Kosovo dervishes celebrate spring with traditional Sultan Nowruz body piercings

Record ID: 1985115

  • Title: Kosovo dervishes celebrate spring with traditional Sultan Nowruz body piercings
  • Date: 22nd March 2025
  • Summary: MAN WITH HIS CHEEKS PIERCED SWAYING MAN HAVING HIS FACE PIERCED MAN WITH HIS CHEEKS PIERCED SWAYING MEN SWAYING AND CHANTING VARIOUS OF WOMEN OBSERVING MAN KISSING HAND OF LEADER OF THE SA-ADI SUFI ORDER, SHEH RUZHDI SHEHU VARIOUS OF MEN SWAYING AND CHANTING MAN HOLDING SWORD BY HIC CHEEK, DANCING MAN LYING ON FLOOR WITH SWORD BY HIS NECK / SHEH RUZHDI SHEHU STANDING ON SW
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Kosovo religion Kosovo traditions Nowruz
  • Location: GJAKOVA, KOSOVO
  • City: GJAKOVA, KOSOVO
  • Country: Kosovo
  • Topics: Europe,Religion/Belief,Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA003088022032025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES
    Hundreds of Sufi dervishes gathered in the Kosovo village of Gjakova on Friday (March 21) to celebrate the spring festival of Nowruz with a traditional religious ceremony that featured the piercing of the cheeks with needles as a symbolic act of devotion.
    Led by the head of the Sa-adi Sufi order, Sheh Ruzhdi Shehu, the ceremony included distinctive dances, believed to induce a state of spiritual ecstasy, transcending the physical realm.
    Nowruz, which marks the Persian New Year, carries profound spiritual implications for Sufis, symbolising renewal and purification, and fostering a deeper bond with God.
    Sufism in Kosovo plays an important role in the religious life of the country, with the majority of the population being Muslim.
    The Sa-adi order promotes values such as tolerance, spiritual growth, and inner peace.
    In the 1.6 million country more than 90 percent of the population in Kosovo are Muslim and some tens of thousands are dervishes.
    (Production: Fatos Bytyci, Malgorzata Wojtunik)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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