Behrin Shopova, PhD

Assistant Professor at Balkan Ethnology Department
in Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum-BAS 

Contact Information:

Address: Sofia 1000, 6A “Moskovska” str.
Phone: + 359 2 805 26 14
E-mail: behrin.shopova@iefem.bas.bg

Researcher Profile


Bionote: Assist. prof. Behrin Shopova, PhD, is a researcher and part of the team of the “Balkan Ethnology” Department at the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with the Ethnographic Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Since 2023, she has been a member of the editorial board of the journal “Bulgarian Folklorе”. She explores the local functioning of the traditional music and folklore culture of Sunni Turks in Bulgaria – processes of decay and the contemporary processes of folk culture transformation. In addition to ethnomusicological specialization, her research focuses on Muslim communities by examining religious and traditional rituals and interdisciplinary cognitive fields, such as anthropology, migrations and music cultures, Islamic art, cultural identity, Muslim communities, etc.

Selected Publications:

  • Shopova, B. 2025: “Verin benim bağlamamı”. Local musical and folk culture of the village of Gorna Hubavka, Targovishte region. Paradigma, 2025, ISBN:978-954-326-556-5, 403. (in Bulgarian)
  • Shopova, B. 2025: Documentary Evidence for the Haskovo State Turkish Theatre in Bulgaria in the 1950s. Slavkova, M., Y. Erolova, V. Ivanova, J. Popcheva (ed.) Between the Worlds: Contesting (Im)Possible Identities, Sofia: IEFSEM – BAS & Paradigma, ISSN:e-2683-0213, 256–272. (in English)
  • Shopova, B. 2025: The quatrains of the mani among the Turks, Tatars and Gagauz – text and context. Ilieva, A., A. Manova, V. Ganeva-Raicheva, M. Slavcheva, M. Borisova, N. Vukov (compilers and editors). The storyteller and the world of folklore. Collection dedicated to Prof. Dr. Albena Georgieva., Sofia: Publishing House of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences “Prof. Marin Drinov”, ISBN:978-619-245-561-3., 456–468. (in Bulgarian)
  • Shopova, B. 2023: “Yours is only what you have given away”. Funeral and memorial rites among Bulgarian Muslims (based on examples from the village of Breznitsa, Gotsedelchev Region). – Bulgarian folklore, book 3, ISSN: 0323-9861, 351–371. (in Bulgarian)
  • Shopova, B. 2022: To Go on “Kiriya” / “Out” – Seasonal Labor Mobility Among Bulgarina Muslims from Southwest Bulgaria. Economic, Social, and Cultural Consequences on Other Closes and Relatives in Bulgaria. Mila Maeva, Mina Hristova (eds.) Cultural and social consequences of emigration on Bulgarian society (Left-Behind). Collection of scientific articles, 77–95. (in Bulgarian)
  • Shopova, B. 2022: Water scarcity as a disaster (based on examples from the city of Omurtag and the region). Tsaneva, E., M. Maeva, Y. Erolova (eds.). Disasters. The Anthropological View. Proceedings of the international conference “Ethnography of Disasters”, Sofia, May 11-12, 2021, Publishing House of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences “Prof. M. Drinov”, 229–239. (in Bulgarian)
  • Shopova, B. 2022: Bulgaria, Korean children and music (In the footsteps of a North Korean opera score from the “Special Collections” department of the “Ivan Vazov” National Library – Plovdiv). Peykovska, P., Y. Gesheva, M. Maeva (eds.). Migration and social development, AI “Prof. M. Drinov”, 169–195. (in Bulgarian)
  • Shopova, B. 2021: Music Performance in the Religious Practice of Sunni Turks from Southern Bulgaria. Bulgarian Folklore, 3, 303–326. (in Bulgarian)
  • Shopova, B. 2020: Magic in the Turkish Family in North-eastern Bulgaria. Maeva, M., Y. Erolova, P. Stoyanova, M. Hristova, V. Ivanova (eds.). Between the Worlds: Magic, Miracles, and Mysticism, IEFSEM–BAS & Paradigma, 130–146. (in English)
  • Shopova, B. 2018: Between the Canon and the Tradition – Local Versions of Mevlid Among the Sunni Turks in North-eastern Bulgaria. – Bulgarian Folklore, No. 1, 57–77. (in Bulgarian)

Selected Projects:

  • Researcher in the National Scientific Program “Development and Establishment of Bulgarian Studies Abroad,” funded by the Ministry of Education and Science. Implementing organisation: IEFSEM – BAS. Coordinator: Assist. Prof. Mina Hristova. Period: 2022–2026.
  • Coordinator of the project: The Songs of my Village /Köyümün türküleri, Period: 2025-2027 г.
  • Researcher in the project “Re-discovering the Cultural Heritage of Muslims in Bulgaria (1920-1950)”, funded by the British Library’s Endangered Archives Programme. Implementation period: 1 October 2021 – 1 October 2022. Coordinator: Assoc. Prof. Yelis Erolova, PhD.
  • Research project under the national program “Young Scientists and Postdoctoral Fellows”: “The Mevlid Ritual – a Local Version Among Sunni Turks in Bulgaria”. Organization: MES, personal project. Period: 2020–2021.
  • Researcher in the project “Still in Bulgaria. Cultural and Social Effects of Labour Mobility and Migration on Bulgarian Society (1990-2019) (LEFT-BEHIND)”, funded by the Bulgarian National Science Fund (BNSF) (№ КП-06-Н40/9 – 10.12.2019). Coordinator:  Assoc. Prof. Mila Maeva. Period: 2019–2024.

Selected Conference Presentations:

  • Seminar “Wedding Customs as an Expression of Cultural Identity”, organized by the Department of “Turkish Language and Literature” and the Academic Club “Horizons of Knowledge”, “Konstantin Preslavski” University of Education, Shumen, 13.02.2026. Lecture: “The Traditional Turkish Wedding: Reconstruction of a Holiday (Based on Materials from the Village of Gorna Hubavka, Targovishte Region)”.
  • International Conference “Ohrid – Vodici 2026. “Identity, Culture of Memory, Heritage, Tourism or Security in Digital Era”, organized by Center for Advanced Research, Skopje, North Macedonia, Aydin Adnan Menderes University, Turkiye, MIRAS Social Organization in Support of Studying of Cultural Heritage, Baku, Azerbaijan & Institute for film – Film Academy, Ohrid, North Macedonia, Ohrid, North Macedonia, 17-19.01.2026. Paper: “The Mawlid Ritual Between the Mosque and the Virtual Space”.
  • International Conference the Science of Ethnomusicology and Ethnochoreology and the Practice of Folklore in the Balkans 6th Edition Timisoara – Romania, 8th – 9th of December 2025. Paper: “Music Performance During the Mawlid in the Religious Practice of Muslim Roma from Bulgaria”.
  • Korea: One Peninsula, Multiple Dimensions: (Connectivity, Challenges, Perspectives): 30 Years Korean Studies at Sofia University: Proceedings of the International Conference 12–14 October 2025, held at Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski. Paper: “For a rare score of the North Korean Opera “The Flower Girl” from the Special Collections Department at the Ivan Vazov National Library – Plovdiv”.
  • International Scientific Conference “Between the Worlds: Crossroads, Dialogues, and Stories, organized by IEFSEM – BAS, Sofia, 29-31.10. 2025 г.  Paper: “Traditional Musical Culture of the Village of Gorna Hubawka, Targovishte Region”.
  • XI National Conference “Access of Young People to Culture”, Organized by the Faculty of Educational Sciences and Arts (FEA) of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” in partnership with the Bulgarian Association of Employers in the Field of Culture (BAROC) and the Civic Institute, Sofia, 26-27.09.2025. Paper: “The Ethno-Confessional Communities of Bulgaria – the Unknown Cultural Heritage”.

For further information, please see Behrin Shopova’s curriculum vitae.