Mevlevi Rosaries Are Shaped in the Hands of Their Last Masters

Mevlevi rosary master from Konya, Hayati Gıvraklar "33 You will first cut the habbe, then you will pierce them patiently. Then it takes patience to do it all one by one on the lathe in the same measure, in the same form. We first look for patience in the person who will do this job."

The construction of the Mevlevi rosary, which is carried out by the last representatives of the profession in Konya, requires patient processing and lining up until the final touch.

The rosaries, which have Mevlana's coin on their imame, are preferred by local and foreign tourists who come to Konya especially to visit Hazrat Mevlana.

The rosaries, which are hand-produced from the tree groves in the country or from the kuka and snake wood brought from abroad, go through the construction stage that requires great attention, workmanship and patience.

Hayati Gıvraklar, 42, one of the last representatives of the profession who has been making Mevlevi prayer beads for 27 years in his 55 square meter shop in Konya, said that the most important condition of his profession is patience.

Gıvraklar gave the following information about the subtleties of the profession:

"The biggest principle of our work is that; A lot of people come to us saying, 'My dexterity is very good,' and they say, 'Let's do it, can you teach us?' What we want is not dexterity but patience. So you will first cut the 33 habbes, then you will patiently pierce them. Then it takes patience to do it all one by one on the lathe in the same measure, in the same form. We first look for patience in the person who will do this job. Even if he doesn't have dexterity, we try to teach him gradually. If a patient and talented person is an apprentice, he can learn the profession in 1 year."

Stating that there is a lot of eye fatigue in the production of rosaries, Gıvraklar said, "For an average of 33 rosaries, if we are going to make it in classical form, we can finish one in 2 days. Of course, because this is delicate work, we work with the digital caliper and we work with about one-fifth of a millimeter error. We have a margin of error of 20 microns in measurements. We can work for a rosary of 99 for about 5 days, 6 days. Our work is very delicate and there is fatigue in the eyes just because we are looking at a fixed point. We cannot work the way a normal person works. It is difficult for us to work until 8 in the morning and 6 in the evening. We work 6-8 hours a day at intervals."

Stating that the prices of Mevlevi rosaries vary according to the material and tree type to be used, Gıvraklar reported that a handmade Mevlevi rosary of 99 is at least 6 thousand liras.

Gıvraklar added that the classical form of the Mevlevi rosaries was abandoned and that in addition to the Mevlevi coin on the rosary, tulip forms were also requested, and that there were not many masters who did this job.