Hoengseong Hoedaji Song

Folk songs arise spontaneously among the common people and are passed down by word of mouth. Tied to occupation, custom and play, they are closely bound up with everyday life, and vary with the region or with the taste and improvisation of the singer. The Hoedaji Song is a folk song sung while people tamp down earth mixed with lime (hoe) to bury the dead and build a grave mound during a funeral. It begins with a slow melody that gradually quickens, later shifting into the menari mode to lift people's spirits. The Hoedaji Song takes a call-and-response form, and while it consoles the grief of the sangju, the chief mourner, it also raises the spirits of those building the grave. Because our ancestors held a view of the afterlife centred on rebirth in paradise, humorous lyrics are sometimes included in both bier songs and Hoedaji songs. The Hoengseong Hoedaji Song was designated a Provincial Intangible Heritage in order to protect and transmit it as a distinctive functional folk song. Yang Jae-hak, the holder of the skill, lives in Ucheon-myeon, Hoengseong, and carries on its tradition.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Hoengseong, Gangwon

Designation

Provincial Intangible Heritage · 시도무형유산