Dervish is a member of the Sufi order

In translation from the Persian dervish - it is "a beggar", a "poor man". The Dervishes call the followers of the Turkish philosopher Jalaladin Rumi, who founded the Sufi order. During the Ottoman Empire, Sufi sects lived in monasteries reminiscent of Christian monasteries. The order was led by the sheikh, who was a religious mentor. Those who entered the Dervish order, were called murids and became full dervishes.

Members of the order were to exist in poverty and piety, abstaining from material wealth and living on alms. Two significant Sufi orders are now popular: Bektashi and Mevlevi.

The Twirling Dervishes of Mevlevi

The Mevlevi Order is a group of followers of the great poet Mevlana. Every year in the winter Mevlevi members honor the memory of the founder of the Order by holding a festival. At the religious ceremony, the dervishes come in fluttering white dresses and conical-shaped hats. They turn to the sounds of mystical music and symbolize the death and the final stage of the union of Mevlana and Allah.

Dervishes Bektashi

Bektashi dervish is a follower of the mystic Haji Bektashi Veli. The movement became very popular after Ali was declared the heir of Muhammad. Music for the Sufi Order of Bektashi plays a very significant role. Members of the Order of Bektashi do not show their religiousness, they do not read aloud prayers, do not go to the mosque and do not fast. Except for a three-day fast in memory of the suffering of Hussein.

Ceremonial dance of dervishes

The dancing dervish is the embodiment of a special ritual of worshiping Allah. Rhythmic dance under the magic sounds of a reed flute, fluttering clothes dervishes. This is a special understanding of the world, of man on Earth and in the universe. In the finale of the dance, the dervishes are released from their garments, which symbolizes liberation from cares and earthly burdens, and also shows that before God all people are equal.

Despite the fact that the dervish is a member of the ancient order, which was founded almost eight hundred years ago, its ritual dance has not changed in our days. Dervishes slowly come out and spread out the white rugs and scarlet sheep skin . Then they take off their cloaks and kneel, crossing their arms over their chests. They approach their religious instructor and put their heads on his shoulder, kiss his hand, bow to each other and start spinning around in a circle. In the process of dancing, dervishes fall into trance to receive a blessing from God.

Monastery of the Dervishes

In North Cyprus, in the city of Lefkosa, there is a small building, built in the oriental style, - this is the monastery of the Order of the dancing dervishes. Since 1963, the ethnographic museum is located in the premises of this monastery. In the courtyard of the building you can see a large number of tombstones, which belong to people of different incomes. Determine, to which social stratum the owner belonged, can be in the form of a cap located above the tombstone.

Also in this museum there is a picture depicting dancing dervishes. This led them into ecstasy for spiritual meditation. Ritual dervish dances took place in the central hall of the monastery. In the hall of the museum there are wax figures of dancing dervishes and mystical music always sounds. Therefore, visitors can easily imagine how the ritual dance of the Order looked.