An ethnographic analysis of the wooden objects in the Emine Göğüş Kitchen Museum

The Emine Göğüş Culinary Museum, located in Gaziantep, is recognised as Turkey's first culinary museum and serves as an important cultural landmark. The museum displays various wooden kitchen artifacts that reflect the cultural codes of Turkish society. This research aims to examine the form and symbolic significance of the wooden items exhibited in the museum using an ethnographic approach. Specifically, the study investigates what wood species are used in the construction of wooden kitchen utensils, and whether the choice of these species holds cultural significance. Additionally, it explores the methods used to process these wooden kitchen utensils, the cultural meanings of the patterns and ornaments found on them, and the traditional practices related to their construction, use, and how these practices are reflected today. The data were gathered through in-depth interviews with 13 local woodcraft artisans and were systematically analysed using content analysis. The findings reveal that the traditional wooden kitchen tools exhibited in the museum not only serve as functional objects but also represent significant symbols of cultural identity and local beliefs.