Mevlevi – Musical instruments

An ancient bow instrument of Arabic origin. Its body consists of a halved coconut shell with either thin leather or the membrane of a cattle’s heart stretched across the opening. Protruding from the body is a rather cylindrical neck with wooden tuning pegs at one end. It has a foot stand, or holder, made of wood or metal. The strings hold the bridge in place over the stretched skin of the body. The sound of the rebab is produced by moving the bow hairs over the strings. The strings are also made of hairs. The Rebab produces touching emotional tones.

The Ney is made up of a special type of yellow-colored reed consisting of tough fibers and nine naturally joined segments. It grows abundant in warm moist climates. The choicest varieties are to found growing along the Nile and Ceyhan Rivers. What is usually the case is that in a reed bed of a thousand reeds, perhaps only one single reed is suitable for producing the Ney. Any dyestuff or wax is not used in Ney production with a mind to preserving its natural attributes. A Ney can remain in service for well up to 200-300 years with even a gradual increase in playability provided that it is well protected and properly maintained. A Ney’s color may darken in the course of time, and if this is the case, it is considered more precious.

The Ney is the symbol of the “Perfect Man” who has matured by passing through many phases of purification. The Ney, discolored, hollowed out and bored through with holes, pines for its reed bed. While pining, it mournfully wails its innermost secrets to all mankind. These secrets are divine revelations about the love. For this reason the Ney is deemed. People, who play the ney are called “neyzen”.

Made of beaten copper, the kudum consists of two drums, each 28-30 cm in diameter and 16-18 cm in height. Tanned leather or camel leather thinned to a thickness of 1-2 mm is stretched over each drum with the help of ropes. The kudum is tuned by tightening or loosening the ropes. The accented right-handed drum taps are called “tek”, and the weaker left-handed taps are called “dum”. The auxiliary taps into which rhythms are subdivided are called “velvete”.

The kudum is played with two wooden sticks called “zahme”. These are made of hard and heavy wood and are roughly 24-28 cm in length. A person who plays kudum is called a “kudumzen”. The smaller drum of the kudum is called “nakkare”, and the bigger one is “kos”, and the two are used in Mehter Music (the band music of the Ottoman military).

The Mevlevi Sufis call the kudum “kudum-I serif” (the sacred kudum), thus regarding the kudum as sacred, as the Ney was regarded as sacred. People, who play the kudum are called “kudumzen”.

Usually made from walnut wood, the frame is 30-60 cm in diameter and 6-8 cm wide. The skin, less than 1 mm thick, is stretched across it. Usually camel, cattle, goat and sheep leathers are preferred.

Like the other instruments in tekke Music, the bendir is assigned a sacred status with the name “bendir-I serif”, or “mahzar-I serif” (the sacred bendir, or mahzar, respectively). The bendir is to be played with the hands, with one hand holding it from below. It is held above waist level, and never placed on the knee or between legs. It is played with the fingers, palm and backside of the free hand, which strike the skin at varying angles and with varying strength. The result is such that the skin is either struck or brushed. The free hand can be accomplished by the fingers of the hand holding the instrument. Those who play bendir are called “bendirzen”, while those who play the daf – “defzen”.

The discs of this percussive instrument, resembling pot covers, are played by either clashing the two discs head-on, or by sliding them across each other. The discs are pierced at their centers where leather handles are tied. It is possible to produce high or low pitched sounds which are either staccato or sustained. Halile players are called “halilezen”.

The Mevlevi fraternity has been paying a great attention to musical education at all times. Music and playing musical instruments, apart from mathematics, astronomy, art and other fundamental disciplines, were among the main subjects that were studied at the school of dervishes. Music, songs, playing musical instruments were an integral part of daily life of the fraternity, be it household activities, a holiday or a Sufi session. Thus the information about the Mevlevis, their traditions and foundations, would be incomplete and inaccurate, if we would not try, though shortly,  to share some facts on this topic.