Since ancient times, the creation of the universe, life, and the afterlife have played a significant role in the development of various beliefs and practices related to “divine knowledge” and “cosmic perception.” Music has been one of the primary elements through which humans connect with the world, the universe, and the gods. In ancient Turkish communities, traces of perceptions regarding ontological issues such as “the creation of humans”, “order and harmony in the universe”, “divine knowledge”, and “the source of knowledge” can be found in religious-magical rituals associated with nature elements, such as animism and shamanism, “nature cults”, “creation/origin myths”, and the oldest written sources of Turkish history. In Ancient Greek thought, epistemological concepts related to knowledge, wisdom, and divine knowledge were expressed through terms such as logos, gnosis, and sophia, whereas, in the medieval Islamic period, these concepts were represented by irfân, marifet, and hikmet. In Turkish societies, the concept of kut, which reflects the importance of wise individuals in governing the state, and the reverence for shamans/kams/ozans, who serve as intermediaries between the divine and humans, illustrate how divine knowledge manifests in people's lives. This study examines how divine knowledge and wisdom were perceived in medieval Turkish societies, focusing on the concept of the “divine word/speech/sound” as a creative command, the perception of “cyclicalit”" established through natural and cosmological elements, and the symbolism of the “four elements” as reflected in the music-related aspects of ancient Turkish culture. The study employs a literature review method, and the data obtained is analyzed through content analysis.
Divine knowledge (wisdom), Turkish mythology, music, musical instrument.