The Last Dervish in Kazakhstan

Photographs and video installation by
Olesya Bondareva and Mauri Pasanen

11-28 February 2009


This exhibition is the first phase of a project to present an “insider’s view” of
the ancient Sufi dervish tradition, particularly its Central Asian variant.
The Sufi dervish tradition is seldom accessible to outsiders, and one usually
only hears about it in stories. Bifatima is one of the last dervishes, a
guardian of the tradition, and a “teacher of teachers.” Everyone who comes
to know her is struck by her compassion and benevolence towards people.

Bifatima embodies the archetype of a mother or a grandmother – that is, a
woman from whom one has received much, to whom one owes much, and to
whom one can never hope to repay what is due. Often travelers who meet
her feel a need to know more about the history of Central Asia, the region
whose traditions Bifatima personifies. In the Middle Ages, the Sufi tradition
lay at the very heart of Islamic mysticism. In the society of the time, the
dervish had the roles of mystic, philosopher, magician and healer. In
addition, Sufi dervishes were guardians of secret knowledge and high
culture, and the majority of the great Muslim poets and scientists of the
Middle Ages were Sufi. Among these were Jalal ad-Din Rumi, Omar
Khayyam, and Avicenna. By contrast, almost nothing is known about the
dervishes of Central Asia in modern times.

The authors of this project undertook an extensive expedition to
Kazakhstan, met with numerous Kazakh healers, consulted ethnologists and
researchers of folklore, all of whom say that Bifatima is probably the last
guardian of the dervish tradition in the region. In Kazakhstan, many call her
“the last bullet.” Bifatima almost always refuses contacts with journalists and
avoids being photographed or filmed. The authors of the present project
were, however, able to win her trust by trying to enter her world and see it
from the inside.

Olesya Bondareva visited Bifatima regularly over a period of one and a half
years. During this time she went through a number of ceremonies and
initiation rites, took a Sufi name, observed all the rules of the place, and
followed the required way of life. On one occasion she stayed with the
dervish continuously for six months as an apprentice, and undertook
several journeys to holy places in Central Asia, among them three “minor
Hajjs”, pilgrimages that in Central Asia are often regarded as equivalent to
the “grand Hajj”. She learned many rituals and traditions, met with the most
powerful healers, and finally, gained Bifatima’s support for a project to
document the Central Asian dervish tradition.

During her lengthy stays with Bifatima, Olesya had the opportunity to
photograph and film rarely seen shamanistic ceremonies and scenes of the
Sufi way of life at the dervish’s house. In the autumn of 2008 Mauri
Pasanen joined Olesya in Kazakhstan and spent three weeks with Bifatima.
During this visit he too was initiated into Kazakh customs and rituals, and
made a journey to the south of Kazakhstan in Bifatima’s company. In the
course of this journey Olesya and Mauri shot unique footage of Sufi rituals
and shrines.

The photo exhibition and video installation are based on the above
material. The next phase of the project will be a feature length documentary
film and the publication of a book on the dervish tradition.

All the photographs in the exhibition were taken with a Canon EOS 20D
camera and printed on Canon's Photo Paper Pro with a PIXMA iX5000
printer. We are grateful for Canon's support.