別神祭의 歷史性과 祭祀 特性

Abstract

In local communities, the concept of god is composed of two types depending on the location of gods: Sang-dang god (gods living in heaven or mountain) and Ha-dang god (gods living in and around village entrance). However, some villages only serve either Sang-dang god, heaven-mountain gods, or Ha-dang god as their major god. Most rituals in these villages have relatively small scale and simple procedure. The procedure of ritual is conducted by a person temporarily appointed by the local community. Sometimes shamans or Buddhist monk can participate though their role is very limited. However diverse and sophisticated rituals with gods who have a specific role and a power were needed in the following areas: prosperous places with government offices, stations, and markets; Places with those rituals were (partially) preserved even after Japanese colonial period; Fishing villages where religious needs for a good catch of fish have been existed. The Byul-shin ritual has been performed based on this religious desire in local communities. Byul-shin literally means a ‘special god’. However it doesn’t mean ‘higher god’ in its hierarchy. Apart from those gods hosted annually, Byul-shin means other gods specially invited in certain time either regularly or irregularly. In general, Byul-shin is a human god or Seong-hwang god (the village deity) who has more practical and concrete power. Byul-shin ritual is conducted by professional shamans rather than non-professional Confucian appointees. The period of ritual is extended from 1-2 days to 3-5 or 7-14 days. Another character of Byul-shin ritual is its cheerful Shamanic ‘gut’ rather than Confucian modest ritual. In other words, Byul-shin ritual is a religious ritual with fancy and sophisticated procedure rather than humble and simple one. In addition Byul-shin ritual is also composed of various cheerful plays. To hold a Byul-shin ritual, enough funding should be secured. The contributions from each family of the village are not usually enough requiring another financial supporter. Depending on the character of the Byul-shin ritual, the financial supporter could be merchants, capitalists, or owners of ships in fishing village. Sometimes high-class intellectuals in a village financially support the Byul-shin ritual. In summary the Byul-shin ritual are generally composed of the following components: 1) Confucian ritual for heaven-mountain gods guided by an appointee in a local community, 2) Shamanic ritual for Seong-hwang god (village deity) or human god brought by shaman’s stick and for other gods who are also invited to the ritual, and 3) Accompanying plays such as mask play, clown performance, acrobatics, and tug of war. The prominent character of the Byul-shin ritual is in its structure: Enshrine major or accompanying gods to the ritual place by using a shaman’s stick. Then, please the gods for a certain period. At last, bring them to their own place after the ritual.