Kosovo Dervishes Welcome Spring With Centuries-Old Mystical Practices

Sheikh Ruzhdi Shehu leads the ceremony marking the Norouz spring festival in a prayer room in the town of Gjakova, late on March 21 into the early morning hours.

Sufi dervishes from the Kadiri order celebrated the centuries-old traditions of the spring equinox, known to them as Sultan Nevruz.

The annual ritual celebrates the birth of Ali ibn Abi Talib. Ali is one of the most revered figures in Islam. The ceremony is held inside a 'tekke,' a small religious house of worship that bears no resemblance to a traditional mosque.

Dervishes chant and sway as they sing songs in Albanian, Turkish, and Arabic to the hypnotic rhythm of prayer until they reach a trance-like state.

A dervish swirls a needle known as a zarf as he dances in the center of the room during the ceremony.

After they reach a trance-like state, men will then have parts of their bodies pierced, such as this man's neck, as the others continue to chant.

A dervish appears to be in no pain as the zarf protrudes from his face while the congregation continues its rhythmic chanting.

Another dervish who was pierced during the ceremony.

For those who were unable to attend in person, a broadcast could be watched in a prayer room at the tekke.

An estimated 95 percent of Kosovo's 1.66 million people are Muslims, but only a tiny fraction -- a few thousand -- are dervishes.