Istanbul Music & Sema Group
"... an austere beauty, from the geometric figures of the dancers to the music's chain of melodies" ¡Ð The New York Times
Mystical ceremony draws on cultural heritage of 800 years
The whirling ceremony, or Sema, is a spiritual journey that uses poetry, music and dance to purify love, mind and soul. The ritual influenced by the prominent 13th-century Turkish Sufi Mevlâna Muhammed Celaleddin-i Rumi (1207 -1273) and the Mevlevi Order forms a significant part of Islamic mysticism.
The programme comprises two parts: a Sufi music concert and Sema (whirling ceremony). The Sema begins with the dervishes taking to the floor, dressed in their symbolic costumes: sikke (tall hat), tennure (white dress) and hirka (black cloak). They whirl with their left feet firmly on the ground, their right hands turned heavenward to receive God's grace and their left hands turned down to convey that grace to Earth.
The Hong Kong visit of the Istanbul Music & Sema Group, whose whirling ritual has been endorsed by the 22nd generation of Rumi, coincides with the 800th anniversary of the birth of the mystic poet and provides an exhilarating introduction to the ancient Mevlevi culture for local audiences.
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Mevlâna Muhammed Celaleddin-i Rumi (1207-1273)
The mystic poet of Islam was an advocate of tolerance, reason and access to knowledge through love. Renowned works include the six-volume Mesnevi and Ghazaliyyat-e Shams-e Tabrizi, which have been translated into other languages. |
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