The Wedding Night

Mariam Baker

The semazen (one who is initiated in the practice of the Turn), beginspreparation for The Wedding Night, Shebi Arus, by a process of strippingaway the material, emotional, psychic, and worldly attachments and possessions.Thus begins the purification. All clothing and jewelry are removed for ritualablutions. Some semazens choose to anoint themselves with rose oil or rosewater, in honor of the Rose of Konya and the sweetness of Love. With eachablution the semazen prays for purification. One reviews intention and remembersthe directive of Pir Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi: "Ask for what you really want."Some semazens choose a fast of silence, no words and no food until afterthe ceremony, to strengthen their intention and prayer.

Thirsty, yet no water quenches this thirst. You say: Go jump in the well. Disappear in the dark, cool sweet mystery of my love.

Sema: Shebi Arus in Seattle, December 17, 1994

Preparation is a time of contemplation. The long practice of the Turn iscomplete. Inshallah, each semazen is ready with endurance and commitmentto perform the great whirling dance, for the wedding night has arrived.

Semazens will travel from around the country and Canada to join as one inpreparing the sacred space for this ceremony, which has been performed bylovers of Mevlana around the world since the time of his passing in 1273.Some semazens arrive in caravan, after performing Sema in Seattle and Portland.

Rumi, poet and Sufi, still ignites the hearts of those who are sophisticated,and those who are unbelievers, those who are cynics, and those who are naive.His passion for the Beloved call this unnameable One Allah, FatherGod, orMotherGod inflames even the most jaded materialist. His words are a swordof truth, beauty, and humor that beheads idealist and sinner both.

The semazens join in ironing the yards and yards of white and black materialthat form the sacred costumes only to be worn for the ceremony of Sema andShebi Arus. Each costume entails hours of holding, pressing, hanging, layingout, holding, pressing, spraying . . . The semazens work together in twos,threes, and fours, often in silence or sharing the prayer of the Zikr Allah,or singing ilahis. The men's and women's dressing rooms are established.There are roses. Observing four semazens around an ironing board, singingilahis as they spray and move the white cloth through the pressing processis part of our preparation. We each remember the directive of Pir Mevlana:Wipe the rust from the heart. Sweep the chamber of the heart clean. As St.John advised, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, each semazen is in preparationfor receiving the Beloved.

We begin dressing ourselves and one another two hours in advance of the ceremony.Each garment is kissed in respect and in greeting of the symbolism it carries.The sikke, the camel's hair hat each semazen wears, represents the tombstoneof the ego; the wide white skirt of the tenure (the long white dress wornby each semazen) represents the ego's shroud. (Tenure literally translatedmeans skin of Light.) When the semazen removes the black cloak, the hurke,with three folds, one in the name of Love, one in the name of Beauty, andone in the name of Unity, after the Sultan Veled walk, the spiritual rebirthin the truth of the One is acknowledged.

Use me, take me Stretch my heart to hold your greatness. I cannot sleep, I cannot rest. I am dry. You say, Don't be shy. Give it up Come and drink this love

Prayers before Sema in Konya 1997

There is a rich sweetness that is shared as we help one another dress. Oncedressed, a silent line of semazens is formed. The semazens await the momentfor entry into the Semahana (the sacred space in which the whirling ritualis performed), with arms crossed over the heart and resting on each shouldertestifying to the unity of the Beloved.

Contrary to popular belief, the semazen's goal is not to lose consciousnessor to fall into a state of ecstasy; instead, by revolving in harmony withall things in naturewith the smallest cells and with the stars in the firmamentthe semazen testifies to the existence and the majesty of the Creator.

- The Fundamental Meaning of Sema

Dr. Celebi, 1996

Shebi Arus is a formal ritual accompanied by classically composed music.The semazens, after entry into the Semahana, and with permission of thePostneshin, begin the Sultan Veled walk, circumambulating the space threetimes, formally bowing to one another in recognition of the eternal soul.The four selams begin, each with a distinct 4musical movement and rhythm.The first selam represents the acceptance of the human condition as createdby the Beloved. The second selam expresses the rapture of the human beingwitnessing the splendor of creation. The third selam is the ecstacy of dissolvinginto love and the sacrifice of the mind to love. It is complete submission,unity, and the annihilation of self in the Beloved. The fourth Selam representsthe return to servanthood of the beloved, and realization of submission tothe One.

- from A.J. Arberry's Mystical Poems of Rumi

It is said of those who may witness this Wedding Night, that through thehypnotic rhythms, music, and the whirling, observer and semazen melt intoone, and the shield of the heart is pierced and the deep longing of the soulis fulfilled in remembrance of Love, Harmony, and Beauty.