- Event: Sufi Sacred Music and Meditation
- Date: Friday, November 16
- Time: 6:00 p.m. to 10 p.m.
- Location: Kentucky Center for African American Heritage
- Admission: FREE. Seating is limited and registration is required.
EVENT CHAIR
Dr. Muhammad Babar
EVENT DESCRIPTION
Sufism, or Islamic mysticism, is a way of realizing the divine. This realization is the object of the Sufi Concert, which proposes to place us on a path of love, compassion and devotion.
On Friday, November 16th, Louisville will have the chance to witness this mystical message of peace and love for all through the performances of wonderful Sufi singers and whirling dervishes. These performances will take place during the 17th annual Festival of Faiths at the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage, beginning at 6:00 p.m.
Sufi singer Lucky Ali with traditional musicians will perform the poetry of legendary Sufi poets of Pakistan and India, including the great 17th century poet Bulleh Shah, also known as the “Sheikh of both the Worlds”.
The Whirling Ceremony of the Mevlevi dervishes, known as Sema, is a 700-year old tradition that combines meditative movement, choreography, classical Sufi music, and the sung words of Rumi.The Ceremony of the Whirling (Mevlevi) Dervishes will be accompanied by Persian Sufi music by Amir Koushkani (tar & voice), Amir Vahab (ney, voice & daf), Sardar Mohamadjani (oud/barbat), and Araz Nayeb-Pashayee (percussion).
The evening will also include Kabir and Camille Helminski, internationally respected authors and translators, who will offer a short explanation of the ceremony and will read some of their translations of the poems of Rumi. “This is a living tradition,” says Shaikh Kabir, “not a bit of nostalgia, not an historical re-creation, but a tradition that continually reinvents itself while remaining true to its own spiritual essence.”
Let’s all walk together on this path of love, compassion and devotion on November 16th at the Festival of Faiths.
