Kalfa (Turkish for 'apprentice, assistant master') was a general term in the Ottoman Empire for the women attendants and supervisors in service in the imperial palace.[1] Novice girls had to await promotion to the rank of .[1] It was a rank below that of ('master'), the title of the leading administrative/supervisory officers of the harem. The titles and belong to the terminology of Ottoman guild organization and other hierarchically-organized corporate bodies. Legally slave girls, these women—depending on their rank—could wield considerable authority and influence in their duties and were generally treated with much respect by lower-ranking attendants in the harem as well as by members of the imperial family.[1]
Among craftsmen the term had a similar rank: that of a junior master yet to graduate to status[2] and open his own shop.
The kalfas in personal service to the monarch were called (Turkish for 'Imperial Kalfas').[1] The (Turkish for 'treasurer') were the high-ranking chamberlain kalfas charged with supervisory duties in the harem.[1] Also known as, they ranked above ordinary kalfas and included in their number the .[1] Their head, the hazinedar usta or high, occupied the second highest position in harem service, immediately below the lady steward.[1]
Notable women traditionally addressed as kalfas include Cevri Kalfa, a slave girl who saved Sultan Mahmud II's life and was awarded for her bravery and loyalty and appointed, the chief treasurer of the Imperial Harem, which was the second-most important position in the hierarchy.
The wives of many sultans were kalfas before their marriages.[1]