A nice version of "Bugun Bize Pir Geldi". This is probably the best known Alevi song-- with the chorus "Eyvallah Shahim Eyvallah, Hak la illaha illallah"
Another version of it, that I may have even posted before--
Illahi-- Abdul-Qadir Geylani:
And another illahi by the same 'ud player:
A beautiful video of a nice medley by my aquaintance Latif Bolat. I played a couple of concerts with him when I was part of a group called Turku-- and that was when I first learned a some of the illahis that are common in Turkish tarikats, including Rifa'i Marufi.
Qadiri-Rifa'i Dhikr from Nevshehir:
A nice look at how selpe playing is done-- this is a young student, but he does it slow enough that you can see the technique. Selpe is a fingerpicked tapping style that is common among Alevi baglama players. It was particularly popularized by Arif Sag, and later developed even further by people like Erdal Erzincan and Erol Parlak.
Some beautiful dutar playing by a Uyghur musician-- probably an instrument that influenced the development of the saz--
Hu, Erenler! Sorry I haven't posted in a little while. It is so nice to see that some people are actually reading this, and to my great happiness, they are all over the world. Alhamdullillah. So thank you so much for your comments. Cok tessekur ederim! Shukran jazilan! Jazakallah khayr.
so, onto the posting for today.
This is the turbe of Ummi Sinan in Turkey:
The Sinani are a branch of the Halveti tarikat, founded by one of Sherif Baba's favorite saints, Ummi Sinan. As many of you know, the current guide of that order is a woman. I have not, so far, been lucky enough to travel to the Ummi Sinan tekke, but I've heard stories of wonderful experiences from people who went there with Baba. I'd love to hear anything like that. So if anyone has nice stories about Baba, please feel free to post them in comments.
Here's a nice video of a Kadiri dhikr-- you can see several different styles in it:
for those of you who have never attended a dhikr before, I would like to just mention that though some of the practices may appear a little odd from the outside, much of the physical action involved has to to with breath control. It is in this way somewhat similar to some techniques in certain styles of yoga. The more important element, however, is certainly the repetition of the Names themselves. Sufis of various orders have many different styles of doing this, individually and collectively. In addition to these kinds of group ritual dhikr, most Sufis also recite the Names silently throughout the day. ________________________________________________________________________________ Here is some of a small Rifa'i dhikr somewhere--- you can't really see anyone but the main singer, but these are nice salawats (praises of the Prophet, p.b.u.h).
______________ note that in this one, the dede is wearing the takke like Rifa'i Marufis wear, wrapped in a black turban as Sherif Baba does. It's a little hard to see, but he's in the middle at the beginning of the video.
__________________
________________________ lovely selpe playing
__________________
more nice selpe-style playing-- this time with a twist!
_________
this one cracked me up-- but so good! Yes, he is playing the tune from a Nokia ringtone...
________________
More Bosnian Rifa'i dhikr:
_________________________________
Bosnian Rifa'i recitations
____________________
A video from a Qadiri-Rifa'i musican from somewhere in Eastern Europe. You can certainly see very clearly a very intense Ehli-Beyt focus, much stronger than in most tariqas. This particular branch is also apparently very involved in the practices with fire, swords, etc. which can be seen in the related videos from the same source.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
This is some of the most beautiful selpe-style saz playing I've heard. Selpe (pronounced "shell-pay") is finger-picked and uses tapping techniques similar to those of guitarists like Eddie Van Halen, Tuck Andress, Stanley Jordan, or Michael Hedges. The host on the show is a little goofy, but Erdal Erzincan is sublime.
This guy is really incredible-- more of him:
___________________________________________________________________________________ Ozlem Ozdil is also very good, and you can see what she is doing quite well.
____________________________________________________________________________________ This is interesting-- aerial views of semah from the urs in Haci Bektash Koy.
_____________________________________________________________________________________ Musa Eroglu is still my alltime favorite...
Youtube is also filled with footage a great amateur saz players. You'd be amazed at just how good some of these highschool kids can actually be. This one struck me with his maturity, subtlety and attention to tone.
This is cool too-- disciples of Shaykh Ibra Fall of the Baye Fall Order in Senegal. They are a branch of the Mourides of Ahmadu Bamba. Because of their dreadlocks, they are often confused with Rastas. Even more interestingly, they themselves began to see connections and started using the red, gold, and green colors and started reggae bands! But their main music is drumming
Here is one of their dhikrs... with men and women together.
They are among the few orders left where most the dervishes still wear patched robes all the time. ____________________________________________________________________________________
The last one for tonight-- I've seen dhikrs that involved sitting, standing, and even dancing. I've seen people slam up against each other. Going into a trance is commonplace. I've even seen people eat broken glass and stick knives in their head. But for a great Sufi workout routine, I've gotta go with the Mokashfiya brotherhood in Sudan. They run laps in dhikr! ;)
This one is kind of interesting-- this is Yildiz Tilbe, who is mostly a pop singer, but she is Alevi. This is her singing a song from that repertoire, and mashallah... she is so good on it, I think.
This is interesting-- another Alevi song with some intriguing imagery. Note the juxtaposition of Catholic imagery with the Ehli Beyt images. I think that may have resulted from a search for Fatima that landed on pictures related to Our Lady of Fatima! I love the one with Hazreti Ali merged with the image from the Catholic icon of the Divine Mercy, with the red and blue beams of light coming from his heart. It's a really weird world we live in.
this one is great-- Rifa'is in former Yugoslavia explaining about different parts of the dhikr. They're Gypsies as well. Notice that the shaykh also uses the 3 part Alevi/Shi'a shahada (with "Ali'un veli Allah"), or as I like to call it, "putting the Shah in SHAHada" ;)
more from the same folks-- I'd hate to be defined as an "insolent dervish" in this dergah! ;)
More from this... and anyone who knows me well knows that I have a total fascination with Gypsy culture and music-- so how much does finding a film about Rifa'i Gypsies make my day?
There is also another film by the same Youtube user of these folks doing the piercings, etc. Not for the squeamish, but interesting.
This is Aziz-- a student of Sherif Baba (Rifa'i Marufi) and Jalaluddin Loras (Mevlevi) in the interview. The dhikr and sema footage if from the Rumi Festival that used to happen every year in Chapel Hill, NC. This was hosted annually by the Rifa'i Marufi Order, but visiting Mevlevis would come and turn also. In the video, the loud rambunctious stuff is from the Rif'ai dhikr, the slow and graceful one is more of the Mevlevi style (though people from both participated in each). Aziz also sometime turns with lit torches-- which perfectly expresses his dual connections with the Mevlevis and the Rifa'is-- Fire being the ultimate symbol of the Rifa'i tariqa (hence the name of this blog) and the Mevlevis being known for whirling.
Hu, Dost! This is my way of saying thank you for all of the gifts that my teacher, Sherif Baba, has given all of us.
I love the Ahl-ul Beyt, but I am not Shi'a, at least not in the usual sense. I love the Alevi way, but I am a mainstream practicing Muslim (or, at least, trying to be one). I love Mevlana, but I'm not a Mevlevi. I love some teachers who may or may not be very shari'ah adherent, but can open hearts. Several that I love most are practicing Muslims, but not all of their students are. I've even seen one or two Salafis who are dripping with the Nur of Allah. As a Bektashi Baba once said, if we find something useful, we embrace it. I'm a liberal, but practicing Muslim, and I believe that anyone who is showing us Compassion and Mercy is showing us the way of Islam.
May we all become beautiful human beings, insha'Allah! ;)
This is really putting up some things I put together for myself about my shaykh and our path-- a friend suggested that it might be helpful for some other people as well. I thought while I was at it, I might as well add some music links along the way. Because this began for my own personal use, I have no idea where some of these pictures and quotes came from, so I apologize for putting them up without citation. I make no claim that all of this is my own. I'm simply trying to share a beautiful vision of God and humanity that I have learned about from Sherif Baba and also some inspirations from the Alevi/Bektashi tradition of Turkey, with whom Rifa'i Marufi shares many principles. Let me make it clear that I am not myself a Bektashi, though I love their path. My connection is to the Rifa'i. I hope you enjoy this offering and that these things will inspire you as much as they have inspired me.
Posts
