Last available places for the Morocco and Konya retreat!!!
Last available places for the Morocco and Konya retreat!!!
photo credit: WATO AGENCY
The term whirling dervish immediately evokes sacred rotation, long white skirts and spiritual practice of semâ, popularized by mevlevi's order founded in Konya in the XIII th century.
For a long time associated exclusively with men, this mystical tradition is today undergoing a major transformation: women also become whirling dervishes, appropriating a spiritual gesture that was long forbidden to them.
This contemporary evolution is driven, among others, by the Franco-Iranian choreographer Rana Gorgani, an essential figure in the transmission of semâ in Europe
photo credit: WATO AGENCY
A whirling dervish is someone who performs the Sufi ritual of semâ, a continuous rotation used as meditation in motion.
The dervice turn around its inner axis, open-armed, grounded in the ground and oriented to infinity.
This spiritual dance aims to overcome the ego, soothe the mind and achieve a state of inner unity.
Traditionally, the whirling dervish belonged to a male brotherhood, but this reality is changing.
photo credit: WATO AGENCY
For about twenty years, more and more women have been practicing semâ in Europe, the Middle East, and America.
They become full-fledgedwhirling dervishes, legitimate in this deep and demanding practice.
The keyword “whirling dervish” now naturally includes female presence, reflecting a major cultural transformation.
photo credit: WATO AGENCY
Among the personalities who played a determining role in this evolution, Rana Gorgani occupies a central place.
Specialist in Sufi dance, she founded the International School of Sufi Dance and taught semâ to thousands of people.
For several years, Rana Gorgani has actively encouraged women to become whirling dervishes, by training them in the technique of sacred rotation and defending their legitimacy in this spiritual art.
In this dynamic, she created a group of whirling dervishes exclusively for women, an initiative unique in Europe, which gives women a new visibility in the contemporary Sufi tradition.
photo credit: WATO AGENCY
1. A deep meditative practice
Rotation calms the mind, regulates breathing and allows a rare state of presence to be reached.
2. A complete artistic discipline
The work of the center, the gaze, the balance and the breath brings the whirling dervish closer to a demanding and codified dance.
3. A universal spiritual path
Men and women find in this practice a path of inner transformation.
Becoming whirling dervish requires serious learning.
The technique requires mastering:
This requirement explains why the transmission, particularly that led by Rana Gorgani, plays an essential role.
photo credit: WATO AGENCY
The creation of female groups of whirling dervishes profoundly transforms the perception of this tradition.
These groups allow to
Rana Gorgani, by initiating one of the first European women’s groups, contributes to permanently inscribing women in the history of the whirling dervish.
Being whirling dervish is no longer related to gender.
This role, once reserved for men, today becomes a universal space of expression where women find their place naturally.
Thanks to the work of pedagogues and committed artists like Rana Gorgani, the dervish whirling artist enters a new era:
that of openness, equality, and contemporary transmission.
photo credit: WATO AGENCY
Today, a whirling dervish can be a man or a woman.
The semâ is no longer a closed territory, but a living spiritual practice, in movement, open to those who seek an authentic inner way.
The rise of female whirling dervishes, and the pioneering work of Rana Gorgani, marks an essential step towards an inclusive and renewed Sufi tradition.
