Transcendence is probably what will perfectly define the tone of their dance. With those whirls and twirls, the Tannoura dancers radiate a spiritual energy. Conventionally categorised as a part of the Sufi cult, Tannoura dancing is more of a spiritual awakening, and in lieu with this belief these dancers feel that some facts need to be clear.
Though the Sufi dance “genre” has become popular, it actually doesn’t exist. What exists is the core philosophy of Sufism and the means to reach God through the dance, which the Sufi practitioners prefer calling a spiritual exercise.
Mohamad Farghaly, who is currently on an all India tour, is here to spread the magic of whirling dervishes with his troupe all the way from Egypt. They recently performed at the Ruhaniyat festival in Mumbai and will be performing in Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune, Bengaluru and Chennai in the coming weeks.
“We feel honoured to be here and present a glimpse of our cultural beliefs and performing arts. There are so many similarities between our culture and Indian culture. I am also a keen follower of Hindustani classical music, which they say has inspired the culmination of the music in Sufism,” says Farghaly.
The dance, which has a rich cultural history of over 800 years, has spirituality as its core foundation. The nature of this dance is traditionally known as sema, and is normally performed as a ritual during religious ceremonies.
It is a performing art, which emanates from a religious ceremony, quite rare in the history of origin of dance. The sequences include opening of the coats and spreading of the skirts, which is circumvented horizontally and vertically. The process is indeed tiresome, since the dancers have to bear the weight of the skirts and they normally whirl for almost 45 minutes at a stretch.
Towards the end, they fold their skirts and clutch it to their chest, which metaphorically stands for God having the kindness as that of a mother towards her baby.
It was originally performed in tekkes, dervish schools that stood as a testimony of the religious sanctity. The black coats that the dancers wore ideally represented their tombs and worldly attachments. After taking them off, they would detach themselves from the world.
The performers here whirl and twirl thus reaching a meditative state of mind and trance. Their colourful skirts represent the multiple faiths coming together to reach out to God. “The white dresses and long hats that you normally see otherwise represent the faith of one sect of people. What we do here is bring all the colours of different faiths together to pass on a universal message of peace and love,” says Farghaly.
The whirling in the Sufi context means submitting oneself to God, the greater universal force. “The person who dances, forms a connection between the earth and heaven. Whirling is the simplest geometrical pattern and all things in this world revolve in a circular path. The planets that revolve around the sun and the rotate among themselves are known to be the basis for the movement,” says Farghaly.
The literal meaning of Sufi is wool that grew from the woollen cloaks worn by the holy beings. “Sufi is where one reaches the monk state. It also depicts the state of mind where one is clear with oneself. Sufism is simply conveying what God said. We also believe in four natural elements; dust, water, fire and air and offer our prayers to them,” explains Farghaly.