During Sufi Night, Bozar will become a hotbed of the ecstatic music that followers of the mystical branch of Islam use to approach God. This year, it will be an all-day festival with whirling dervishes from Turkey, songs from Indonesia, Moroccan sama, and Egyptian meditation rituals, all interspersed with audio-visual poems from Diwans.org, a performance by 28 artists who dialogue with the Sufi world across four screens. Not so long ago, Sufi music could only be heard by the initiated during isolated ceremonies in the Arab world, but since this mystical branch of Islam has opened itself to the common person, the genre has become very popular. It is almost as though the West has found an authenticity and depth in these rituals that is miles away from Western pop and transience. The Syubbanul Akhyar ensemble from Indonesia is opening the evening with the traditional Hajir Marawis style that was introduced to Indonesia by traders. The whirling dervishes of Konya will then reveal something of the rich spirituality of Turkish dervishes, who spin continuously around their axis in order to go into a trance and unite the earthly with the celestial. Afterwards, Haj Mohammed Bajeddoub will present an anthology from the Samaâ – the Moroccan Sufi repertoire. To end the evening, four Egyptian munshids or religious singers will present a series of dhikr or meditation rituals.
Sufi Night 29/9, 18.00, €10 > 25, Paleis voor Schone Kunsten/Palais des Beaux-Arts, rue Ravensteinstraat 23, Brussel/Bruxelles, 02-507.82.00, info@bozar.be, www.bozar.be
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