천문현상에 따른 풍흉·길흉 예측의 천문학적 분석과 민속적 의미 - 좀생이별 보기와 달점치기를 중심으로 -

Abstract

In this study, We examine an astronomical predictive pattern on observing the Pleiades and watching the location of moonrise on a certain date in Korean folklore and attempt to analyze astronomical phenomena qualitatively. We also explore folklore meaning predicting the rich and poor harvest from these astronomical predictions. First, there are lots of astronomical divinations in old Korean such as observing the Pleiades, the moonrise point, the Canopus, the Big Dipper, and the heliacal Venus. Among them, watching the Pleiades and the rising point of the Moon is representative customs of past Korea. In the case of the Pleiades-Seeing, it usually does on sixth day of the second month of the lunar calendar although it is possible to be in both the first and second month. In general, it is believed that it will be a rich harvest year if the Moon precedes the Pleiades, that is the Moon places more western than the Pleiades. In the case of the looking at the rising location of the Moon, people tells fortune by two ways; one is a measurement of the gnomon shadow by casting moonlight at the passage of the meridian, the other is a check of a rising position of the full moon. In spite of finding the mention at many works of literature, the former seems to have disappeared after the 19th century. The divining method in the literature says that it will take a rich harvest if moonlight shadow of 10-inch gnomon is little more than 7 inches at midnight. The rising point and colour of the Moon are various by the year, so these circumstances make the divergent divination. For Instance, if the Moon is entirely round, dark yellow or yellowish, it is believed that the harvest at that year is generally rich. Second, we want to focus the astronomical explanations for the Pleiades-Seeing and the Moonrise-Seeing. Pleiades-Seeing is the best time on 6 days the second month because the distance between the Pleiades and the first quarter moon is close to each other. On this date, the uncertainty if the Moon is ahead or behind the Pleiades can be used as the subject on divination. If the Orion also happens to a similar condition like the Pleiades, the latter will be substituted with the former. In the case of the Moonrise-Seeing, the moonlight shadow of a gnomon is astronomically related to the rising point of the Moon on the same day. A gnomon's shadow length at the passage of the meridian depends on the point where the moon rises in the east. The computation of the shadow length by the moonlight agrees to the record in 1548 of Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty. This means that the gnomon's measurement at that time was accurate considerately. The irregularity of the mounting location of the Moon by the year by means of several astronomical factors leads itself to cause of the usage as divination. Finally, we can summary folklore meanings derived from these astronomical interpretations. First, the Pleiades-Seeing and the Moonrise-Seeing have sufficient conditions for divination. These two folklore activity can have a ‘mystical factor’ in that they predict the luck and unluck by observing astronomical objects, and be considered a ‘randomity’ in that is changed the length of the moon shadow, the location of the moonrise and the distance between the Pleiades and the Moon every year. Therefore this folklore satisfies the divination conditions of 'mystery' and 'randomity'. Second, we can confirm once again that the birth, settlement, change and declination of any folklore activity must have a feasible reason through these cases to be mentioned previously. In other words, the Pleiades-Seeing had done on 6th days of the second month every lunar year as a proper time when the moon is approaching the Pleiades in that night. Moreover, many experiences must have determined the 6th days of the second month as the day of the Pleiades-Seeing. The fact that the Pleiades-Seeing and the Orion-Seeing could be mixed together had similar properties to each other, so the Pleiades-Seeing changed into the Orion-Seeing or a vice versa. In addition, it was inferred that the fortune-telling of the shadow length by casting the moonlight would have disappeared because it spends the cost such as a lot of time and precise measurement. Eventually, it can be confirmed that the change of folklore was not simply due to the trend of the times, but had a specific and realistic cause.