Dervishes Dancing before a Group of Muslim Divines
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, ca. 1760
India, Deccan region
Edwin Binney 3rd Collection

The small Persian inscription at the top of the painting identifies the scene: “Ecstatic Majlis of the Shaikhs of India”. A majlis is a nocturnal gathering for poetry recitation and musical performance during the Islamic holy month of Muharram. Dervishes are holy men of the Sufi faith, a mystical branch of Islam, who, in their pursuit of union with the divine, use music and meditations on their personal, devotional relationship with God (Allah).

The venues for these gatherings were private households and khanqahs, or lodges of individual Sufi organizations. Within this architectural setting is depicted a mainstay in the practice of Sufism: the exclusively male circular dance accompanied by live music. The painter’s symmetrical composition, delicate lines, and soft palette of mostly pastels contrast with the actual subject of his brush: the mystical, trance-inducing dance of the Sufi dervishes that would crescendo to a whirling climax—a practice that led to the coining of the English term “whirling dervish.” (AP)

Source :
Indo-Muslim Cultures in Transition
Conveners: Karen Leonard & Alka Patel
The University of California, Irvine