Sufi Musicalities in the Eastern Mediterranean: devotional chants from Turkey and Bosnia

Abstract (English)

Sufi music – which integrates singing, instruments, and ritual dance (such as the sama of the Mevlevi dervishes) – constitutes one of the most significant expressions of performative religiosity in mystical Islam. This paper offers an ethnographic reflection on the musical practices of certain Sufi brotherhoods in Bosnia and Turkey, considering their historicity, performativity, and role in the construction of collective identities and symbolic resistance. Following the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, turkish sufi culture became deeply rooted in the Balkans, especially in Bosnia, where various orders – such as the Qadiriyya, Naqshbandiyya, and Mevleviyya – established themselves and adapted their practices to the local context. In these settings, sufi music serves not only as a means of mystical experience and connection with the sacred but also as a vehicle for cultural resistance and identity affirmation, particularly during periods of foreign domination or ethno-religious repression (such as the armed conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995, marked by ethnic and religious cleansing, especially against bosniak muslims). In the contemporary context, both in Bosnia and Turkey, sufi musical practices maintain a strong connection with spirituality and tradition, particularly within the ritual spaces of the brotherhoods. Far from any spectacular or touristic logic, these expressions continue to play a central role in daily mystical-religious experience, in the intergenerational transmission of knowledge, and in the preservation of collective memory shaped by Ottoman influence. Embedded within a broader cultural landscape of the Eastern Mediterranean, these sonic traditions reveal historical and spiritual connections that transcend national borders, reflecting unique forms of symbolic territorialization. This study aims to reflect on the performativity of sufi music as a form of devotion and as a practice that engenders belonging and structures communities, with the musicians of the brotherhoods acting as guardians of a living heritage deeply rooted in Mediterranean cultural diversity.