Soufi

Een collega die op doorreis was wees ons de weg.
Bij het hele geburen moest ik aan dat liedje van Raymond v het Groenewoud denken.

Soufi

Each Friday afternoon before sunset, adherents of the tariqa gather to dance and pray, attracting large crowds of observers and participants. It's an amazing sight as the dervishes (Islamic monks) carrying the green banner of the tairiqa, their appearance a world away from the restrained white robes of most Sudanese. Instead, the jallabiyas are a crazy patchwork of green and red, often topped off with leopard skin, chunky beads and dreadlocks. As they march they chant, accompanied by drums and cymbals. A large open space is cleared for the dervishes and the banner is raised for the ritual to begin The pace of the chanting picks up, and the dervishes start to circle the clearing, bobbing and clapping.
The purpose of the frenzy is a ritual called dhiker.
The dhiker relies on the recitation of God’s names to help create a state of ecstatic abandon in which the adherent’s heart can communicate directly with God. This personal communication with God is central to Sufi practices. The Sufis are often called whirling dervishes. Occasionally a dervish will break off and start twirling by himself, spinning on one foot and lost in his own personal path to God. Around het edge of the circle other adherents clap and join in the chanting, creating a highly charged and hypnotic atmosphere.

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Till so far the Bradts version. My personal belief is that the smoke, which came out of the essence burners, weren’t free of the stuff people, from all over the world, travel to Amsterdam for. I am sorry to say, all the time I could hear Raymond van het Groenewoud. Het gaat vooruit…