Socio-mathematical notes on two measures for cereals: kile of Şebinkarahisar and gödük

Dursun Ayan

The kile of Şebinkarahisar and gödük are two units of capacity measure that are still used in northern Anatolia. Gödük is one-sixteenth of the kile of Şebinkarahisar. A gödük of wheat weighs approximately 18 kilograms and one kile equals 288 kilograms. One gödük (18 kg) of grains are used to sow 1 dönüm (approximately and 940 m²-1000 m²) of field and one kile (288 kg) of grains are used for sowing 16 dönüms. Thus kile is used as a land measure as well. A kile equals 16 gödüks, 4 çeriks, 32 yarims. One gödük equals 2 yarıms or 4 mucur s or 8 çinik s.Gödük, a cylindrical measure of capacity, is especially in use in the provinces of Sivas (districts of Gölova, Akıncılar, Suşehri, Koyulhisar) and Giresun (districts of Şebinkarahisar, Alucra).

A mathematical agreement for the rationalization of economical life emerges necessarily within sociological structures having agriculturally intensive production. The concept of socio-mathematics implies the concretization of human mind and culture with mathematics in social life. Metric system is a consensus accepted universally whereas local measures of capacity for cereals are small-scale examples. Sexagesimal, duodenary and decimal systems based on the numbers 60, 12 and 10 are widespread. The presence of a sedecimal (hexadecimal, 16-based) system for measures in Anatolia is of interest from the historical and sociological point of view. Although examples are already known up to now, this study aims to recall the issue by giving a local example.

The use of different weight and measures in different part of the Ottoman Empire and their changing values with the time is a well-known issue in the studies of Ottoman agricultural history. This study can be regarded as an attempt to exemplify the links between ethnography, sociology and history by presenting two measures (kile and gödük) that were and are still locally used in Turkey.

Anahtar kelimeler:
Anadolu, bilim sosyolojisi, bilim tarihi, etnososyoloji, Giresun, gödük, kile, on altı tabanlı sistem, Osmanlı Devleti, Sivas, sosyoloji, sosyomatematik, Şebinkarahisar, tahıl ölçüleri, tarım tarihi, Türkiye, zihniyet, ziraat tarihi
Keywords:
Anatolia, ethno-sociology, Giresun, gödük, history of agriculture, history of science, kile, measure, mentality, Ottoman Empire, Sebinkarahisar, sedecimal system, sociology, sociology of science, socio-mathematics, Sivas, Turkey.