The Mevlevi rites symbolize divine love and mystical ecstasy; they aim at union with the Divine. The music and the dance are designed to induce meditation on the love of God. Mevlevi music contains some of the most valuable elements of Turkish classical music. It serves mainly as accompaniment for poems of Rumi and other Sufi poets. The music of the sema (ceremony) is generally conducted by the chief drummer. Percussion accompaniment is supplied by the kudums (small kettledrums) and cymbals; melody is provided by the ney (reed flute), the string instruments and the voice. The words and even syllables of the poetry are connected to the musical sentences. "Dervish music cannot be written in notes. Notes do not include the soul of the dervish."
The dervishes turn timelessly and effortlessly. They whirl, turning round on their own axis and moving also in orbit. The right hand is turned up towards heaven to receive God's overflowing mercy which passes through the heart and is transmitted to earth with the downturned left hand. While one foot remains firmly on the ground, the other crosses it and propels the dancer round. The rising and falling of the right foot is kept constant by the inner rhythmic repetition of the name of "Allah-Al-lah, Al-lah..."
The ceremony can be seen as a great crescendo in three
stages:
knowing God,
seeing God and
lost in the Presence of God.
source:http://www.best.com/~informe/mateen/Sufi/Saints.html
Comment:
What has the above to do with Islam? Can anybody see the similarities of this
rituals and what nonMuslims do?
Oh Allah guide those who gone astray and guide us All to your straight path.