한국의 건국신화에 나타난 물과 불의 상징 ― 동물 형상과 인간 주체의 관계를 중심으로 ―

Abstract

This article starts from the worship of nature, which is the universal logic of totemism and animism, and reveals that the ancient founding myth was based on the union of fire, the father of the founding monarch, and water, the mother, the so-called love of fire and water. This archetype is most clearly represented in the founding myth of Goguryeo, the myth of King Dongmyeong, and relatively distinctly in the Dangun myth of Gojoseon. As a result, the female deities Yuhwa and Ungnyeo in these two myths appear to be subordinate to the male deities Haemosu and Hwanung. Furthermore, the founding monarchs, Jumong and Dangun, secure the legitimacy of their rule by being the successors and balancers of the fire and water symbolized by their divine parents. However, in the myth of Bak Hyeokgeose of Silla, this archetypal structure is somewhat weakened. The male and female protagonists both possess the dual aspects of water and fire, maintaining a relatively equal relationship, and become monarchs independently without the need to bear a son. So these two co-governors are somewhat subjective. In this way, various animals such as tigers, bears, three-legged crows, and gye-ryong(chicken dragons) in ancient foundation myths symbolized the powers and attributes of fire and water, guaranteeing the sanctity of the founding monarch. However, animals like tigers, foxes, dragons, and pigs in the founding myth of Goryeo also became realistic, sometimes tragic, subjects, even as they remained symbols of fire and water. This is because the Goryeo-segye adopted elements from folk myths and tales, embracing the circumstances of the characters and their corresponding will and individuality as aesthetic forms. This appears to have been influenced by the abstraction and generalization of water and fire into the principles of yin-yang and the three elements of heaven, earth, and humanity, which highlighted human will. Consequently, with the weakening of the patrilineal fire-centric worldview and the affirmation of water's power, the role of women in narratives increased in significance.