Today’s doodle is a dyoptych. Technically, a dyoptych doesn’t exist, as it means two fold. In the art world a polyptych typically start with triptych, or tri-fold, a series of three paintings. I’m lazy, so I invented the dyoptych. What’s it about? Beyond the usual celebration of the human form, its an imagining of the Dervish, as portrayed in the DnD world.
Dervishes (aka Whirling Dervishes) in the real world are male (though it’s changing) and focus on the universal values of love and service, deserting the illusions of ego to reach God (Allah). In most Sufi orders, a dervish is known to practice dhikr (previous sentence) through physical exertions (dance) or religious practices to attain the ecstatic trance to reach God, but they are not weapon focused, that is pure fantasy.
In Role-playing Games (RPG) Dervishes are a dancing order, more like belly-dancers who carry weapons, who have an affinity for water (as noted in the Guild Wars video game), and are deadly assassins – the Mideast equivalent of Ninjas.
Here, an unnamed dervish, let’s call her Anya, dances in practice for a coming performance, drawing power from the water surrounding the holy site in which she dances, unlike the assassins or ḥašīšī ‘hashish-eater, also of Mideast origin and the genesis of the term assassin, she draws her power from music and form. Now, the music is totally in her head but is definitely
Mideastern in origin (why substitute for a good thing :).
The second panel of the Dyoptych was accidental. I was positioning the Scythe and said to myself, “Self, this is a good angle for a picture.” Beyond being an artist I’m also an aspiring photographer.
