Moio (unit)

Moio or mojo, formerly moyo, from the Latin "modius", was a metrological term used for grain and liquid in Galicia, Portugal and its colonies. In ancient Rome, the moio ("modius") was a measure of capacity equivalent to 8.7 to 9.2 liter. Throughout the history of Portugal, moio has designated different measures, whether of capacity for solids and liquids, or for surfaces of land. As a measure of capacity, it was usually defined by a number of alqueires or almudes and divided into 4 quarteiros. The transformation of the volume measure into a surface measure (agrarian measure) occurred by determining the average area of land that could be sown with a moio of seed. The moio was used in Portugal and its colonies until the first half of the 19th century. In 1852, Portugal adopted the metric system. Brazil, an independent nation since 1822, adopted the metric system in 1861. In the 11th century, in the county of Portucale, moios with capacities in the order of magnitude of 3 to 9 Roman modii, or 26 to 83 liters, are documented. Its most common value would be perhaps 6 Roman moios.