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The sema is, by name, the turning ceremony of the Mevlevi order, founded at Konya in the generation after the death of Jalal al-Din Rumi: dervishes cast off black cloaks for white gowns and tall felt hats and turn on the left foot in a slow, controlled rotation, following a fixed musical composition for about an hour. Four other Sufi orders in this atlas hold a variant, differently accounted stance toward what their own sema or semah actually names, and no two of the four describe the same ceremony as each other, let alone as the Mevlevi original.

Listening, Not Turning

The Chishti order's sama is an audition: the disciple listens to sung mystical poetry in an assembly held under a shaykh's control, with no turning ceremony at all. The Qadiriyya order's remembrance is a third shape again, the hadra, a standing assembly of chanted formulae and rhythmic movement, neither a turning ceremony nor a seated audition of sung verse.

Danced Together, and Performed as a Feat

The Bektashi and Alevi semah is danced within the cem by men and women together, neither the Mevlevi turning nor the standing remembrance of the Arab orders. The Rifa'i order's remembrance is a standing assembly of loud chant and swaying movement, and the order became known for feats performed within it, feats its own shaykhs and its critics have both questioned. One word, and among these four orders alone it names an audition, a chant, a mixed dance and a contested feat of endurance, before the Mevlevi turning it is usually taken to mean is even considered.

Where To Read More

• SemaWhirlingThe word itself, the Mevlevi turning ceremony that four other orders read differently
• Chishti OrderAn audition of sung poetry, no turning ceremony at all
• Bektashi OrderA mixed dance, men and women together within the cem
• Qadiriyya OrderThe hadra, a standing chanted assembly, neither turning nor audition
• Rifa'i OrderA standing assembly known for contested feats its own shaykhs have questioned