Dervishes in Turkestan region. XIX-XX centuries.

Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin. "Turkestan" ("Uzbek in a Robe"). This work was created as part of the artist's Turkestan series, inspired by his travels through Central Asia in the late 1860s and early 1870s.

Dervishes in Samarkand.

“Go ahead of the smart one; but behind a fool"

Kyrgyz proverb.

“If you become a beggar dervish, you will reach heights,
If you tear your heart into blood, you will reach heights,
Away, empty dreams of great deeds
Only having mastered yourself - you will reach heights"

Omar Khayyam.

Dervishes in Bukhara.

Dervish (from Persian - "poor man, beggar"), also qalandar or calender - the Muslim analogue of a monk, an ascetic; adherent of Sufism. The respectful name of the Sufi preacher-dervish is ata ("father"). Dervishes are wandering and living in monasteries ("tekie", "khanaka") under the supervision of the sheikh - the guardian of order and the charter of the community.
The dervishes living in the monasteries often wandered, feeding on worldly alms, but periodically returning for joint fasting and prayers. In some cities of Central Asia (for example, in Bukhara, Samarkand, etc.), the city authorities built a khanaka for the dervishes to live on state funds or private donations.
A distinctive feature of the dervish was the lack of property. It was not proper for a dervish to say, for example, "my shoes" or "my so-and-so" - he should not have property, since everything belongs to God. If the dervish owned something, then he was obliged to share it.
If the dervish did not live in poverty, then he compensated for this with generosity and hospitality, when he was ready to give everything to his guest, leaving nothing for himself or even for his family. Sometimes dervishes are ranked among monks - but this is controversial, since the similarity is purely external, since dervishes could marry, had their own homes and lived their own lives.

In the IXth century, two strong spiritual trends emerged among Muslims. One was centered in Iraq, the other in Khorasan. The Iraqi movement, led by such renowned figures as Harith al-Muhasibi, Sari al-Saqati, and Junayd al-Baghdadi, became known as Sufism.
While adhering to religious principles, its followers also placed great importance on appearance, favoring distinctive clothing that distinguished them from others. The Khorasan movement, led by Bayazid Bistami and Hamdun al-Kassar, was called Malamatiyya, and its followers were called Malami or Malamati.
They believed it was important to blend in with others in appearance. This led to the emergence of two types of dervishes. While Iraqi Sufis preferred to be dervishes "both in soul (batin) and outwardly (zahir)," Khorasanian malamati preferred to be dervishes only "in soul."
These two types continued to exist throughout history and continue to this day. In the early periods, dervishes gathered around sheikhs who had attained spiritual wisdom (irfan), holding sohbets (gatherings) in mosques, homes, and especially in specially established monasteries called "zawiya."
In those days, upon embarking on the path of the dervish, a person dedicated themselves to riyazat, i.e., cultivating their ego (nafs), and mujadal, i.e., struggling with this nafs. Food, conversation, and sleep were kept to a minimum, and most of their time was devoted to worship, the remembrance of Allah (dhikr), and reflection (tafakkur).
A person strove to control the desires of the nafs and prefer moderation in all things, thereby achieving spiritual maturity. Another characteristic of dervishes was their wandering. All Sufi works emphasize the importance of this practice. Some dervishes embarked on journeys when they were just beginning their journey as Sufis, others during their maturity.
The purpose of their journeys was to cultivate the nafs through hardship, meet scholars and pious people, observe various phenomena demonstrating the greatness of Allah, and learn lessons. Essentially, being a dervish means journeying from the material world to the spiritual world.
Dervishes generally neglect their appearance; their clothes may be dirty, and their hair and beards may be long and unkempt. They believe they must appear ugly on the outside in order to be beautiful within. Sometimes, such an unsightly appearance was intended to conceal their true personality.
Jalal ad-Din Rumi describes dervishes as "sultans hidden under sackcloth (khirqa)." The selfless and idealistic dervishes of that era played an important role in the spread of Islam. Beginning in the 9th century, as a result of external influences, certain dervish communities emerged whose teachings and behavior were incompatible with the essence of Islam.
These communities, which religious scholars called "ibakhi," were not recognized as true Sufis. This situation led to the emergence of two types of dervishes, one accepted by Sunnis and the other rejected. The former were called "basher" (good) and "haqiqi" (true), while the latter were "bisher" (bad) and "suri" (Sufis in appearance).
Brotherhoods such as the Qadiriyya, Rifaiya, Kubrawiyya, and Shadhiliya, which emerged in the 12th and subsequent centuries, created their own unique type of dervishes. However, there were also those who did not belong to a specific tariqa.
While the early dervishes' way of life had a distinct philosophy, later there emerged those who simply made begging their livelihood. With staffs, prayer beads, and kashkuls, they went door to door, begging for alms, singing hymns and playing tambourines.
Some of them performed miracles and claimed to know the hidden (ghayb). True dervishes also sometimes resorted to begging and living off alms, but they used it as a means to break their nafs. Therefore, Sunni scholars and Sufis sharply criticized those who made begging a means of earning a living.
There were also many ignorant dervishes who believed themselves unbound by the precepts and prohibitions of Islam, or claimed that religious obligations had been lifted from them, seeing no harm in actions contrary to the moral norms and traditions of society.
Yet, they nonetheless claimed sainthood, performing certain tricks they claimed to be miracles. This type was especially common among the Hurufis and Bektashis. Although Mevlevi Sufis are known in the West as "whirling dervishes," they themselves refer to dervishes only to those who have reached a certain level, receiving the title "dede."

Beggar.

I heard that a certain dervish, experiencing terrible poverty, sewed a rag to a rag and, to comfort his poor soul, said:
Nothing else is needed - just stale bread and hair shirt
It's easier for me to endure trouble than to borrow from someone else.
Someone told him:
- What are you sitting? Such and such a person in this city is very generous, obedient to the dictates of generosity. He is ready to serve the free dervishes and is, as it were, the gatekeeper of their hearts. If he finds out what your position is, he will consider it an honor to satisfy the desire of the soul of such an honorable person as you!
- Be quiet, - exclaimed the dervish, - it is better to die in poverty than to turn to someone with your need!
I prefer to patch holes, suffer in the corner of patience,
Just do not ask the rich for clothes and dinner.
Truly - why hide - I consider it hellish torment
Ascend to the bliss of paradise with the help of a neighbor.

From the book by Saadi Shirazi "Rose Garden" (Gulistan).

Dervishes-kalandars. Samarkand. Late 19th-early 20th century. Photographer unknown. K. Makovsky, Dervish. Study for the 1870 painting "Transfer of the Sacred Carpet in Cairo". Source: State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg. A community of dervishes-kalandars. Samarkand. 1871-1872. Distribution of the daily alms collected within the community. From the Ethnographic part of the Turkestan Album. A community of dervish (on the postcard - "devano"). Samarkand, early XXth century. Postcard publishing project "Marakanda" and SMI-ASIA. From the collection of Boris Golender. Photographer unknown. A little-known photograph by Prokudin-Gorsky. Dervishes. 1911. Samarkand. A wandering dervish in the Turkestan region, photograph from the early 20th century. Dervish (from the Persian "poor, beggar") is a Muslim ascetic, an adherent of Sufism, similar to a monk. They often led a nomadic lifestyle, traveling and living on alms. 1910. Dervishes-kalandars in winter at Kalandar-khana. Samarkand, late XIXth-early XXth century. Photographer unknown. Dervishes-kalandars. Samarkand. Late XIXth-early XXth century. Photographer unknown. Dervish-kalandar. Hindu. Ark Fortress. Bukhara. Late XIXth-early XXth century. Photographer unknown. Dervishes-kalandars. Khujand. Late XIXth-early XXth century. Photographer unknown. Dervishes Prayer. Samarkand. 1871-1872. The Samarkand community of dervishes-kalandars pray before collecting alms. The photo was taken between the Bibi-Khanym Mosque (in the background) and Registan Square. Photo from the Turkestan Album. Ethnographic Section. Dervish-kalandar. Samarkand. Photo from the late XIXth - early XXth centuries. Photographer unknown. Dervishes-kalandars. Samarkand. Photo by S. M. Prokudin-Gorsky. Author's title: "Monks (duvan) in Kalandar-Khane." http://prokudin-gorskiy.ru/image.php?ID=1428 Smoking a chilim on the streets of Bukhara. Postcard, 1903. "Portrait of a Dervish." Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin. Oil on canvas. Part of the artist's Turkestan series, inspired by his travels across Central Asia. The portrait depicts a dervish, a wandering Sufi (Muslim monk), dressed in a traditional colorful robe. The artist depicted the dervish holding a traditional vessel for water or alms. Dervish-kalandar. Samarkand. Photo from the late XIXth-early XXth century. Photographer unknown. Kalander dervishes in Samarkand. 1912. Photographer unknown. Turkestan Album: 1871-1872. Kalanders, mendicant dervishes, Muslim monks; the order was founded in the XIIIth century by the Arab Yusuf. Dervishes can be wandering or living in monasteries (tekie, khanaka) under the leadership of a sheikh, the guardian of order and the community's rules. Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin. "At the Doors of the Mosque." 1873. Vasily Vereshchagin. "Durvan Dervishes." 1869-1870 "Dervish (Baigush)". Photo by P. A. Leybin. The city of Verny. Photo from the magazine "Russian Turkestan". "Dervishes-Musicians in Kashgar." Drawing by Delors, engraving by Laplante. "Dervishes (Kokand)". Photo by N. Orde, late 1880s - early 1890s. "Wandering Dervishes-Qalandars. Kokand." 1890 V. V. Vereshchagin. "Opium Eaters." 1868 . V. V. Vereshchagin. "Politicians in an Opium Shop." Tashkent. 1870 V. V. Vereshchagin. "Dervishes in Festive Attire." 1869-1870. Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin. "Chorus of Dervishes Begging for Alms. Tashkent." The painting was created in 1870 in the style of realism and orientalism. It depicts wandering Sufis (dervishes) seen by the artist during his travels through Turkestan.