İskilip Cradle
The İskilip cradle (İskilip beşiği) is a baby cradle made by hand from natural wood within the deep woodworking (oymacılık) tradition of İskilip. Painted or left natural, sometimes carved, sometimes plain — often delivered with its tiny pillow and quilt — these cradles are both used at home and stand at the top of wedding and birth-gift lists.
Woodwork in İskilip
İskilip is among the places where Anatolian woodworking has flourished. The town’s houses carry the traces of carving and kündekari traditions on door leaves, cupboards, ceiling hubs and bedding closets — a richness that has even become the subject of academic studies (see “İskilip Evlerinde Ahşap Süslemeler” / “Wood Ornamentation in İskilip Houses”). National culture programmes (Kanal B, Ellerin Türküsü, 2011) have dedicated segments to the art of woodcarving in İskilip. Cradle-making survives today as a domestic branch of this grand tradition, alongside cobbling and loom weaving.
Features of the Cradle
İskilip cradles are typically:
- Made of natural wood — species found in the region such as pine, poplar and walnut.
- Handcrafted, with carving, pyrography or natural dyes used for ornament.
- Rocking, on a suspended bed or runner system that lets the baby be lulled to sleep.
- Nostalgic in form — contemporary interpretations of the cradles of grandmothers’ homes.
Sold by İskilip makers in the district and on online platforms, these cradles are chosen by families seeking natural materials and handwork, and are shipped abroad as well.
Cradle Culture and “Beşik Kertmesi”
The cradle is the most sentimental object of the Anatolian home, and even the Çorum dialect carries its cultural marks: “beşik kertmesi” — the betrothal of infants still in their cradles — is an old custom recorded in the Çorum Yöresi Ağızları Sözlüğü (“Ali’nin beşik kertmesi değil mi Döne?”). This cultural weight sets cradle-making in İskilip apart from ordinary carpentry: the cradle is the object of the news of a child and the hope of a founding family.
Today
Although factory-made cribs have spread, handcrafted cradle-making lives on in small workshops in İskilip. The cradle remains a preferred gift at births, in trousseaus and at adoption celebrations — a handmade emblem of the town. Visitors to the district can see examples of this craftsmanship in the old bazaar after a walk through İskilip history and the local-produce market.