The Sema will begin at 9 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 5, in Brendle Recital Hall. The Sema begins when the whirling dervishes enter the auditorium in black cloaks and tall, cylindrical camel hair hats, followed by their spiritual master, Shaikh Helminski. Then they cast off their cloaks to reveal white robes, symbolizing spiritual rebirth, and, one by one, begin to whirl.
Dervishes view the spinning ceremony as a way to ascend to spiritual perfection.
The Sufi Muslims visiting Wake Forest are from the Threshold Society, a non-profit educational foundation based in Brattleboro, Vermont, that has developed programs providing a structure for practice and study within Sufism and spiritual psychology. Shaikh Helminski is their spiritual guide and the Society's director.