Although there had been a substantial Islamic mystical tradition prior to Rumi, it is fair to comment that his poetry transformed both thinking and ritual in this regard. For example, the famous centripetal dance of the dervishes - the "sema" ritual - is said to have its inspiration in Rumi's own movements around a pole in his garden as he mourned for his companion Shams. In time, these actions were adapted into Sufic practise by Rumi and then handed down to his favoured disciples who institutionalized them into the activities of the Mevlevi Order that they founded in their Master's honour.