Islamic Ritual from Kosovo

This recording presents extracts from two zikr rituals performed by members of the Rufa’i brotherhood, a Sufi order created in the 12th century by Ahmed ar-Rifa’i. The practice of the zikr is an Islamic devotional act and is a process of inner concentration and of deepening the self, an attempt to prepare oneself to receive an influence of a divine nature based on the repetition of the name of God. The liner notes recommend that the Rufa'i ceremony should be listened to “in a state of the greatest possible psychosomatic relaxation, and the musical and rhythmic proportions should be given free play.”

This album is part of the UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music. More than 125 albums are being released by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings to make the series publicly available, including a dozen never-released albums of musical traditions from around the globe.