Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut
Practised In
Overview
The Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut is a ritual held in the second lunar month to pray for calm seas, an abundant harvest and a plentiful sea catch. The rites held at Chilmeoridang in the village of Gun-rip are representative of similar ceremonies held throughout the island of Jeju in the Republic of Korea. Village shamans perform a series of rituals to the goddess of the winds (Grandmother Yeondeung), the Dragon King Yongwang and mountain gods. The Yeondeung Welcome Rite includes a ceremony to call the gods, prayers for a good catch, and a three-act play to entertain the ancestral gods; the Yeondeung Farewell Rite two weeks later includes offerings of drinks and rice cakes, a ceremony to welcome the Dragon King, fortune telling with millet seeds, and the launching of a straw boat into the sea by the village’s senior men. As the goddess Yeondeung departs on the fifteenth day, marking the arrival of spring, she sows seeds and calms the troubled waters. Besides the shamans, the Yeongdeunggut is primarily supported by the female divers and ship owners who prepare food and offer sacrifices. Both a seasonal rite and a cultural festival, this ritual is a distinctive embodiment of Jeju identity and an expression of the villagers’ respect for the sea on which their livelihood depends.
About Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut
Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut is a shaman ritual that is held on Jeju Island, South Korea at the start of the Korean New Year. The people of Jeju, especially those in the Gwideok, Geumnyeong, and Aewol areas put up 12 posts in the shape of horse heads and colorful silk fabrics to cheer up the goddess Yeongdeung Halmang, who is believed to have visited their place in Korean shamanism. The gut is led by a male dukun until the 15th. At night, lanterns (yeondeung) are installed on the two posts, so this ritual is also called yeondeungje or lantern festival. During the day, the horse carved into the stake looks like a galloping horse, so the gut is also known as yakma bui or galloping horse game.
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Details
- Country
- South Korea
- Inscribed
- 2009
- Register
- Representative List
- Reference
- 187