Geographical Evaluation of Village Names in Kırşehir Province
Okan TürkanCommunities and/or nations transform physical geography into human geography in various forms. They do this by transforming nature as well as by naming nature. The Turks, who have made Anatolia a homeland for more than a thousand years, have named this place with words that reflect their core culture. This research aims to explain which factors have been involved in naming the villages in Kırşehir. The literature reflecting the region’s historical background and language characteristics was reviewed to inform the analysis of village names in Kırşehir. In addition, trips and observations were made and information was also obtained from local residents. Therefore, the study findings were categorized according to geographical discipline and the village names were divided into five categories. Results revealed that 25% of the 255 village names in Kırşehir province are related to physical geography and 64% are related to human geography. Hydrography was a physical geographic feature used to create village names. In human geography terms, the names of tribal, communities, and important individuals were the source of village names.
Kırşehir İlinde Köy Adlarının Coğrafi Açıdan Değerlendirilmesi
Okan TürkanDünyadaki tüm topluluklar kendilerini yoğuran kültür ikliminden çevreye bakar ve o çevreyi anlamlandırır. Topluluklar ve/veya milletler, kendilerini özgün yapan kültür ikliminin referansları ile düşünür, yaşar ve geleceği tasarlar. Milletler bu kültür iklimi içerisinde yaşadıkları coğrafyayı değerlendirirler. Fiziki coğrafyayı, çeşitli biçimlerde beşeri coğrafyaya dönüştürürler. Bu işi, doğayı dönüştürerek yaptıkları gibi doğayı adlandırarak da yapmaktadırlar. Dünyadaki yeri çok geniş olan kadim Türk kültürü de yaşadığı arazileri adlandırarak yurt kılmıştır. Bin yıldan fazladır Anadolu’yu yurt edinen Türkler burayı büyük oranda öz kültürlerinin etkisiyle kendi sözcükleriyle adlandırmışlardır. Bu araştırma Kırşehir ilinde yer alan köylerin adlandırılmasında hangi faktörlerin esin kaynağı olduğunu ortaya koymayı amaçlamaktadır. Kırşehir’de köy adlarının tespitine yönelik olarak bölgenin tarihi geçmişi ve dil özellikleri açısından araştırmanın sonuçlanmasına katkı sunabilecek ilgili literatürün değerlendirilmesinin yanında, saha gezileri gerçekleştirilmiş ve gözlemler yapılarak ayrıca yöre sakinlerinden de bilgi edinilmeye çalışılmıştır. Bu çalışmaların sonucunda bulgular coğrafya disiplinin gözüyle değerlendirilerek kategorize edilmiş ve köy adları beş ayrı sınıfa bölünmüştür. Nitekim Kırşehir ilinde yer alan toplam 255 köy adının %25’inin doğal coğrafya, %64’ünün ise beşeri coğrafya özellikleriyle ilgili olduğu ortaya çıkmıştır. Doğal coğrafya özellikleri içerisinde hidrografyanın, beşeri coğrafya içerisinde ise boy, aşiret, cemaat ve önemli şahıslara ait isimlerin köy adlarının kaynağı olduğu görülmüştür.
All the communities in the world look at the environment according to their culture and make meaning from a sense of place. Communities and nations think, live, and design the future with cultural references that make them unique. Nations evaluate their geography according to their specific culture. They transform physical geography into human geography in various forms. They do this by transforming and naming nature. In general, geography researches the relationship between human beings and space. One of the topics that we can see clearly in this relationship is toponyms. Toponyms are the most characteristic evidence of human interaction with the geographical environment (Erinç 1989: 9). Toponyms also reveal a country’s past, present, and future. Analyzing a place name, which is its most important and distinctive feature, provides an understanding of the accumulated historical, political, cultural identity of that place.
Turks have given names to places that reflect their identification with the geography they live in. They have named their new homeland sometimes after the name of their old homeland, and sometimes after tribes and communities, or important people (Durbilmez ve Tekin, 2014: 118; Eröz, 1984: 43; Tarım, 1940: 293; Yediyıldız, 1984: 27). Additionally, Turks have used plant and animal names, which are ancient Turk totems, or referred to the natural geographical characteristics of the area to create settlement names. Studies of toponymy began in the first half of the 20th century in Turkey. These studies started a little later than in other countries in Europe. However, during the second half of the Republic, the importance of these studies was noticed and increased. Toponymy is very important because the study of place names provides information about a region’s history, social, and cultural identity, and the geographical structure of that region. In this context, naming is very important for keeping social memory alive and transmitting the sociocultural structure and national culture to the future.
Since all human activities occur at a geographical location, the physical and human geography features of a place are often the most influential toponym factors in that area. Therefore, geography is naturally central to toponymy sciences. However, geographers’ methods for studying the subject are different from other disciplines. Geographers often classify place by identifying the physical and human factors affecting naming.
In this context, this research aims to explain what factors were involved in naming the villages in Kırşehir. It aimed to group the village names in Kırşehir province according to the natural and human geographic characteristics of the region and other reasons. In addition, it is hoped that knowledge and attachment to place will therefore be improved in Kırşehir, contributing to cultural continuity
The current names and numbers of the villages within the scope of the research have been accessed from the Ministry of the Interior website. The literature reflecting the historical background and language features of the region was examined to analyze village names in Kırşehir. Studies of Turkish tribes and communities by Turkay (2001), Halaçoğlu (2009), and Uçakçı (2015) also provided important information. In addition, the Compilation Dictionary was used, a Turkish Language Institution publication. While determining the source of village names in Kırşehir province, difficulties emerged interpreting the meanings of some village names. In addition, trips and observations were made and information was obtained from local residents to determine the meaning of these village names.
There are 255 villages in the Kırşehir province. Human geography features mostly determined village names in Kırşehir, and historical background had the least effect. We found that 64%of the 255 village names are related to human geography and 25%are related to physical geography. Although natural factors have an effect, the findings indicate that human factors dominate place naming. There are nine village names related to place and location features in Kırşehir, and seven village names related to historical background. Finally, the study found 12 villages that could not be classified since the source of the name could not be determined. Therefore, the sources of 95%of village names in the province were identified.