Sema Ceremony - Cappadocia

You will witness Sema, a ceremony representing the mystical journey of man's spiritual ascent through love and his search for truth and perfection. Turning towards the truth, a dervish grows through love, deserts his ego, finds the truth, and arrives at Perfection. The he returns from this spiritual journey as a man who reached maturity and a greater perfection, so as to love and to be of service to all of creation, and to all creatures without discriminating in regard to belief, class, or race. The dervishes, with their head-dresses and white skirts are spiritually born to the truth by removing their black cloaks, and they journey and advance to spiritual maturity through the stage of the Sema ceremony.

From the onset and at each stage of the Sema ceremony, holding their arms in a crisscross position, they represent the number one, and testify to god’s unity. While Whirling, their arms open, their right hands directed toward the sky and ready to receive God’s beneficence, gazing up, they turn their left hands toward the earth and turn from right to left, pivoting around the heart. This is his way of conveying God’s spiritual gift to the people upon whom God “looks with a divine” watchfulness. Revolving around the heart, from right to left, they embrace all of humankind and all of creation with affection and love.

Languages

English.