Artist Statement
“Sema” or “Zekr-e Qiyam: Standing Zikr” is a spiritual space that Qadiri dervishes perform as a ritual with a spiritual aspect in Islamic mysticism and consider it as their cultural and religious symbol. Sema is created by the gathering of people by creating space, atmosphere, and an inner mood that has an external manifestation in people’s behavior. According to the dervish, the pleasant sound of the tambourine and drum and the human larynx bequeathes Sema as a “gift” to the dervish. Hearing produces movement in the body. When the dervish is performing Sema, they observe nothing in the universe except God.
Qadiri Dervishes believes that the “love” created by this movement in the presence of God transcends a person to a time and place where all those present, overwhelmed, amazed, and longing for the beauty of God, become enthralled and wander. The Qadiri Order is the main and oldest branch of Sufism in Kurdistan and the Middle East. This Order is attributed to Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani (1166-1077 AD), and the introduction of this order to Kurdistan is attributed to Sheikh Ismail Valiani in the twelfth century. Some believe that this order has
the greatest number of followers in the region.
The above exhibition series is part of the book entitled Sema’; in addition to direct photographic recording of Sema, the personal and family albums of dervishes of Solai Qadiri Order of Dolab of the Iranian Kurdistan region, some of which date back to 60 years ago, are included in order to attain a more detailed and comprehensive look at Dervish and “Sema” in particular.
Mehdi Hosseini