Acrylic on canvas. “Whirling Dervish.”
As briefly described in the introduction, sama’ is the practice of listening to recited poetry, including those set to music or dance (Ernst 180; Lewishon 1). Those participating in sama’ experience a hal, or spiritual state, of wajd or ecstasy representing a deep state of devotion in which the participant [2]. Sama’ has been described as “’spiritual nourishment,’” a spiritual pick-me-up that “’strengthens the heart and the inner nature’” (Lewishon 25).
In this blog, I chose to depict Sufi worship through the image dervish, a member of a Sufi order associated with Sufi mystic Rumi in which dance is accepted as worship (Lewishon 28). Dervishes commonly danced by whirling around in tight, concentric movements in a ritual through which they praised God.
I painted the dervish from above, showing the billowing of the white lower garment that is typical whirling dervishes. Additionally, I chose to paint the dervish wearing a fez cap to indicate the Ottoman origin of this particular dervish. Although dervishes are present in various Sufi sects, I chose to add these layers of specificity to hint at the importance of contextualizing Islamic practices in their specific cultures.
[2] From Section notes, March 24, 2016.
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