Religion and Spirituality:
The Ceremony
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The Ceremony |
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The ceremony is divided into two distinct parts. The first part starts with prayer, sometimes recitations of some verses from the Mesnevi, and several prayers, after which the Shaikh recites what is called Post Duasi, while the others remain in profound meditation.
After the post duasi, comes Naat or Naat-i Sharif, a hymn without rhythm in a litanies style. Although there are several Naats, in the Mevlevi ceremony it is customary to sing the Naat composed by a great classical Turkish composer, Mustafa Itri. During this no response is expected, there is complete silence and most of the people close their eyes. After the Naat, the chief double drum player or KUDUMZENBASI plays four notes as a signal, and either the chief reed piper or one of the flautists appointed by him plays a Taksim which is an instrumental improvisation, a kind of cadenza in the various appropriate modes, ending with the mode chosen for that day and stimulating the first step in emotional uplift among the participants.
This is followed by another instrumental piece called 'pesrev' meaning prelude, which can also be played in conclusion. While the pesrev, which is in a 14/4 rhythm called Devr-i Kebir (grand cycle), one of the longest rhythmical sentences, is being played, the dervishes stand up, headed by the Sheikh and begin to march around the hall step by step slowly and deliberately, encircling the place three times, anti-clockwise.
During this part the dervishes salute each other in front of the post. Then the Shaikh stands up and takes his place on the left of the post (A) he bows, and walks to the point (B) which is on the right side of the post by crossing the equator; his walk to the tempo of the Pesrev is by first stepping on the right foot, with the left slightly raised on the toes, a short pause, then the left foot steps forward with the right slightly raised on the toes, and he seals his feet (this is called ayak mühürlemek), that is by standing with the great toe of the right foot placed over the great toe of the left foot. His follower the chief Semazen (master of dance) who is behind him takes his place at (A); they bow their heads and his follower continues his tour, and this is repeated by all the dervishes.
As has been noted before, this is repeated three times. The third rotation the shaikh takes his place on the post, and the pesrev music ends. This first part of the ceremony is concluded by another Ney improvisation.
The second part of the ceremony is called 'Four Selas' (Selam is a form of salutation wishing peace, health and greeting), but in fact there are four episodes of Sema (dancing) with a Selam for the first three only.
At the end of the fourth part the oral part finishes with instrumental music with a Pesrev, and Yuruk Semai, 6/4 rhythmic pattern ends the ceremony.
After the music is over, the dancing part which we shall describe below continues till one of the singers recites from the Koran when the dancers sit down and put on their outer garments. After this recitation the chief Semazen stands up and begins to pray in front of his shaikh. This supplication called Dua-gu duasi like the Post duasi at the beginning is for Mevlana and all the holy people and saints.
Now back to the beginning of the second, or main part, of the ritual. The shaikh takes his station on the Post. With the exception of the chief Semazen and the Sheikh, the dervishes lay aside their outer cloaks, leaving their undergarments and skirts, called 'tennure'. The chief Semazen kisses the Sheiksh's hand, and the Sheikh in turn kisses his hand. This means the Sheikh gives his authorisation and blessing for Sema, and the chief Semazen takes his place in (C ), and the other dervishes do likewise.
After kissing the Sheikh's right hand and bowing, the dervishes start to whirl, each dervish inclining his head over one shoulder, with arms crossed and hands clasped to each shoulder. As the speed increases the arms are raised to almost a horizontal position.
Sometimes one arm is outstretched and the other pressed against the heart. Their eyes are downcast or closed and the head is slightly bent over one shoulder. As they quicken their rotation, their long white skirts become fully expanded like opened umbrellas.
They are performing a double feat of whirling round and moving forward, anti-clockwise, and at the same time keeping clear of each other, maintaining their places with the regularity of clockwork. The twirling is done by pivoting round on the left foot, which is called Direk (rod), with the right foot crossing over the top of the left instep after the manner of a paddle to keep up the motion. If a dervish keeps a fixed and stationary position, this is called Direk tutmak.
At a signal from the chief Semazen, some dervishes whirl in the outer orbit, the others in the inner orbit. This is repeated three times, each time with bowing to the shaikh Kissing the hand of the shaikh is only done in the first stage of Selam, after the salutation which involves bowing slightly, with feet sealed and the right hand on the heart, and fingers apart.
The fourth and final period is different because the chief Semazen does not admit anybody to the inner circle, and keeps everybody in the outer circle; because in this fourth part the shaikh himself will take part in the Sema. The shaikh whirls to the centre both of the equator and the hall, a point called Kutb. This is the place of Mevlana and his followers by succession, and the shaikh is entitled by succession to take Mevlana's place. The shaikh's whirling is slow and is called Post Sema'i, in this section the Ney's improvisation, the sound of the dancers feet and the rustle coming from their skirts make a unique harmony. While the shaikh spins back to the post, the ney's improvisation and the whole sema end abruptly.
The education of the Mevlevi novitiate is very arduous and painstaking; it is called the '1001 days of penitence'. The preparatory exercise for whirling consists mainly of adjusting the opening of two toes around a nail on the ground and spinning around this pivot. These nails can still be seen in Konya.
