THE MASTERPIECES OF RELIGIOUS MUSIC
-MEVLEVI RITUALS(AYINS)

The subject of this writing is Mevlevi Ritual Music(Mevlevi Ayini) which is the largest form of Turkish music in style and structure beyond the Kutbunnayi Osman Dede’s “Miraciye” Musical form and it is performed at Mevlevi Sema rituals.Mevlevi Sema Ritual is a kind of “zikir”(mentioning that is called “sema” or “mukabele-i şerif” and also it is the name of the musical form which is played during the ritual.

-Charecteristics of Lyrics –

Lyrics of Mevlevi Ritual Music are usually taken form the poems of Mevlana Dyalal-ad-din (from his boks ) and sometimes from the poems os SultanVeled and Ulu Arif Çelebi ; but it doesn’t mean that the lyrics must be only in Persian langıage.We can see some Turkish and Arabic poems of famous Mevlevi poets Sheikh Galip ,Divane Mehmed Çelebi ,Ahmed Eflaki Şahidi…But by the riituals we have ,we realise that an ritual can not be composed only with Turkish and Arabic poems belonged to other poets.Justs so ,a composer Haşim Bey in 19. Cemtury had composed a ritual in suzinak mode  with poems of Hasan Nazif Dede (The Sheikh of Beşiktaş Mevlevihanesi) except the words in 3.greeting (selam) begining with “Ey ki hezar aferin…” and in 4.greeting begining with “Sultan-ı meni …”.It had perfromed in Beşiktaş Mevlevihanesi but just after that first performance it had been forbidden by Mehmed Said Hemdem Çelebi and a scolding-letter had been sent to Sheikh Nazif Dede.
 
 In rituals ,line endings are enriched with some words like “hey hünkar-ı men,rana-yı men ,sultanı men ,cananı men ,mahbubi bmen matlubu men ,ah,dost…etc.”in accordin with rhymes.

-Charecteristics of Musics-,

As a müsücal form ritual is a performance of “mutrıb”(mutrıb is grup of ensturument players andsingers.).It is in for parts named “selam”(greeting) and usually peşrev(peshrev) played at the begining and final of the ritual and composed by other different composers from the ritual.”First Taksin” at the begining of ritual and “Lasr Taksim”, “Last peşrev” and “Last yürük Semai” at the end of the ritual is performed by mutrıb.And also there are some enstrumental  parts of ritual aims to give a rest to singers.

 Determinal rhythms are used in Mevlevi Rituals.There are peşrev in devri kebir,1.greeting in devri revan,ağır düyek,düyek,2.greeting and 4.greetings in ağır evfer ,3 greeting in devri kebir, sometimes but very seldom in Frenkçin (rarely in evfer,düyek,evsat ,darb and devri hindi) enstrumental parts in aksak semai.In 3.greeting yük semai rhythm is used with poem of Eflaki about Sultan veled “Ey ki Hezar aferin-bu nice sultan olur…” and it goes on with persian poems .This greeting is the longest part of ritual.Miscallaneous rhythms are used in this greeting out of being monotanous.Last peşrev is composed in düyek or sofyan and “last yürük semai” is performed very fast.In ritual rhythm is performed by kudum(drum) in “ velvele” .(velevele means dividing a beat in a few beats).

 The length of greetings are different.Generally 1.greeting is average length, 2.greeting is short, 3.greeting is longest,4.greeting is the shortest.We can tell the performance of a ritual briefly:

a-) Singing the “naat” which is not into the ayin but traditionaly sing at the begining of each ritual, lyrics by Mavlana, music by Mustafa Itri. 

b-) “First Taksim” in the same musical mode with ayin, performed by nay

c-) In the same mode “peşrev” in 4 parts. 

d-)A  short  “taksim” by nay

e-)Performing the ritual in four greetings.

f-)”The last peşrev” and “The last yürük semai”

g-) “The last taksim”

Ritual of Niyaz (niyaz ilahi) sometimes at thr last partof ayin , somebody (a dervish or a visitor ) sendes a sum of Money to the “semazen başı” ; this Money must be in 9 or folds (because 9  is the “nezr-i Mevlana”)this Money is called “niyaz” and it is aiming to go on to the ayin in the same mood..This Money (niyaz) is put  on the kudum (drum) and then a short “segah taksim” is performed and that hymn (ilahi) is performed in devri revan rhtyhm.

 “Şem’i ruhuna cismimi pervane düşürdüm
   Evrak-ı dili ateş-i suzane düşürdüm
            Bir katre iken kendimi ummane düşürdüm
   Takrir edemem derdi deruna düştüm
   Mevlayı seversen beni söyletme gamım var”

And then that hymn is performed:

 “Dinle sözümü sana direm özge edadır
   Derviş olana lazım olan aşk-ı Hüda’dır
   Aşıkın nesi var ise maşuka fedadır
   Sema safa cana şifa ruha gıdadır

   Aşk ile gelin eyleyelim zevk u safayı
   Göklere değin ir görelim huy ile hayı
   Mestane olup depredelim çeng ile nayı
            Sema safa cana şifa ruha gıdadır  

           Ey sofu bizim sohbetimiz cana safadır
  Bir cur’amızı nuş edegör derde devadır
    Hak ile ezel ettiğimiz ahde vefadır
  Sema safa cana şifa ruha gıdadır

  Aşk ile gelin talib-i cuyende olalım   
  Şevk ile Safalar sürelim zinde olalım
  Hazreti Mevlana’ya gelin bende olalım
  Sema safa cana şifa ruha gıdadır ”

 It is not known whose work is this hymn.And then an enstrumental part is performed very fastly yuruk semai.
And ritual comes to end with “ the last taksim” usually by nay

-Composing A Mevlevi Ritual-

Rituals are mentioned with the name of musical  mode which it started and technically we can examine in four groups :

1-) Rituals composed the same mode entirely,
2-)Rituals ended in a different parts of a ritual from the begining,
3-)Rituals ended in a  different musical mode after gone on miscalleneous mode from the beginnig,
4-)Rituals ended in a different mode from the begining.

 The oldest rituals we have dugah ,huseyni and pencgah rituals ,they are called “beste-i kadim”(the ancient compositions) .The first Mevlevi Ritual we know the composer is Edirneli Küçek Dervish Mustafa Dede’s Beyati Ritual.After that ,there are 13 rituals in 18. century ,45 rituals in 19. century ,but a few of them are lost.In spite of the sufi ways are legally forbidden ; composing Mevlevi ritual went on as musical work.In this century we can say 51 rituals of
Huseyin Sadedin Arel in 47 modes ,so there are 91 rituals.

 In musical history there are so many composers who composed rituals.Most of  them had composed only one ritual ,some of them(1/3) had composed 2-3 rituals. Composers who composed rituals more then 3 are :

1-)Hüseyin Sadedin Arel
2-)Hamamizade İsmail Dede(19. century,7 rituals)
3-)Zeki Atkoşar(20. century ,6 rituals)
4-)Eyyubi Zekai Dede(19. century,5 rituals)
5-)Kutbunnayi Şheikh Osman Dede(18. century, 4 rituals)
6-)Çinuçun Tanrıkorur(20. century,4 rituals)

 For reaching to this century of Mevlevi rituals ,publishing the notes by Darulelhan  is very important.(Later Darulelhan named İstanbul Conservatory and later İstanbul Municipality Conservatory in the  first years of turkish republic). A book named “Mevlevi rituals of Classical woks of Turkish music” is an important step for getting the rituals, this book had been prepared by “The Commission of Establishing and investigating the work of Turkish Classical Music”; in this Commision of Darülelhan,Rauf Yekta,Suphi Ezgi,Zekaizade Ahmed Irsoy,Ali Rıfat Cagatay,Mesut Cemil had worked.After this work ,and Mevlevi ritual was not publishedfor a long time.The second publish including 45 rituals by Sadedin Heper “Mevlevi Ayinleri 1979 Konya” was the laslest publishing on tihis subject.But there are remarkable differences between two publishing.The  number of r
Tuals in this second are only (1/3) of known rituals.After that time ,it is certain that our Mevlevi Ayin reportary will be richer.

-REFERENCES-

-Saseddein Nüzhet Ergun,Türk Musikisi Antolojisi,İstanbul 1943,c.2,s. 405-407,636-638
-Halil Can, “Mevlevi ayini”,Hazreti Mevlana ve Mevlevi Ayinşeri:1,İstanbul 1969,s.17-27
-Cinuçen Tanrıkorur,”Osmanlı Musikisinde Mevlevi Ayini Besteciliği”,Osmanlı,Ankara 1999,c.10,s.707-721
-Nuri Özcan, “Mevlevi ayini”,Türkiye Diyanet vakfı İslam Ansiklopedisi,c.29, s464-466