A Dervish, or Diverse, is a Mulsim devotee, distinguished by austerity of life and the observance of strict forms. There are many different orders of them. Some live in monasteries, others lead an itinerant life, others devote themselves to menial or arduous occupations. They are respected by the common people, and the mendicants among them carry a wooden bowl into which the pious cast alms. One of their forms of devotion is dancing or whirling about, another is shouting or howling, uttering the nameAllah, accompanied by violent motions of the body, until they work themselves into a frenzy and sometimes fall down foaming at the mouth. They are traditionally credited with miraculous powers, and were traditionally consulted for the interpretation of dreams and the cure of diseases. Research Dervish
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