March 12, 2016, Dallas, TX – The Raindrop Turkish House, in collaboration with the Dialogue Institute of Southwest and Embrace Relief, organized a spectacular evening that showcased the Whirling Dervish and attracted over 250 people.
Also known as the “Sufi Whirling”, the performance is a folkloric stage show done by Semazens, who represent the Mevlevi order of Sufi fraternity. Started as a spiritual ritual in around 12th century Turkey, Sufi whirling now serves as a powerful display that is performed in a trance-like state.
Usually, a Turkish musician plays devotional Sufi music with the unique instrument of ‘ney’ or reed flute, as a Dervish will spin on a stage representing a highly spiritual nature of Sufis with his traditional dress on. Every spin and every body position of a whirling dervish is a deliberate intentional gesture of spirituality. When a Semazen spins, his right hand faces upward which symbolizes the revelation of God that comes from the sky, while his left hand faces downward which points to the earth where all creatures live. As the Dervish whirls, he symbolizes a general idea in Islam that spirituality should focus on sharing whatever comes from God through His revelations of Prophets with the people on earth.
The artistic performance of whirling dervishes is one of Turkey’s rarest treasures and also considered as one of UNESCO’s masterpieces of oral and intangible heritage of humanity.
