Sufi whirling (or Sufi turning) (Turkish: Semazen borrowed from Persian Sama-zan, Sama, meaning listening, from Arabic, and zan, meaning doer, from Persian) is a form of physically active meditation which originated among certain Sufi groups, and which is still practiced by the Sufi Dervishes of the Mevlevi order and other orders such as the Rifa'i-Marufi. It is a customary meditation practice performed within the Sema, or worship ceremony, through which dervishes (also called semazens, from Persian سماعزن) aim to reach the source of all perfection, or karma. This is sought through abandoning one's nafs, ego 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.[1]
The Mevlevi practice gave rise to an Egyptian form, tanoura, distinguished by the use of a multicolored skirt. This has also developed into a performance dance by non-Sufis, including dancers outside the Islamic world.
The whirling dervishes were founded by Jelaluddin Rumi (1207-1273).[2]
"In the 12th century, Sufi fraternities (طرائق ṭarāʾiq) 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."[3] A member of such a fraternity is referred to as a Persian darwish.[3] 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.[4] 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.[4] 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.[4] The Prophet himself is revered as the originator of Sufism, which has in turn been traced down through a series of saints.[4]
Dervish communities, in the Middle Ages, served a central role in social, religious and political life throughout "central Islamic lands."[3] 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.[4] In 1925, Turkey ordered the dissolution of all Sufi fraternities by decree, the Mevlevi managed to survive among small villages throughout the Middle East.[9] In 1954, the Turkish government granted the Mevlevi order a special permission to perform ritual whirling practices for tourists during two weeks each year.[9] Outside of tourist entertainment, Orthodox theologians have now vocally discounted the Dervish practice resulting in faqirs, or wandering, mendicant dervishes throughout central Islamic regions.[3] Despite strict government control over Dervish practices, the Mevleviyah order continued its existence in Turkey to this day.[9]
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