Dervishes who are they? Who is a dervish

The prototype of a monk, and a wandering beggar, and a fakir, a doctor, a soothsayer for the poorest segments of the population of countries professing . The variety of dervish essences has evolved over the centuries, starting around the 8th century. Dervishes live and continue their search for spiritual perfection in Pakistan, India, Iran, some countries of southeast Asia and northern Africa.

Such different dervishes

Dervishes are wandering and living in monasteries (tekie, khanaka). In any case, dervishes should not have property, must completely obey the teacher (sheikh) and, ideally, observe a vow of celibacy. There are, however, dervishes who have their own craft or position, their own homes and families and live outside the walls of the monastery. In this case, they should be generous, hospitable, and ready to part with property, for everything belongs to Allah. They are charged with performing special prayers of the brotherhood at certain hours and visiting the monastery 2-3 times a week and on religious holidays.

The essence of the religious belief of the dervishes

Dervishes are united by the desire for a hermit life and Sufism - one of the main directions of Muslim religion. The main idea of ​​the latter is in the individual achievement of connection with God, in the cleansing of the heart from everything except God. Ways to achieve spiritual perfection can be expressed in silent, in-depth contemplation, in general prayers out loud, accompanied by singing, in, with religious overtones, dancing to music. The mystical ecstasy of souls from a pure heart helps more than attempts to intellectually comprehend the teaching.

Order of Dervishes

More than 70 dervishes are known, founded by eminent elders, or sheikhs. The oldest of them is the Elwani order, which was founded by Sheikh Elwan (died in Jeddah in 766). Other ancient orders are the Edgemites, Bektashis and Sakati. There are also sects that deviate from the basic laws of Islam, the so-called. free (asad) or lawless (bisher). Devout Muslims bring rich gifts or contributions to monasteries belonging to one or another order. However, dervishes must take care of their attire independently. The color of clothing is black or dark green; the sheikhs have white and green. The dervishe's head is covered with a turban of various shapes.

Dancing Dervishes

Many orders of dervishes existed in the territory of the former Ottoman Empire. In 1925, during Turkey's transition to a republican system of government, dervishes and their orders were banned. Since the mid-50s of the 20th century, the state’s attitude towards dervishes has softened. Some dervish orders have integrated into modern life in Turkey and have become tourist attractions. For example, the dancing dervishes of the Mevlevi order in Konya, 200 km south of Ankara. Twice a year, their celebrations are accompanied by a breathtaking whirling dance filled with deep mystical meaning.

) the same as “qalandar” or “kalender” - the Muslim equivalent of a monk, ascetic, follower of Sufism. A respectful name for a Sufi dervish preacher - ata(Turkish ata - father).

Varieties of Dervishes

Dervishes are wandering and living in monasteries (“tekie”, “khanaka”) under the command of a sheikh - the guardian of order and the rules of the community. The dervishes living in the monasteries often wandered, eating worldly alms, but periodically returning for joint fasts and prayers.

A distinctive feature of the dervish was the lack of property. It was not appropriate for a dervish to say, for example, “ my shoes" or " my so-and-so" - he should not have owned property, since everything belongs to God. If the dervish owned something, then he was obliged to share it. If the dervish did not live in poverty, then he compensated for this with generosity and hospitality, when he was ready to give everything to his guest, leaving nothing for himself or even for his family.

Sometimes dervishes are classified as monks - but this is controversial, since the similarity is purely external, since dervishes could marry, had their own houses and lived their own lives.

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Excerpt characterizing Dervish

The uniqueness of Turkey begins with its special location and surprisingly continues with the cultures of the West and East closely coexisting in the country. Four seas - the Black, Aegean, Mediterranean and Marmara - wash Turkey, annually attracting tourists from all over the world with a variety of resorts, a fairly mild climate, an abundance of historical attractions and, of course, the most beautiful Turkish cities. The cities of Turkey are worthy of a separate story, since each region, each city of Turkey is interesting and attractive in its own way for visitors to the country. For example, the city of Konya is the oldest spiritual center of Turkey. Konya is famous for its monuments of early Turkish-Islamic architecture, the most beautiful grottoes in the vicinity of the city and, of course, the Whirling Dervishes Festival. But who the dervishes are, and what contribution they made to the history of Turkey and why they are so famous all over the world, the editors of the www.site want to tell you.

A little history.
At a certain time, many orders arose in the Muslim world, each of which was distinguished by its own set of rules, its own complex rituals and its own orders. One of the Sufi communities that appeared early in Turkish history and is still very popular today is the Mevlevi Order of Whirling Dervishes. This is a religious group whose members are followers of the great Persian-language poet Mevlana, or Jalaleddin Rumi. The order settled in Central Turkey, in the city of Konya, where it exists to this day.

The main and main condition for joining the order was considered to be the absence of any movable or immovable property. For the sake of serving God, the dervish renounced all worldly temptations. It was categorically unacceptable for him to call things “his own.” He had nothing of his own - no house, no shoes, no clothes, no food. Some of the dervishes lived in communities, but mostly they wandered and lived away from people. The Dervishes once and for all chose eternal wanderings, long roads and foreign cities. This way of life earned them the reputation of being close to God, ascetics and sages. Today, dervishes are called eternal wanderers, whose main wealth is an open soul. Many considered it an honor and happiness to meet a dervish somewhere on a dusty road: such a meeting promised great success in all matters.

Dervish dance.
“Aren’t they dizzy?” - this question was asked by everyone who has at least once seen their strange, incomparable dance. These unique people are called whirling dervishes. Their dance is as old as time... or a little younger. At different times, in different eras and in different countries, dervishes delightfully whirl themselves and turn the heads of thousands of spectators. And today they have become perhaps the main symbol of Turkey, a kind of inexplicable curiosity that thousands of tourists from all over the world come to see. The mesmerizing whirling of dervishes (Sema) is one of the most mystical and amazing dances in the world. However, this is more than a dance, it is a ritual, an art that takes years to comprehend. By the way, the dervish is not immediately allowed to perform Sema. Before this, the future dancer undergoes a three-year test: the beginner spends 1001 days in a monastery, devoting the first year to serving his neighbor, the second to the monastery, and the third to caring for his soul. The dance of the Whirling Dervishes begins with the recitation of a hymn in honor of the Prophet. The hymn was written by Rumi himself. Then the dancers appear to the sound of music. Dressed in wide white skirts and red cone-shaped hats, the dervishes begin to slowly rotate around their axis from right to left with their arms folded on their chests. At the same time they move in a circle. The pace picks up and the hands open up. The right one, preparing to receive divine energy, moves up, the left one moves down. Having reached the culmination of the rotation, the dervishes slow down the pace, as if returning to people with a new, clarified consciousness and bringing them love, regardless of what faith, race and class they are. This magical dance can last for several hours in a row.

Nowadays, sema has gone beyond the scope of a religious mystical ritual, and many dervishes perform this dance outside the monastery, in restaurants and clubs (for a fee).

Dervish Festival.
Every year from December 10 to 17 in Konya(about 300 km from Antalya) you can get a dose of inspiration during the Dervish Festival. Representatives of the Mevlevi Order perform mesmerizing Sufi dances every day on this holiday. To the beat of drums and the sounds of a reed flute, they spin and gradually enter a trance. The ritual of rotation spiritually enriches not only the participants: it is believed that at these moments all people are given divine love. Places for the festival can be booked at any travel agency.

Reading time: 6 minutes.

The dance of the dervishes is famous throughout the world. Whirling dervishes - meditation. It is believed that during performance the spirit is freed from the flesh and rushes to God. Even just watching a breathtaking spectacle, feel the unearthly aura of what is happening and meditate. Observation calms a person, helps him get rid of problems and worries, makes him cleaner and stronger. Dervishes can live sedentary or wander around the world. The wandering dervish finds temporary refuge in “tekie” - abodes for rest and prayer.

Who is a dervish?

Back in the 13th century in Persia, the famous poet and sage Rumi founded a monastic order, uniting wandering dervishes and their ideology into a religious movement. The essence of the movement is to acquire a special spiritual experience. A dervish is a semblance of an Islamic monk, a beggar vagabond who has renounced the benefits of civilization and is obliged to observe certain laws. He should not have any property, nothing personally belonging to him. Although Sufism (the religion of the dervishes) allows such a person to lead a sedentary life and start a family, he is obliged to give the guest in his house whatever he wants. A member of the order could not ask for alms; he had to take care of food himself.

For a short rest and recuperation, tramps stop at tekie. Tekie is their temporary shelter with its own characteristics and laws. Many live in the tekie on a permanent basis, going on wanderings from time to time and then returning to the monastery again.

The essence of the religious belief of the dervishes

Supporters of this way of life around the world are united. Its essence lies in the liberation of the soul and connection with God without tears and sadness. Spiritual perfection is achieved through prayer, silent contemplation, singing, etc. The resulting ecstasy allows you to understand the essence of the teaching much better. In addition to religious dances, members of Muslim Sufi brotherhoods have taught followers through fairy tales, fables and other instructive stories for many centuries. Dervish tales, in addition to their educational content, are written in beautiful language and are distinguished by a beautiful compositional style, wit and artistic value.

The meaning of the word dervish - beggar, emphasizes the meaning of Sufism, its true meaning. It consists of asceticism, contentment with little and voluntary poverty. Both wandering and living followers of the dervish religion are required to perform special prayers every day, accompanied by music and dancing.

Varieties of Dervishes (orders of dervishes)

Dervishes are united into communities. Each order approves its own charters and its own spiritual hierarchy. According to the structure of the order, they are independent and divided into communities. They consist only of men. Some community members have their own home and family, and many are itinerant. At the head is a descendant of the first caliphs, who enjoys great respect and has unlimited power in the community. The sheikh is the religious mentor of all members of society. Students wishing to join the order were called murids. Great demands were placed on them: to be pious, to have a good reputation, to have common sense, to be kind and generous, pure of heart and fair. About 70 Sufi orders are known. The clothes of members of different societies differed in color, style and fabrics from which they were made.

Each item of clothing has a symbolic meaning. The headdress was conical in shape with inscriptions from the Koran. The hat is bordered with a thick edge, meaning that the dervish should not see the world around him, but communicate only with God. The outer clothing of an adherent of a religious movement was a wide, straight robe with sleeves, which was tied with a belt. The main item was a rosary, consisting of 99 balls, which the believer fingered, calling God by name. Among the currently famous dervish orders are the Bektashi and Mevledi.

Whirling Dervishes (Dancing Dervishes)

Sufis assure that one can understand the nature of the Universe and get closer to God only with the heart and soul. Spoken words cannot be achieved. Dance will help in achieving the goal of unity with God. It is believed that such music sounds at the gates of heaven.

Dervish dance is an enchanting performance that fascinates and makes an indelible impression on everyone. The dance begins with preparation. Dancers stand motionless for about 10 minutes with their arms crossed over their shoulders. This is how they focus. Then they bow to the sheikh and the audience and begin to spin. Raising the palms of their hands up, they receive a blessing from heaven, which they then transfer to the earth, lowering them down. The performers spin counterclockwise with their eyes closed and their heads bowed. Dancers spin around their own axis without making any additional movements with either their arms or their heads. The right palm is facing up towards God, and the left palm is facing down towards the earth and people. It is believed that rotation connects heaven and earth, time and space.

During the dance, the performers fall into a trance, renouncing everything earthly. For adherents of Sufism, dance is a prayer, a conversation with God. Dancers can spin like this for about 15 minutes. The art of religious dancers is taught from early childhood. And only after two decades the student achieves perfection in dance. During the long rotation, the dancers enter into ecstasy, a kind of Sufi intoxication, allowing them to feel liberation from the flesh and ascent to the Almighty. Dance helps you feel universal love and cleanse your soul.

Dervish dance - prayer or performance?

In the modern world, unusual dance still attracts great attention. But it has simply turned into a show where the performers are simple artists earning money. Only in a few places do real dervish dances take place at certain times. For example, in Konya, where there is a mausoleum of the founder of the order. Every year in December a festival is held here, where whirling magicians from all over the world perform. Only there can you see the dance of real monks, full of religious meaning and evoking in the audience an unusual sensation of mystical ascent and flight above the earth.

Dance has great meaning:

• gives people peace of mind and balance,
• allows you to touch the mystical and sublime.

Despite the fact that Sufism was founded more than 700 years ago, the dance of the whirling dervishes has remained virtually unchanged. And we can see this wonderful sight and enjoy the feeling of freedom and participation in the sacrament.

Dervish is a word that gives rise to many thoughts. Some say that these are monks, some are convinced that they are just dancers entertaining the public, and others are sure that the dervish is a simple sectarian. To understand the true meaning of this word, let's look at history.

Dervish is a synonym for Sufi

The history of the emergence of dervishes, or Sufis, dates back to the eleventh century. When Christianity was actively developing in Rus', the first dervish appeared in the east. The meaning of the word in Russian can be translated as something between a tramp, an ascetic and a fidget.

Adherents of this order take vows calling on them to lead a moderate lifestyle, observe asceticism, renounce selfish motives and build their lives based on the tenets of love. The first dervish is Rumi. It was he who first introduced the movement of ascetic monks as an independent movement, which nevertheless promoted long-known traditions and practices. Dervishes are optimists. Religion for them is only a way of acquiring spiritual experience, an opportunity to merge with the divine through performing ritual actions. The three pillars of the tradition of dervishes, or what are also called Sufis, are love, intuitive perception and intellect. There is no place for repentance, the tragedy of life and similar things that are familiar to us.

Laws of life of dervishes

Like representatives of any religious movement, dervishes adhere to clear laws and rules in everyday life. They are simple, understandable and humane. All this provides the teaching with an increasing number of followers. Despite the severity of the laws and their immutable observance, ascetic monks cannot be called unhappy.

The very word "dervish", the meaning of which was originally "ascetic", today has become synonymous with a relaxed person who does not worry about the future and leads an ascetic lifestyle. So, the basic laws of the Sufi sages (or dervishes) include:

• Relinquishment of property. Since a dervish is a wandering cult minister who has vowed to lead an ascetic lifestyle, he must be ready to give up everything he owns. In some cases, it is even necessary to exclude the words “my, mine, mine” from use. It is believed that through the renunciation of ego, dervishes comprehend God.
• Any dervish, even one who lives with his family, must treat his guest with respect. In particular, if a guest wishes for something while staying under the roof of a Sufi, he must give it to him. According to some versions, this is due to the belief that, under the guise of a wanderer and an uninvited guest, God can look into the house of a sage and check how he fulfills the laws and ascetics.
• Prohibition of alms. No minister of this religious movement should beg or beg for alms.
• All actions and any interaction with the outside world should be based on the principles of sublime love. Love for the world around us and people is an expression of love for God, because He created everything.

An analogue of a monastery - tekie

A dervish is a wandering sage and mystic. But from time to time they all must visit the monastery. This applies not only to eternal wanderers, but also to settled Sufis. A visit to the monastery is mandatory before important dances. The Sufism movement in Islam is very popular, and the number of orders of wandering sages numbers more than seventy.

Only one of them is located in Europe. All the rest are in Asian and African countries. However, in Crimea there are still functioning tekis, built by the dervishes more than 700 years ago. Public services are held here every Thursday.

Not a dance, but a service

Dervishes are famous for their dances, which are mistaken for theatrical performances. This is partly true, but initially whirling is a way of meditation, during which Sufis try to achieve fusion with the Divine mind, to touch Him. This is the sacred meaning of their dances.