Rumi and the Whirling Dervishes

Book excerpt: This book, beautifully illustrated with rare photographs of dervishes, tells the tale of the Sufi order and of one of its founders, poet and mystic Mevlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi. After Rumi’s death in 1273, the whirling dance, or sema, was established as part of the Mevlevi’s prayer ritual, and it has been performed by them ever since. The sema survives to this day, a statement of a timeless and passionate yearning toward God. With a special section devoted to Mevlevi music and introductions by Annemarie Schimmel and Seyyed Hossein Nasr,Rumi and the and the Whirling Dervishesoffers an unparalleled glimpse into the Mevlevi’s ecstatic practices.