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The Ritual Ceremony of the Mevlevi After the death of the great Sufi mystic Mevlana Jeladdin Rumi (1207-l273) in Konya on December 17, 1273, his son Sultan Veled founded the Sufi Order of Mevlevi dervishes (known in the West as the Whirling Dervishes) based on his father's teachings. The Ritual Ceremony of the Mevlevi seen today was performed in Mevlevi dervish lodges since that time until the banning of the lodges in 1925. The ceremony symbolizes Divine Love and the mystical ecstasy of the intoxicating journey into Union with the Divine Being, a state of absolute, mystical maturity and sobriety. The whirling dervishes feel the thrill of encountering and have the pleasure of removing the hindering veils as they enter the presence of God. Thus this ceremony and whirling dance called "sema," full of mystical symbolism and precisely set movements is designed to awaken contemplation on the Love of God. The ceremony opens with the recitation of the Na't-i Serif, a praise of the Prophet. Its words are by Mevlana and its music by Itri (1640-l711). Then comes the introductory improvisation on the reed-flute called "ney" whose plaintive sound symbolizes the longing that mature man suffers for the union with God just like the reed which has been cut from its source the reed-bed. The ceremony continues with the Rotation of Sultan Veled and consists of three circumambulations of the space by the sheikh, who represents Mevlana, and the dervishes. This symbolizes a dying to this tangible world and an awakening to the Eternal Life through the guidance of the sheikh. The conical hats worn by the dervishes represent their tombstones; their black cloaks their tombs; their white gowns their shrouds. The next stage of the ceremony consists of four salutations called "selams." It starts with the removal of the black cloaks, the shedding of worldly troubles and a resurrection into a life in God. By kissing the hand of the sheikh, the dervish obtains permission to whirl. The master of the dance directs the dervish to his place. As the musicians play, the choir sings, the sheikh watches from the post, the red sheep-skin which points in the direction of Mecca, and the dervishes whirl- unfolding their hands, turning their right hand upwards to receive blessings and their left downwards to pass out this blessing in the form of service in the world. "We receive from God and distribute to mankind... We own nothing... We are but a visible vehicle... We evaporate into the sky and like rain... Our existence has dissolved into being part of God's Infinite Compassion which is being showered unto the earth..." The dervishes rotate around God in this solar system of Mevlana just as the planets rotate around the Sun. The four salutations symbolizes the stages on the way to Union with the Beloved. The first is an elimination of doubts in the process of surrendering. The second is the arriving at the state where one sees God. In the third the lovers mature and lose themselves in the maturity of Absolute Being. In the fourth salutation they stay in a state of sober Unity, rotating around their own centers. In the fourth salutation the sheikh joins in the sema. He whirls to the center where he represents Mevlana and the sun in their master's solar system. The ceremony concludes with the recitation from the Koran, followed by a prayer invoking the presence of Mevlana and his teacher Shams of Tabriz. Then all the dervishes join in sounding the HU, the All-embracing Name of God, the ONE. "Unto Allah belong the East and the West |
 
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