DERVISH is a Persian word signifying poor, corresponding to the Arabic Fakir (q.v.). It designates, in Mohammedan countries, a class of persons resembling in many respects the monks of Christendom. The dervishes are divided into many different brotherhoods and orders. They live mostly in well-endowed convents, called Tekkije or Changah, and are under a chief with the title of a Sheik, i.e., "elder." Some of the monks are married, and allowed to live out of the monastery, but must sleep there some nightS weekly, Their devotional exercises consist in meetings for worship, prayers, religious dances, and mortifications. As the convent does not provide them with clothing, they are obliged to work more or less.
It is difficult to say when these religious orders took their rise. From the earliest times, pious persons in the east have held it to be meritorious to renounce earthly joys, to free themselves from the trammels of domestic and social life, and to devote their thoughts in poverty and retirement to the contemplation of God. In this sense, poverty
is recommended by Mohammed in the Koran. Tradition refers the origin of these orders to the earliest times of Islam, making the caliphs Abubekr and All found such brotherhoods; but it is more probable that they arose later. Many Mohammedan princes and Turkish sultans have held dervishes in high respect, and bestowed rich endowments on their establishments; and they are still in high veneration with the people. The orders are generally named after their founders, and the best known are the Bestamis, established 874 A. D.; Kadris, 1165; Rufaji, 1182; Kevelevis, 1273; Nakshi bendis, 1319; Bektashis, 1357; Ragenis, 1533; Shemsiss, 1601; and Jemalis, 1730.