Dongmunan Village Guardians, Buan

The Dongmunan dangsan in Buan consists of a stone pillar (dangsan) and a pair of stone jangseung, a grandfather dangsan and a grandmother dangsan. Around the stone pillar, erected to block impurity from entering the village and to pray for the village's peace, there is a dangsan tree about fifty metres to the east, and along the path between them a pair of stone jangseung stand facing each other. The stone pillar is carved from granite, with a duck carved in stone set on top. Because the pillar is normally wound tightly with the straw rope used in the dangsan rite, ordinarily only the duck at the top and a little of the pillar beneath it can be seen. To the west of the dangsan tree stands a male jangseung with "Sangwon Jujanggun" carved on its body, wearing a felt-like cap on its head, and to the east stands a female jangseung with "Hawon Dangjanggun" carved on its body. The female jangseung is taller than the male but does not wear a cap. The village holds a dangsan rite every two years, at the full moon of the first lunar month. A tug-of-war is held using a straw rope twisted for the purpose, and afterwards the rope is wound around the stone pillar before the rite is offered. Winding the rope around the pillar is called "putting on clothes", a gesture that personifies the sacred object, expressing the wish for the whole village's good fortune and a bountiful harvest, and shows that the stone pillar is revered as the principal deity of the village rite. Both the stone pillar and the stone jangseung retain their old appearance well, making them valuable folk heritage that reflects village religious belief.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Buan, Jeonbuk

Designation

National Folklore Heritage · 국가민속문화유산