Seoul Saenamgut (Shamanic Performance of Seoul)

Seoul Saenamgut is a traditional guiding ritual (gut) for the dead, performed in the Seoul region by the upper and wealthy classes of society to comfort the spirit of the deceased and guide it to a good afterlife. Saenamgut is thought to have taken shape during the Joseon period and to have been performed in its present form from around the 17th and 18th centuries. Saenamgut consists of two parts: Andang-sagyeong-maji and the Saenamgut proper. Andang-sagyeong-maji takes place from the night before the Saenamgut to the following dawn, proceeding through segments (geori) in the order of judangmullim, bujeong, gamangcheonbae, jinjeok, Bulsa-geori, Dodang-geori, Chogamang-geori, Bonhyang-geori, Josang-geori, Sangsan-geori, Byeolsang-geori, Sinjang, Daegam-geori, Seongju-geori, Changbu-geori and Dwitjeon-geori. The Saenamgut proper, which continues from the following morning, is a ritual that takes a great deal of time; five female shamans and six musicians take part, with samhyeon-yukgak instrumentation of janggu (hourglass drum), buk (barrel drum), daegeum (large transverse flute) and piri (double-reed pipe). The ritual proceeds through Saenam-bujeong; Gamang-cheongbae; Jungdibassan, in which the shaman praises the mystery and greatness of the Ten Kings of the underworld; Saje-samseong-geori, in which the messengers of the underworld are mocked; Malmi, in which the shaman, dressed in the splendid robes of an ancient princess, sings the song of Princess Bari, venerated as an ancestral spirit; Bakdoryeong, in which the shaman, in princess's dress, circles the gate to the underworld before Yeonjidang, the shrine of Jijang Bosal (Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva), converses with the gatekeeper spirit and passes through the gate; Yeongsil, in which the shaman seeks the mercy of Jijang Bosal; Andoryeong, in which Princess Bari strives to pass safely through the twelve gates of the underworld; Sangsik, in which the bereaved family offers a Confucian-style memorial rite to the shaman; Dwit-yeongsil, in which the spirit of the deceased possesses the shaman, who then conveys the departed's final words to the family; Begareugi, in which the shaman tears cotton and hemp cloth symbolising the bridges between this world and the next, opening the way with her body; Siwanggun-geori, in which the path of the deceased is guided and protected by invoking the guardian spirits who escort the Ten Kings of the underworld; and finally Dwitjeon, which announces that every sincerity has been offered to all the spirits who attended the Saenamgut, and which also entertains stray spirits and lesser deities. Compared with other shamanic rites, Seoul Saenamgut consists of many segments, is intricately structured, and is splendid in its display. It also blends shamanism connected with the dead with elements of Buddhist and Confucian thought, and includes features of Joseon-period court culture.

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Where it is

Region

Location not stated, Seoul

Designation

National Intangible Heritage · 국가무형유산