Sufi dance of whirling dervishes

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The film Jodha Akbar may have made the Whirling Dervishes popular in India, but it’s a traditional dance form of Turkey. Konya Turkish Tasawwuf Music Ensemble, one of Turkey’s premier Sufi music and dance troupes, performed this traditional dance at the President’s House in the capital recently, on the invite of President Pranab Mukherjee.

The group comprising of 40 members, consisting of vocal, instrumental and dancing artistes, was established in 1990 with the intention of carrying on the age-old tradition and in order to introduce people to Turkish sufi music and traditional Samâ Âyîns (whirling prayer ceremonies) in purest forms.
“It is one of the living heritage cultural attributes of Turkey that has been recognised by Unesco for maintaining the longest running music and dance tradition,” says Yusuf Kayya, art director, Konya Turkish Tasawwuf Music Ensemble.
The dance form has become popular and synonymous with Turkey’s culture not only in their country but internationally as well. “It is the only form of Sufi dance where the dancers don’t perform to entertain the public at large but rather perform it as a ritual to attain nirvana,” says Kayya.
Talking about their visit to India, he says, “We got the invite from the President after India’s Vice President Dr Hamid Ansari and his wife’s visit to Turkey, and liking our performance. Madam Ansari was impressed by the finesse with which we perform.”