Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Society and Politics, cilt.6, sa.6, ss.71-88, 2026 (Hakemli Dergi)
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 contribute
to the conference’s themes by demonstrating how pre-modern religious migrations
laid groundwork for Southeast Europe’s labor transformation patterns, offering
historical parallels to today’s gendered and informal labor flows.