Semah, Alevi-Bektaşi ritual

Sama, literally Listening, is a Sufi ritual performed as part of the meditation and prayer practice known as Dhikr (in English, Remembrance [of God]). It is discussed by al-Ghazali in his The Alchemy of Happiness. It is sometimes associated with Rumi, who is said to have fallen into an ecstatic trance after wandering through a city and hearing the name of God in the rhythmic hammering of a goldbeater (hence the name Sama, i.e. hearing/listening). As an imitation of this, Sama invites the practitioner to reflect on the all-encompassing presence of God, a concept known as tawhid. Sama often includes singing, playing instruments, dancing, recitation of poetry and prayers, wearing symbolic attire, and other rituals. Sama is a particularly popular form of worship in Sufism. In 2005, UNESCO confirmed the "Mevlevi Sama Ceremony" of Turkey as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. ²

The term sama stems from the root-verb meaning acceptance by tradition, from which are derived the words سَمْع (sam‘un) and اِسْتِمَاع (’istimā‘un, listening), often paired with نَقْل (naqlun) and تَقْلِيد (taqlīdun, tradition). It may have been in use since the tenth century to refer to a type of dhikr (remembrance of God), a ceremony used by various Sufi orders, particularly the Chishti order of the sub-continent. It often involves prayer, song and dance. ²

The origination of Sama is credited to Rumi, Sufi master and creator of the Mevlevi Order. Outside of the Mevlevi Order, it has also been used by other Sufi orders drawing inspiration from Rumi. The story of the creation of this unique form of dhikr is that Rumi was walking through the town marketplace one day when he heard the rhythmic hammering of the goldbeaters. It is believed that Rumi heard the dhikr, لا إله إلا الله "la ilaha ilallah" or in English, "There is no god but Allah" in the apprentices beating of the gold and was so entranced in happiness he stretched out both of his arms and started spinning in a circle (sufi whirling). With that the practice of Sama and the dervishes of the Mevlevi order were born. Similarly, Abu Sa`id, (357 A.H.) (967 C.E.) was born in Mayhana, a town near Sarakhs, in Iran, bordering Turkmenistan. He is noted for establishing a rule for conduct in the khanaqah and also for the introduction of music (sama'), poetry and dance, as part of the Sufi collective devotional ritual of dhikr. ²

The Whirling Dervishes of the Mevlevi order are probably the best-known practitioners of Sama. Mevlevi practitioners of sema are adult initiates into the order, which historically only meant men. Participants move as a group in a circle while also turning individually. Art is "self expression" and Sama is "selfless expression" - an experience of "fanaa". Fanaa (Arabic: فناء‎ fanāʾ ) in Sufism is the "passing away" or "annihilation" of the self. ²

Sema is prominent in the ceremonies of the Alevi community of Turkey and the closely related Bektashi Order. The most common forms of Alevi sema include kirklar semahı (sema of the forty) and turnalar semahı (crane sema). They are performed by both male and female teenagers, often in mixed groups, and participants turn facing each other in pairs or small groups and do not necessarily whirl as individuals. Many cemevleri (Alevi meetinghouses) have organized sema groups that perform at events such as the annual Hacı Bektaş Veli Festival. ²

In Egypt, the Mevlevi form of Sama is known as tannoura and has been adopted (with some modifications) by other Sufi orders as well. It is also performed as a folk and concert dance. ²

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Sama (Sufism)”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ²

Semah, Alevi-Bektaşi ritual is a tradition recorded in open cultural data, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ¹

The source record links this tradition to 3 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ¹