journal of interdisciplinary music studies fall 2012, volume 6, issue 2, art. # 12060202, pp. 137-150 • Correspondence: Yaprak Melike Uyar, ITU Turkish Music State Cınservatory, 34357, Macka, Besiktas; tel: 90 212 248 9087, 90 212 240 2750, e-mail: yuyar@itu.edu.tr • Received: 24 May 2013; Revised: 03 June 2013; Accepted: 10 Febuary 2014 • Available online: 01 March 2014 • doi: 10.4407/jims.2014.02.002 Recent representations of the music of the Mevlevi Order of Sufism Yaprak Melike Uyar 1 and Ş. Şehvar Beşiroğlu 2 1 Turkish Music State Conservatory, Istanbul Technical University 2 Center for Advanced Studies in Music, Istanbul Technical University Background in ethnomusicology. The Mevlevi Order of Sufism, founded in Konya (Turkey) by the followers of Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi, cherishes music in their rituals as do many other Sufi Sects. Whirling Dervish Rituals may be described as a form of worship, and music is one of the main elements of the ritual. The commodification of cultural and spiritual traditions into products and the representation of rituals in the form of public performances has also influence the appreciation of Mevlevi music. World music market can be mentioned as one of the industries highly influenced by this process, especially in the cases of ritual concept strongly affiliated with the accompanying music. The rising interest in Mevlevi culture, together with the popularity of demonstrations of Whirling Dervish ceremonies as tourist or cultural attractions, have also influenced the recent representations of Mevlevi music, usually with the title ‘Sufi music’ in the music industry. Background in music theory. The music of the Mevlevi Order is strongly affiliated with the Turkish makam music tradition. The music accompanying the Whirling rituals is a form in Ottoman Turkish makam music, called Ayin-i Şerif , composed according to a specific set of theoretical rules in tonality, rhythmic structure and melodic contour. This article summarizes those rules to make comparisons with recent music works including ‘Mevlevi music’ in their title. Aims. This paper concentrates on how the performance and reception of ‘Mevlevi music’ has changed with the influence of the commodification process. Main contribution. With the promotion of traditional Turkish makam music as “Mevlevi” music, spiritual attributions of Sufi music become a marketing tool, that is to say, non-musical aspects of Mevlevi music become a tool for the promotion of both secular and religious Turkish Makam Music in the of New Age music market. Implications. Mimesis of the Whirling Dervish Ceremonies, that imitates the main rules of the ritual, with the process of commodification turns into a show. In the case of Turkish Art Music or the fusion of ney and electronic sampling promoted as Mevlevi Music, the spiritual values of Mevlevi culture becomes a base for meanings attributed to the music positioned in the world music market with spiritual content. In touristic performances, it is observed that instead of performing the whole Ayin-i Şerif which is approximately 1 hour long, the sections of it have combined to accompany the whirling show. In such performances, usually Mevlevi Ayini in Nihavend, Buselik, Rast and Segah makams have been performing, because those create proximity with European art music tonal system. Keywords: Mevlevi music, Sufism, whirling dervish, Turkish, makam