Şeb-i Arus: The Wedding Night
Dec. 17 was the 750th anniversary of the death of Sufi poet Rumi, Mevlana Jalaluddin-i Rûmî. Attributed to his name, the Mevlevi order is an ascetic Sufi order founded in 1273 in Konya, from where it gradually spread throughout the Ottoman Empire. Since then, every night of Dec. 17 has been celebrated as “Şeb-i Arus,” literally the wedding night. “Düğün” in Turkish, the term “wedding” here stands for the realization of the devotion and commitment to God. In Sufi belief, death is not considered an end, but a reunion of the soul with God. So, yesterday was the night of the ultimate reunion, the wedding, the unification with the ultimate creator.
Mevlevi lodges are renowned for their whirling dervishes. Their dancing ceremonies are called Sema, a ritual that was also included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2008. Mevlana Sema ceremony was originally performed by dervishes that were trained in the Mevlevihane, the Sufi lodge. Dancers used to receive 1,001 days of reclusive training there, where they learned about ethics, codes of behavior and beliefs by practicing prayer, religious music, poetry and dance. The training included an initial strenuous serving in the kitchen. The place of the kitchen in a Mevlevihane is very special. Namely “matbah,” the kitchen is sacred, considered the heart of the dervish lodge. The way to enter the dervish lodge is through toiling and suffering in the kitchen. This is the place where the raw becomes cooked. Mevlana the Rumi summarized his life, which began in Balkh, Khorasan and ended in Konya, as follows:
“The resume of my life is three words: I was raw, I was cooked, I was burnt!” in Turkish “Hamdım, Piştim, Yandım!”
Kitchen is where the raw is cooked
Raw here refers here to uneducated. The meaning in Turkish bears more nuances, often also indicating an immature, or an unexperienced person to the extent of being crude or unrefined.
In the Mevlevi lodge, the place where dervishes are cooked, that is, where they are educated and reach maturity, is the matbah, the kitchen. The kitchen has a great symbolic meaning; it functions more as an educational institution rather than just a cooking place where food is cooked and eaten. The first training and education of Sufism is received here, in a sense, candidates for entry to the “tekke,” the lodge, take their first qualification tests in the kitchen service. In order to become a dervish, the Sufi initiate had to spend a thousand and one days in the kitchen taking care of the lowliest tasks, in a way purifying oneself from worldly pride. The “Ocakbaşı,” literally “Hearthside,” is where the fire burns and the cauldrons boil, as fire is the heart of the kitchen. This is the first place where the discipline of the candidates is tested. Cleaning the kitchen floor, washing the dishes, scraping pots and pans, crying over chopped onions were the daily routine, as well as practicing the whirling process. The whirling begins by rotating on the left foot in short twists, using the right foot to drive the body around the left foot. The body of the whirler is meant to be supple, with eyes open but unfocused. This practice was done on bare feet tucking the toe around a huge nail pinned to the kitchen floor. So, it was not only the humble kitchen work, but also the whirling practice, a long, seemingly unending reclusive training of 1,001 days, in order to become a dervish.
After this training, the approved candidates remained members of the order but returned to their work and families.
Somat etiquette and Sufi food
The Mevlevi table was called “simat” or “somat” in Arabic. Eating in a dervish lodge is a ritual in itself. The somat contains certain rules, and the meal is eaten according to a certain etiquette.
Salt is part of the table ritual. The meal starts and ends with salt. Everyone dips the forefinger in salt and tastes it before starting the meal. Salt has a significance in Sufi belief. Salt does not smell or spoil. Therefore, it is the epitome of purity. Ateş Baz-ı Veli, Mevlana’s companion and chief cook, has a salt window in his tomb in Konya. In the container inside the window there is a container of salt that is never empty, constantly renewed. Anyone who wishes can take salt from here, and when this salt is added to the salt in the house, it is believed that the kitchen will be blessed. In Anatolia, there is a saying “the right to salt and bread,” which refers to favors that are difficult to repay, the appreciation you owe someone who has helped you, a term based on the sacredness of salt and bread on the table.
Soup and pilaf have a special place at the Sufi table. Especially the rice pilaf is special, rich with morsels of meat and other ingredients, which is sometimes known as “Özbek Pilavı/Uzbek pilaf,” having its roots back in Khorasan. This pilaf, sometimes referred to as “Tekke pilavı,” is prepared with lamb meat, onions and carrots flavored with spices such as cinnamon, black pepper, enriched with almonds and raisins. With all these ingredients, Tekke pilaf is filling on its own, without the need for other dishes to accompany it. The meal is eaten from a huge serving dish placed at the middle. The Somat table is silent, never spoken. However, if someone wishes to sip water, everyone stops and waits, so as not to be unfair in sharing the food and disrespect the person drinking water. When the meal is over, before leaving the table, salt is tasted again with prayers and the somat ends.
Fork of the Week:
If you happen to be in Konya for Şeb-i Arus, there is a long list of things to taste and buy while you are there. “Etli Ekmek,” minced meat topped flat bread is at the top of the list. Another must-try dish is roasted meat, “Fırın Kebap,” called “Furun Kebab” in Konya dialect, is cooked in its own fat in copper trays in the oven for hours and eaten by hand on pita bread with raw onions. To accompany, a frothy “Ayran,” a salty yogurt drink made with soured yogurt is a must. If you are vegetarian, it’s best to go for Konya's special cheese and butter flat breads, especially “Yağlı Somun,” when it’s made with “Küflü peynir,” the Konya local moldy cheese, it’s a not-to-miss taste. Konya’s sour dried okra soup should not be forgotten either. If you want to taste the old recipes that have been around since the time of Mevlana, you should target restaurants that serve dishes such as “Tutmaç” and “Tirit,” the former being the ancestor of the ubiquitous “mantı” Turkish dumplings, it is a yoghurt-based soup with cut-flat paste, and the latter is pide bread morsels soaked in rich broth topped with meat and garlicky yogurt. All these dishes can be crowned with the syrupy dessert of “Sac arası,” sweet and crisp, a perfect end to your spiritual journey following whirling dervishes.
