1977 twin Voyager probes carrying Voyager Golden Records were launched into space. These records contained unique sounds and images from all around the world, a message for any extraterrestrial civilization that might find them. This collection also featured Valya Balkanska’s unique rendition of the Bulgarian folk song “Излел е Дельо хайдутин/Izlel e Delyo Haidutin” (Delyo the Bandit went out), a mesmerising performance that recounts the story of the 17th-century outlaw, or haiduk, Delyo:

Delyo gave orders:

To the notables of the Zlatograd,

I have two aunts in the village,

Do not dare make them Turks.

Do not disgrace them.

Missing from this record, the verses actually continued with: “Do not make me come to your village/Your mothers will cry/But also, your young wives.” Delyo, though an outlaw, wielded such power that local dignitaries obeyed his commands. He protected Christians (in this case, his aunts) from the Ottoman conversion to Islam. Also, he showed no mercy to those who wronged him. These themes are, in fact, very common among Balkan haiduk stories. Free from authority, these outlaws lived a life without authority in the mountain ranges. They had no limits. Still, it is doubtful Delyo ever imagined his name’s limitless journey through space. Nearly 25 billion kilometres from Earth at the end of 2024, Voyager is the furthest human-made object in space.

Delyo’s legacy goes even beyond space, actually. Several geographical features in West Antarctica, such as the Delyo Glacier, are named for notable haiduk leaders because of Bulgarian research expeditions. Many of the haiduks described in this text have Antarctic locations named after them. How do these outlaws, with only a few historical records, become enduring legendary figures and national icons?

Though considered criminals by the authorities, the Haiduks were rebels who fought against the Ottoman Empire and somewhat protected the local population from a corrupt central government. These legendary figures are often described as Robin Hood-esque, stealing from the rich and powerful, especially Ottoman Turks. However, it is hard to know the actual story of haiduks. Other than some folk songs and legends, there is not much info on who they were or what they did. Were they truly some “noble outlaws,” or simply common criminals who preyed on anyone?

While haiduks are semi-mythical figures in folklore, their story can still be understood by the recurring themes of their songs, but official documents—the only available written records—cannot differentiate them from highwaymen. One thing is certain: by the 1800s, these rebels had evolved into powerful symbols of resistance. Haiduks’ resistance against Ottoman rule was seen by 19th-century intellectuals as a legendary struggle for national liberation, not personal enrichment. They regarded haiduks as a movement that predated them. It was not surprising, given that many Balkan revolutionaries had a background as haiduks and had experience in guerilla warfare.

Haiduks existed in the Balkans as early as the 15th and 16th centuries; however, their impact was not widespread until the 18th century, when groups led by “voyvoda” commanders wreaked havoc across the region. The overall decline of the Ottoman Empire, characterised by rampant corruption and excessive taxes in the Balkans, pushed rural inhabitants to become haiduks and engage in banditry. The Haiduks’ association with national liberation stemmed largely from this development. However, it’s difficult to believe these outlaws felt any national pride. Haiduk groups were prone to infighting and sometimes served the empire by suppressing local rebellions. Actually, neighborhood, kinship, and religion were their main affiliations. In addition, they were also in conflict with some wealthy Christians in the region.

Personal wealth and fame motivated most of the haiduks, not the idea of liberation, yet their status differed from typical bandits and highwaymen. The rural communities respected and supported haiduks, though not always voluntarily. Despite that, even before national poets embraced the haiduk image, folklore had already idealized and even mythologised these figures, downplaying their wrongdoings and celebrating their courage and strength. Haiduks were respected in the countryside because they stood up for themselves, unlike most villagers. According to locals, their bravery and power earned them great respect; they were described as “men who made themselves respected”.

Initially, most haiduks originated from poor rural villages. Haiduks were primarily young men, but rarely women, who could not participate in the rural workforce. Many haiduk songs tell of losing livestock to disease, for example, leading villagers to become haiduks. This life choice also meant avoiding harsh taxes. Being unmarried was a common trait among haiduks, facilitating their adventurous lives. Their unique loneliness, a result of not depending on family for survival as other villagers did, interestingly improved their social position. This did not imply that they lacked family connections. For example, mothers’ sorrow at their sons’ departure to become haiduks is a common theme in many legends.

Many haiduk stories highlight the social conditions that drove individuals to banditry. They often emphasize that losing family members through murder or kidnapping, coupled with other injustices by local authorities—such as heavy and unfair taxation and forced religious conversions—directly led to their embrace of the haiduk way of life. For example, the celebrated Bulgarian haiduk of the 19th century, Ilyo Voyvoda, returned to life as an outlaw after his brother was killed.

In those long, turbulent centuries, survival depended on power, a commodity that peasants mostly lacked. These haiduks roamed forest roads, robbing enemies and villagers alike. Therefore, villagers formed alliances with some haiduks to protect themselves from official tax collectors and other bandits. In exchange for this protection, the haiduks’ wicked deeds were overlooked, and the villagers praised them. For example, folk songs about the legendary 16th-century Bulgarian outlaw, Chavdar, portray him as a bandit feared by the wealthy and the Turks, yet a protector of the shepherds.

Haiduks’ violent lifestyle and unpredictable actions did not stop them from being seen as protectors and earning respect. As such, haiduks might be categorized, at least in terms of perception rather than fact, as “social bandits,” a term Eric Hobsbawm uses in his book “Bandits.” He says social bandits are the robbers “who are not regarded as simple robbers by public opinion.” He claimed these bandits operated according to a “program,” aiming to correct what they saw as societal injustices, especially between rich and poor. People regarded these men as those who would only resort to violence in self-defense, were generous to people with low incomes, and fought against injustice. This type of banditry aligns well with the romanticized image of the Balkan haiduk.

Haiduks were known for their brutality, yet they also allegedly displayed justice. They were cruel, but only to those who deserved it. Legends claim the haiduk code, unlike common bandits, included a prohibition against harming the innocent, elderly, and poor. Even with this idealization, villagers still understood that most haiduks were neither entirely virtuous nor innocent; haiduk legends also contained negative images. In a haiduk song from Central Bulgaria, a haiduk murdered an orphan who was the sole provider for his low-income family. In response, the orphan cursed the haiduk, which led to his swift capture by officials.

Many haiduks died young from disease or betrayal—a price they paid for their sins. Meanwhile, some haiduks found redemption through monastic life and atoned for past actions. In his last wishes, the renowned Bulgarian haiduk, Indzhe (meaning “slim” in Turkish) Voyvoda, gave a pouch of gold to a monastery, asking for prayers for his soul. Other accounts say he used his money to build a new monastery. Perhaps because of that, Indzhe’s legacy lives on in hundreds of folk songs recorded across Bulgaria, some from Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Turkey, and even Ukraine. Notably, he was the inspiration behind Yaşar Kemal’s famous Turkish novel series, “İnce Memed.”.

Because haiduks were once peasants but now could live without family and land, they seemed almost supernatural. They uniquely possessed the ability to change their status and challenge the religious and royal authorities, which many times were considered divine. It was rumored that certain Greek haiduks, also known as klephts, possessed near-immortality and exceptional marksmanship, able to shoot through a ring. Like the legendary Greek bandits, Haiduk Delyo also enjoyed invincibility until his enemies’ silver bullet—a detail similar to regional vampire tales—killed him. Similarly, legend says that even though Indzhe Voyvoda was shot between the eyes, he still got help before he died.

Given this, haiduks were not defeated by force alone; betrayal and trickery were more effective than confrontation, as they were nearly impossible to kill. Haiduk Chavdar, according to legend, was deceived by an Ottoman commander using gifts and sweet words. Ignoring his nephew’s warnings, Chavdar visited the commander, got drunk at the party, and was subsequently arrested. With regret, Chavdar used his “magical” flute and called his nephew. His wise nephew then assisted his escape and vengeance on the deceivers.

The existence of Muslim haiduks from various ethnic backgrounds, including Turkish and local populations, complicates the view of haiduks as resisting the Ottomans. For example, a haiduk named Mehmed Sinap supposedly robbed the wealthy to help people in need, regardless of their Bulgarian or Turkish background. However, some stories portray him as a ruthless individual. Likewise, Osman Pasvantoğlu, though not a haiduk himself, commanded a haiduk force and aided local populations, such as Bulgarians and Serbians. He also supported the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottomans, led by Karađorđe, a Serbian leader who had once lived as a haiduk. Greece’s national poet, Rigas Feraios, in his iconic poem “Thourios,” issued a rallying cry to him:

Greece is calling for you, she wants you…

…What are you waiting for Pasvantoglu, so ecstatic?

Jump to the Balkan, nest like an eagle

Don’t listen to owls and crows

Unite with the slaves if you wish to win.

Regardless of ethnicity, these examples highlight cooperation between emerging 19th-century nationalist movements and established bandit groups in opposition to the Ottoman authorities. During the early 1800s, the haiduk evolved from a folk hero into a powerful symbol in the fight for national independence. Haiduks played a vital role in the Greek War of Independence (1821-1832), the Serbian Revolution (1804-1835), and the Bulgarian National Revival (1762-1878), as they provided crucial armed support in the absence of established armies. Therefore, their participation in these conflicts resulted in the complete romanticization of haiduks. Initially driven by personal gain and the desire to fill the power vacuum, many haiduks lacked a nationalist consciousness. However, they were later depicted as freedom fighters by nationalist writers such as Vuk Karadžić, a significant contributor to developing the modern Serbian language.

While the link between classical haiduks and national liberation is unclear, nationalists used their guerrilla-style lives as a tool throughout the 19th century. Revolutionary haiduk bands, such as those led by Hadzhi Dimitar and Stefan Karadzha in Northern Bulgaria during the late 1860s, continued raiding and robbing to fund their national struggle. Unlike previous haiduks, this era’s nationalist revolutionaries were educated, nationally conscious, and unified by a shared ideology and goal. They were also active in seeking foreign support. For example, Petko Voyvoda, a prominent Bulgarian haiduk, met with Giuseppe Garibaldi, a key figure in Italian unification, and later fought against the Ottoman army in the 1866-1869 Cretan Greek rebellion.

Despite the formation of Balkan nation-states, the haiduk tradition continued to endure. Haiduk-style groups wandered in Macedonia until the early 1900s, with Macedonia being the primary national aim for Bulgaria, Greece, and Serbia. Governments supported these groups, viewing them as integral to nation-building. Even during World War II, resistance groups in Yugoslavia, regardless of their nationalist or communist leanings, connected their actions to the legacy of the haiduks, interpreting this history through their ideological lenses—either as national heroes or as early revolutionaries who fought against foreign exploitation.

As we have seen, despite being a significant social movement shaping the Balkans for centuries, forming a general image of the haiduks is difficult. They occupy a unique and paradoxical place in the region’s history. Although they originated from outlaw behavior and personal gain, their actions came to be seen as a defiance of foreign rule. While they likely robbed villagers as well, these same villagers also created legends that immortalized them. This highlights the haiduks' contrasting roles—both as robbers and as symbols of resistance.

However, a crucial outcome of the haiduk tradition is its role as a key part of Balkan national culture and a symbol of national identity. Their actions fundamentally shaped Cultural and linguistic heritage, which gave rise to folk songs and legends. These unique pieces ensured the survival of local cultural symbols across centuries in the absence of national institutions.