Konrad and Alexandra (pdf) - Rolf Gross

A Sufi Sema
One day Henri surprised Konrad with an invitation to join him at a Sufi sema. Konrad
could hardly hide his excitement. The sema, the mystical meeting of the Sufi, was shrouded in
secrecy. Outsiders were rarely admitted. Henri explained that his brotherhood met once a
month on a Thursday to dance in an abandoned church in Shavnabada, outside of town. A
woman who lived in a room attached to the church was their sheik, their leader. She was also a
famous psychic medium and a healer.
Konrad had thought that only Moslem men could belong to Sufi brotherhoods and was
surprised to hear that their sheik was a woman.
"Among Moslem Sufi that is true, but no one in our group belongs to Islam. All of us are
metal craftsmen, precious stone grinders or printers. We make no distinction as to the religious
connection of our brothers. Persephone, our sheik, is a Syrian-Christian woman who grew up
as a Nestorian or Jacobite. The Syrian Christians—who owe their survival to Islam, the
Byzantines would have killed them all—have preserved many old Christian traditions, among
them the Aramaic language Christ spoke."
Henri smiled, encouraging his student, "May that be as it is, do come along, it will be
very interesting for you."
Konrad accepted and asked whether he could bring Alexandra along.
"You may, if you can persuade her," Henri said. "Her father is very much against
mysticism, and you might find her reluctant to come."
As Henri had foreseen, Alexandra did not want to join him, but gave Konrad an
intriguing piece of information. "Father, with his enlightened ideas, is dead set against Sufi and
all other mystics, but Deda visits Persephone regularly to consult her in matters of her and our
lives. We don’t talk about that at home, and I have no idea what role Deda plays in those
dances at Shavnabada. I am certain though that Deda discussed you and us with Persephone,
who may also have consulted Henri about you. It would not surprise me, if Deda’s change of
mind about you and our getting married and Henri’s invitation were connected with
Persephone. Be careful, dear man, you are about to enter a dense psychic web, of which you
are completely ignorant."
Much too curious to pay heed to Alexandra’s warning of black magic, he became only
more determined not to let slip a singular opportunity to penetrate below the surface of Oriental
life.
A few days later Alexandra surprised him by asking whether he would after all take her
along to Shavnabada. She had discovered that her father was taking Deda to the theater on
that particular Thursday. Deda would not be present in Shavnabada. Under cover of being
Konrad’s companion she could learn something about her mother she had never dared to ask.
"Come," he said, "let us face the unknown together, who knows what we shall learn."
Henri, raising his eyebrows in surprise, assented.
Dressed in dark burkas and hoods that Henri had provided, which hid them completely
except for their faces, they set out in a droshki from the Bazaar.
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