물의 속성으로 본 한국 신화 속 바다와 강의 이미지 해독 시론 -〈주몽 신화〉와 〈혁거세 신화〉, 〈바리공주〉와 〈군웅본풀이〉를 중심으로-

Abstract

This study examined how rivers and seas are arranged and what the properties of water can mean in such arrangements, focusing on the founding myths and shamanic myths in which rivers and seas appear. In the founding myth, the “narcissistic gaze” of water was read in the scene where the special power was restored or shown as the founder near river or sea. The exertion of special abilities resulting from this narcissistic gaze was interpreted as summoning heterochronica, which show heterochronicity, such as a pause or delay of a moment. The character in the founding myth, who expressed his original power through the “narcissistic gaze,” did not return to his original land, and in the journey, we decoded the one-direction and examined how the myth created a utopian character. In shamanistic myths, stories in which defective characters cross a river and then return to their original territory to correct their defective conditions by gaining special power. After crossing the water, the character gained mysterious power and recovered from the deficiency, such as getting sick, to read the properties of the “connection” and “harmony” of water. The characteristic of the ‘connection’ of water that can be read in the shamanistic myth was that unlike heterochronica in the founding myth, linear time allowed the work to penetrate throughout. Through the ending of the protagonists returning to their original land, such as where they have parents, and solving deficiencies and imperfections, the shamanistic myth was read as showing heterotopic spatiality that raised questions about the inertial place.