A Little Inspiration

This piece was made in response to our readings from week 8 which deal with the role of music/sama in the Sufi tradition. Particularly, the piece was inspired by the whirling dervishes of the Mevlid order of Turkey. The dervishes believe that the state of wajd/spiritual ecstasy can be accessed through physical movement accompanied by Sama. When the dervishes whirl, they hold their hands in specific positions. The palm of one hand is turned upwards toward the sky while the palm of the other is turned downwards towards the earth. There are many interpretations of the significance of this positioning of the hands. One tradition claims that the Mevlids are thus testifying that God is both above and below. This interpretation seems to go hand in hand (pun not intentional!) with the Quranic verse “wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah” (Al Baqrah 115). Another tradition holds that the dervishes, in their state of wajd, enjoy a particular closeness and spiritual proximity to Allah, and thus can access the “Barka” or blessings of Allah. The positioning of their hands is then explained by saying that the dervishes act as intermediaries between Allah and the human realm – they accept barka through one hand (the hand turned upwards) and transmit the barka to the world through their other hand (the hand facing downwards).