(24 Mar 2016) Members of Kosovo's Sufi religious order, known locally as Dervishes, on Thursday performed rituals to mark the start of spring and the birth of Ali, a revered figure in Islam.
The celebrations include hours of trance-like swaying and chanting of prayers, and piercing their bodies with needles and knives.
Kosovo's Dervish community carries on centuries-old mystical practices, such as self-piercing with needles and knives, as a way to earn salvation and find a path to God.
Sufi Dervishes of the Rifa'i order are a religious cult founded in the 12th century in Basra, Iraq.
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