Paintings of Shamanistic Spirits in Naewatdang Shrine, Jeju-do

Naewatdang was a shrine that once stood beside the stream Hannae, which crosses Yongdam-dong in Jeju City; it was demolished in 1882, the nineteenth year of Emperor Gojong. Unlike other shrines across Jeju Island, where paper money and dyed cloth are hung on a sacred tree to serve as the body of the deity, Naewatdang enshrined painted images of twelve deities, of which only ten panels now survive: six paintings of male deities and four of female deities. The male deities are Jeseok-wi, Wonmang-wi, Suryeong-wi, Cheonja-wi, Gamchal-wi and Sangsa-wi; the female deities are Bon-gung-wi, Jungjeon-wi, Sanggun-wi and Hong-a-wi. The shamanistic paintings of Naewatdang were produced against the social and cultural background of Jeju Island, where shamanism and snake worship were especially prominent. They vividly express the deities' facial expressions in their vivid three-colour robes of red, yellow and green, and the movement of their hands and fingers holding fans, as though their power and spiritual authority were about to be unleashed at any moment.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jeju City, Jeju

Designation

National Folklore Heritage · 국가민속문화유산