Konrad and Alexandra (PDF) - Rolf Gross

7A Sufi Sema1898One 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 explainedthat 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 sheikh, their leader. She was also a famous psychicmedium and a healer.Konrad had thought that only Moslem men could belong to Sufi brotherhoods and was surprised to hear that their sheikhwas a woman."Among Moslem Sufi that is true, but no one in our group belongs to Islam. All of us are metal craftsmen, precious stonegrinders or printers. We make no distinction as to the religious connection of our brothers. Persephone, our sheikh, is aSyrian-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 Aramaiclanguage 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 herreluctant 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 consulther 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 thosedances at Shavnabada. I am certain though that Deda discussed you and us with Persephone, who may also haveconsulted Henri about you. It would not surprise me, if Deda’s change of mind about you and our getting married andHenri’s invitation were connected with Persephone. Be careful, dear man, you are about to enter a dense psychic web, ofwhich 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 asingular 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 haddiscovered that her father was taking Deda to the theater on that particular Thursday. Deda would not be present inShavnabada. Under cover of being Konrad’s companion she could learn something about her mother she had neverdared 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 outin a droshki from the Bazaar.The half hour ride took them up a valley southwest of town. Henri bade the droshki to await their return in a village of afew houses from where they walked up a hill.The night was dark. They passed a desolate Moslem cemetery, a vast treeless field. Crooked steles stood menacing atall angles as far as the eye could see. The mounds of the graves lay bare and uncared for, ghostly oil lamps flickered ata few sites. Two pariah dogs disappeared into the night.On the top of the hill, the silhouette of the church and a tree stood out etched in black against the lights of the city below.A single candle flickered in the building.Nobody spoke.From a branch of the gnarled oak in front of the building hung a bell. Below they found two wooden tables and an ancientstone block. Another heathen altar? A butcher block for the slaughter of sheep?The simple windowless stone building had a pitched roof. A dilapidated bell tower rose into the night. The door to a smallroom under the tower stood open. A flickering candle cast unsteady shadows over a disorderly bed, a table, a half-emptysoup bowl, a couple of wine bottles.Henri knocked at the narrow door. An indistinct murmur of voices. After an exchange of passwords a hooded manopened. Henri embraced and kissed the brother, then he introduced Konrad and Alexandra.They took off their shoes and entered barefoot. The highly polished wood floor reflected uncounted candles waxed to theblackened stone walls. A dozen men in long, white skirts, short jackets, and high, brown, cylindrical top hats sat crossleggedon cushions along the wall. They quietly smoked softly bubbling water pipes. A pungent aroma filled the room.Konrad helped Alexandra out of her burka and found that she wore baggy, white cotton pants, tied at her ankles, asimilar buttonless shirt with a high collar—and his necklace. She turned to him with an encouraging smile.28