Seungmu Monk’s Dance Salpuri Dance

Seungmu is a dance that sublimates into movement the anguish and inner turmoil experienced on the path of a monastic life; it has strong Buddhist overtones and takes its name — meaning "monk's dance" — from the fact that it is performed wearing a gasa (a monk's stole), a jangsam (a long monk's robe) and a gokkal (a pointed hood). Its principal movements are similar to those of Salpurichum, and in form it is a fully realised solo dance. The Seungmu designated as Gyeonggi-do Intangible Heritage carries on the Seungmu of the Jaeincheong, a training institute for performers, at Hwaseong Fortress. According to its origin story, a senior disciple danced Seungmu to cure his master's illness, and once the master recovered, the disciple left the temple; for this reason, the Jaeincheong-style Seungmu includes a movement in which, after finishing the drum-playing section, the dancer removes the gokkal and jangsam, drapes them over the drum, and departs. Salpurichum is a dance performed to "salpuri", a shamanic music rhythm from the southern provinces. It was originally danced by shamans as a means of communing with the spirits, but was later transformed by itinerant entertainers and gisaeng into an art of the official entertainment quarters. It is characterised by dancing in a white jeogori, white chima, beoseon, and an outfit with long, trailing jacket ties, while holding a white handkerchief. The holder, Kim Bok-ryeon (born 1948, female), studied Jaeincheong dance as a disciple of teacher Jeong Gyeong-pa and was designated a holder on 25 November 2002.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Suwon, Gyeonggi

Designation

Provincial Intangible Heritage · 시도무형유산