Gijisi Juldarigi (Tug-of-war of Gijisi)

Juldarigi (tug-of-war) is a form of team contest that forms part of agricultural ritual, also known as gilssam. Villages are divided into two sides, representing the land and the sea; because the sea side symbolises women in terms of fertility and production, it is said that a good harvest follows if that side wins. The tug-of-war was held in leap years, in early in the third lunar month, after a dangje, a village guardian-deity rite performed to ward off misfortune and pray for a bountiful harvest. According to legend, the tug-of-war arose at Gijisi-ri in Dangjin because the site's feng shui form was said to resemble a jade maiden weaving cloth, so people re-enacted the pulling of woven cloth from both sides; another account holds that, because the local terrain resembles the shape of a centipede, a great rope in the form of a centipede was made for the contest. The rope measures 50–60 m in length, and in places is over 1 m in diameter — so thick that a person sitting astride it cannot reach the ground with both feet. Because the main rope is too large to grip directly, numerous thinner side-ropes are tied along its length at intervals to make it easier to pull. When the leader standing atop the rope gives the signal, the tug-of-war begins, and each village's farmers' band plays fast rhythms to raise everyone's spirits. Once the contest is decided, the rope belongs to the winning side; as soon as the result is clear, people rush in and cut pieces from the rope with knives. This is because the cut rope, boiled and drunk, is believed to relieve back pain and cure infertility. There are also taboos bound up with the rope's ritual power: if lye or a needle is dropped onto or stuck into it the rope will break, and if a woman steps over it the rope will snap at the point she crossed. Gijisi Juldarigi is one of the agricultural rites performed to ward off misfortune and pray for a good harvest, and carries cultural significance in showing, through the tug-of-war, the spirit of cooperation within rural society and the changing patterns of Korean communal life.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Dangjin, Chungnam

Designation

National Intangible Heritage · 국가무형유산