NOMADIC SUFIS AS AGENTS OF LABOUR AND CULTURAL TRANSFER: MEVLEVI AND BEKTASHI NETWORKS IN SOUTHEAST EUROPE

Abstract

This paper explores the role of Mevlevi and Bektashi dervishes as agents of labor and cultural transfer in Southeast Europe between the 14th and 19th centuries. By analyzing Sufi networks as dynamic channels of migration and economic exchange, it argues that wandering dervishes facilitated not only spiritual diffusion but also the circulation of skilled labor, crafts, and gendered labor practices across the Ottoman Empire. Focusing on vakıf records, travelogues (notably Evliya Çelebi), and artisan guild archives, the study reveals how dervish lodges (tekkes) functioned as hubs for labor mobility—connecting Anatolian craftsmen with Balkan markets, transmitting agricultural techniques through Bektashi networks, and professionalizing ritual performances like the sema. The paper highlights three key intersections: first, the economic underpinnings of Sufi migration, where itinerant dervishes doubled as masons, musicians, or scribes, embedding their labor into local economies; second, the gendered division of labor within tekkes, with Bektashi bacılar (female dervishes) managing textile production and oral knowledge transmission; third, the post-1826 transformation of these networks after the abolition of lodges, as displaced dervish-artisans adapted their skills into diasporic trade associations. By framing Sufi labor as a precursor to modern migrant worker networks, this research bridges Ottoman economic history with contemporary debates on labor migration’s cultural dimensions. It also challenges the spiritual-secular dichotomy in labor studies by showing how sacred mobility fueled regional craft economies. The findings demonstrate how pre-modern religious migrations shaped labor transformation patterns in Southeast Europe and provide historical context for contemporary gendered and informal labor flows.