신라 성모 신화의 연구

Abstract

This study was to uncover the fact that the myth of ‘Seongmo(Holy Mother)’ was created based on Silla’s unique belief in the ‘Seungmo’. The purpose of this study was to overcome the conventional view which says that Silla’s belief in ‘Seungmo’ was influenced by China. It has been said so far that the belief had been affected by the gloficiation thought on China, or that it was a Silla-style version of the Chinese ‘Xīwángmǔ’ (西王母: Mother of King Seowang). In China, traditionally, the term ‘Seongmo(Holy Mother)’ is applied for women to refer (1) Shaman (2) Women's fidelity (3) Zé tiānwǔ hòu(則天武后), (4) Empress, (5) the sanctuary or shrine with the name of Seongmo(Holy Mother). While in Silla, the term ‘Seondo(仙桃) Seongmo’ was used to refer to the Mother of the Founding Father, which implies its close relevance to the belief of Sijomo(Mother of the Founding Father). The results of this study, made on the premise that the myth of the Holy Mother was created based on the unique faith of the Seongmo(Holy Mother) of Silla, is summarized as follows. Firstly, the author assumes that a mythology of Seongmo(Holy Mother) that says a child of a foreign goddess who was born without a father became the Sijo(Founding Father) was created based on a belief in Silla of which worshipped the Sijomo(the Mother of the Founding Father). Secondly, the historian Il-yeon interpreted in his own way when recording the lore of Seondo Seongmo(Holy Mother). For example, he might had felt difficult to accept the mythical expression that women giving birth to a child without husbands, and changed the expression to say that the heavenly women made her husband’s robe. Also, he regarded Gyeryong(鷄龍 : dragon of hen) who gave birth to Al-young as the real body of Seongmo(Holy Mother), moreover, he interpreted that the Godly Mother gave birth to the Hyukgeose and Al-young. Lastly, the belief in Sijomo(Mother of the Founding Father) later expanded its significance to function as a patriotic god. It has been identified that this belief led to the tradition tale of worshipping Queen Wisuk, the mother of King Taejo of Goryeo, as the Seongmo(Holy Mother), and also to the triumph of Lee Sung-gye against Japanese pirates.