Sufi whirling
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"The Maulavis are the Sufi sect, known to Europeans as the Dancing Dervishes, whose founder was the far-famed Jelal- ad-DIn, Rumi."--Persian Poetry for English Readers (1883) by Samuel Robinson |
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Sufi whirling is a form of Sama or physically active meditation which originated among Sufis, 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 aim to reach the source of all perfection, or kemal.
This is sought through abandoning one's nafs, egos 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.
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