ON A COPY OF HAMDULLAH HAMDÎ’S KIYAFATNAMA

Abstract

Since the earliest times, people have wondered about invisible behind visible and have made various practices for this. In line with practices gathered under name of “unseen / occult sciences”, branches of science, which are called “ilm-i firâset” in the East and “physiognomy” in the West, have emerged. Considering that human body is a clothing that covers the soul, provisions regarding spiritual life, character and morality, which are believed to be indicators of concrete features such as body structure and some actions of the human, are given in Kıyafetnamas.

In this study, after giving brief information about the kıyafatnamas in Turkish literature, 8 pages written in verse from Kıyafetnama of Akşemseddinzade Hamdullah Hamdî was examined and briefly focused on what was said in the text. This work is registered at Staatsbibliothek Diez A oct. at number 144 in Berlin. At the end of the study, the transcription of the text and the facsimile of a few pages were included. In the introduction of the work, after thanking to God and Mohammad, a total of 24 chapters titled as “Color”, “Height”, “Skin”, “Movement”, “Hair”, “Head” were opened and presuppositions about characteristic features were mentioned. In section where it is pointed out that people with red skin or face have feelings of shame and such people are praised, it can be mentioned that people who are embarrassed may actually blush. The cultural elements that kıyafatnamas contain are reflection of the world view and common acceptances of that society in a way. For this reason, unearthing such works and introducing them to new generations is important in terms of cultural history.