Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam, has produced some of the more lasting poetry and dance traditions in the Muslim world. The word Sufi, is often said to be derivative of the word, suf, meaning ‘wool’ in Arabic, as a reference to the simple wool clothing that Sufis and early Muslim ascetics wore. The Afghan-born poet Rumi still resonates today, even in the West, and never seems to have waned in popularity since he wrote in the Thirteenth Century. When reading Rumi, it is not clear whether he is addressing God, a lover, or another aspect of himself—it is generally thought best to consider Rumi talking to all three entities at once: Since we’ve seen each other, a game goes on Secretly I move, and you respond You’re laughing, you think it’s funny But look up from the board now, look how I’ve brought in furniture to this invisible place So we can live here (1245) The Sufi dance tradition can be equally moving. Ecstatic religiosity frequently inspires intense art, literature and music. These whirling Sufis, also called dervishes, can spin for hours with one hand turned down toward the ground, the other up toward heaven. The whirling is intended to induce, enhance or arise from religious intoxication and spiritual exaltation. The dance is also a means of devotion to, and contact with, God. The Sufi tradition extends across the Maghreb, the Levant, up into Turkey and down across Asia. There are also Sufi orders in sub-Saharan Black Africa. I was able to see whirling Sufis in Cairo and Khartoum. Though Cairo has Sufi mosques with devoted followers, I never saw those religious men dance. The whirling Sufis popular in Cairo exist as performers, professional dancers, who put on one of the most entertaining Orientalist events in the city at the bustling and labyrinthine Khan al-Khalili bazaar. This choreographed Sufi dance performance is accented with a tasteful light show, sensible sound system, raised stage, and live band. The dancers, exclusively men, spin and whirl with their brightly-coloured robes lifting into the air in ethereal celebration, while musicians pound drums and play the lively Arabian music. Sometimes the dancers whirl across the stage, all the while spinning around each other, to the clanging sound of finger cymbals. Further into the dance, a solitary performer takes the stage and never stops spinning until the end, while he removes and tosses what appears to be an endless layer of hand-stitched quilted robes, one-by-one, into the air. These performances occur a few days throughout the week at eight pm, ‘Egyptian time’, meaning the time varies. The whirling Sufis of the Sudan are different, in that they dance and whirl out of religious devotion, following Friday prayers. Sudani Sufis whirl near the capital of Khartoum, in the city of Omdurman, at the tomb of Hamid al-Nil. Following their devotional prayers, the Sufis make their way out of the mosque while chanting—often the ninety-nine names of Allah—into a dry dusty courtyard in the middle of a cemetery. These dervishes spin, whirl, bang drums and dance as the spirit moves them. Their robes are usually solid colours: green or white, while some of the dervishes wear elaborate and ornate quilted gowns. Rhythmic chanting and frankincense smoke fill the air, in this austere part of the Sahara where scorching temperatures frequently reach forty-five degrees Celsius. Aid workers, petroleum workers and visiting diplomats attend this ceremonial dance, with local men, women and children sitting on the small stone buildings, and camped-out on carpets among the tombs. Sufism exists outside of the Sunni-Shiite split in the Muslim world, and some believe Sufism arose out of pre-Islamic peoples adapting to the new religion of Islam. Sufism and its traditions of dance, chanting, music, poetry, art and asceticism have attracted controversy at various points in this mystical sect’s historical development, with some groups facing persecution to the point of execution. But today Sufism is an accepted sect of Islam among scholars. **Willows is a freelance journalist who has lived in Egypt, the United States, New Zealand, Sudan and Canada. BM
