신앙과 설화에 나타난 소금의 주술적 상징성

Abstract

The study focuses on the shamanistic correlation between the ritualistic function of salt and the salt merchant in a tale. In terms of folk belief, salt is used to purify (淨化) the misfortune (不淨). A research was conducted to households all over the country and the research reports of belief, seasonal customs, lifetime ceremonies were integrated to figure out the magical power and the ritualistic function of salt rooted in the folk belief. Through the research, the ritualistic functions of salt were divided by type. Overall, it was mainly used for purifying misfortune and rites-to cure diseases (治病). In addition, it was also used for rites-to prevent the fire and for rites to prevent the harm from pest in a few regions. In the Tales of a Salt Merchant, tales presenting the shamanistic and ritualistic aspects were selected to see how the migical power and the salt merchant were portrayed. The three tales around salt merchants are “a salt merchant forecasting the weather” “catching the fox disguised as a salt-carrier stick” “a salt merchant predicting a great flood”. In the story, “a salt merchant forecasting the weather”, the merchant primarily predicts the weather by seeing the dew on the salt-carrier stick, and the people consider his foresight a sacred talent; as a result, he is transfigured into “the foreigner” (異人) in response to the demands from the people. A salt merchant found a fox transforming itself into a human near cemeteries in “catching the fox disguised as a salt-carrier stick”; and the fox deceived the people to participate in a party by introducing itself as a relative of the host family and given lavish hospitality. As the merchant witnessed the fox’s misdeed, he knocked the fox, disguised as a salt-carrier stick, to death; after that, he is well treated as a preserver. In the tale. the fox is described as an evil spirit and the salt merchant’s stick is considered a holy object. In other words, the magical power of salt is presented by the stick. In the tale, “a salt merchant predicting a great flood”, there is a salt merchant who predicts a great flood and informs people of the safe place from the overflow of water; and the people stated the salt merchant is the most admirable person than any famous doomsayers in the history. In short, the salt merchant was portrayed as a person who predicts the great flood and rescues humankind in the tale. In conclusion, in the tales in which the salt merchant is portrayed as a foreigner, the salt-carrier stick appears as a medium; and it is considered that the magical power of salt is presented by the stick. When it comes to folk belief, salt, used to ferment and preserve food, is symbolized as a substance with magical power, and the range of magical power was extended in the tale.