The sheikh arrives at his post, bows, sits, and kisses the floor. The semazens sit and put on their cloaks. The sheikh recites the Fatiha, the first sura of the Qur’an, then the dervishes kiss the floor and rise. The sheikh then sounds an invocation to Mevlana and Shams-i Tabriz and begins the sound “Hu.” The dervishes join in sounding the “Hu,” the divine pronoun encompassing all of the names of God.
The shaikh then rises, crosses the floor and walks away. The dervishes rise and follow him, each bowing toward the sheepskin as they cross the center line of the floor.