Cheongdo Chasan Farmers’ Music

Nongak refers broadly to the music played when farmers organise themselves into ture (cooperative work groups), performed on percussion instruments such as the kkwaenggwari (small gong), jing (large gong), janggu (hourglass drum) and buk (barrel drum); it is also called gut, maegu, pungjang, geumgo or chwigun. Classified by the purpose of its performance, nongak can be divided into dangsan-gut, madangbapi, geollip-gut, ture-gut, pan-gut, giuje-gut and bae-gut; classified by regional character, it is divided into Gyeonggi nongak, Yeongdong nongak, Honam-udo nongak, Honam-jwado nongak, Gyeongnam nongak and Gyeongbuk nongak. Cheongdo Chasan Farmers' Music, a type of Gyeongbuk nongak, developed out of the cheonwanggi ssaum (contest of the heavenly-king banners), a game in which, at the start of the first lunar month each year, each village carried its cheonwanggi banner and, together with its farming banners and farmers'-music band, gathered at hilltop passes and marketplaces to display its strength and vie for prestige. It retains a sturdy, rustic antiquity and simplicity, and because its rhythm is often driven quickly forward in a single unbroken beat, it gives an impression of plainness and vigour. It is characterised by Gyeongsang-do music and dance in which gutgeori rhythm leads into deotbaegi dance, and it is known not only throughout the Yeongnam region but across the whole country. Kim O-dong and Kim Tae-hun have been recognised as holders of the artistic skill, and Kim Tae-hun currently carries the tradition forward.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Cheongdo, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Provincial Intangible Heritage · 시도무형유산