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 Damascus
was the capital of the Ummayyad dynasty and a principal
stage in the pilgrimage to Mecca. The Sufi mystical
brotherhood known as
Mawlawiyya met in places known as
zawiya
and adopted the original chants grouped in suites (waslat)
in particular modes (maqamat)
and rhythms (iqaat).
The Great Ummayyad Mosque of Damascus possesses a specific
vocal repertoire, where sacred suites are known as a
nawbat,
a term originally used for the secular songs developed in
Arab Andalusia known as
muwashshat. Typically accompanied by a choir, a
vocalist such as Sheikh Hamza Shakkur extracts from the
repertoire of the mosque the naming of God (dhikr)
and the birth of the prophet (mawlid)
in a serene expression that has a rigorously organized
rhythm. Thus the vocalist progressively leads the assembly
into a trance or a state of meditation (ta'ammul).
His followers, during their rituals,
rotate around themselves and around an axis as the planets
rotate around themselves and around the sun. One of their
hands is open upwards for knowledge from the God. The always
wear white dresses to represent their purity.
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