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Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam, has produced some of the more lasting poetry and dance traditions in the Muslim world. This tradition is alive and well in Omdurman.

Every Friday in Omdurman one can see the Whirling Dervishes. The whirling Dervishes are heterodox Sufi Muslims who wear colourful patchwork robes and dance to the beat of drums, twirling and stamping their feet until they go into a trance. They consider this dance a ritual from Islam's earliest days, though it is generally considered in Sudan and abroad as a peculiar local Folklore. At the height of the dance, participants say that their souls communicate with Allah (i.e. God, in Arabic) and are cleansed of evil. The spell is only broken with the call to evening prayer.