, is and ever shall be a tool of the devil to deceive you.  It is just another way to get you to open the gate/door/portal to your soul.  The devil wants to get you to alter your consciousness, whether it is through drugs, meditation, self-inflicted pain, ecstatic dance, whatever method you use does not matter.  

Esctatic dance has always been employed by shamans who are nothing more than diveners/soothsayers/witches/palm readers/gurus ets..  They surrender their bodies to the rhymn of the drum and the sounds of the music.  As they dance they let their minds go… they open themselves us to the spirits.  Whatever spirits care to come in.   This is very dangerous ground.  It is NEVER the Holy Spirit or any spirit from GOD that will respond to this activity.  ANY spirit that enters you uner these circumstance is straight from the pit of HELL.  

I am shocked!  As I was researching this article, I went to find the definition of Esctatic dance so that I could show my source.  I found that the truth about this subject has been erased!!  You will not find an honest and accurate definition.  I was even more shocked to find multiple articles singing the praises of this activity!!  Especially in connection with electronic raves!!  It is no wonder the world has gone to HELL.  The deception is at critical levels.  People are so far gone, I don’t know that any of them can be saved. It is scary and sad.  My heart cries out for the lost.  It brings me to tears every time I think of all the millions of people who are lost, and us so close to His return.  

I have added the topic of ecstatic dance to my list of articles that I am working on.  That list is so long, I will never get them all done.  I even wonder how many I will be able to complete before He comes.  I will do my best.  My sole purpose in life is to see the captives set free.  Believe me… WE ARE ALL CAPTIVES!   God HELP US!

spacer