[...]... the Three Brothers) and can be found throughout Korea ( Tanggu(maegi: This is a goddess in Cheso(k Kut She is called Tanku(mgaksi, So(jangaegi, Sijunagi, Sejunaegi or Chajimyo(ngaegi depending on the performing districts ‘Tangku(m’ is a compound word of ‘tan’ and ‘kam’ The ‘tan’ means a village or a valley, and ‘kam’ means a god in the old Korean language Therefore, ‘tankam’ means a village god or... upper stone rolled by the brother and the lower stone rolled by the sister met each other at the bottom of the hill After finding the stones sitting on top of each other, the brother and sister decided to get married Mankind was thereby able to continue its existence and thus our ancestors originated from this brother and sister The creation god creates order out of chaos in natural phenomena and human... So(ngjosinga (Shamanist Song of the House God) and So(ngju Kut (Shamanist Rite of the House God), which are inherited in southern Kyo(nggi Province and Tongre in South Kyo(ngsang Province So Chinnang: This is a male god appearing in the shamanist rite of So(ngju He kidnapped the wife of Hwang Uyang, but later was punished by Hwang Uyang and became So(nang So(nang is a kind of god who lives at boundaries and protects... appearing in the Mongolian hero epic Janggar or Tibetan hero epic Gesar are also magicians at the same time What does this mean? This means that magicians follow the pedigree of heroes and become heroes on the battlefield This is also evidenced by the war hero Koenegitto in Koenegidangbonp’uri (Origin Myth of Koenegi Shrine) of Cheju Island In the Songdang version that is an expanded Ch’ilildang version, he... when Kangim goes to the underworld to chase the King of the Underworld It is essentially the same as a dead person going to the underworld Kangim asked Kilnajang, a messenger of the underworld, the way to the underworld and offered Kilnajang a cake as a reward This shows that you can achieve your goal by being nice to others In Samanibonp’uri (Origin Myth of Samani), Changjap’uri (Origin Myth of Changja),... that old Samsinhalmang plays fair in this story Anyway, Samsinhalmang became the goddess who can give birth to people in this world, whereas old Samsinhalmang became the goddess who can take dead children (in other words, who can bring disease to children and take their life away) 01 Introduction KM:Master Testpages KM 10/12/07 13:50 Page 5 InTRoDUCTIon: UnDERSTAnDInG KoREAn MyTHS  An interesting aspect... humans, once he knew the origins of water and fire Maitreya prayed to the heavens with one hand raised holding a silver tray and the other hand raised holding a gold tray From the heavens, the heads of five bugs fell onto the silver tray and the heads of five bugs fell onto the gold tray The five gold bugs grew into men and the five silver bugs grew into women These men and women married, and mankind... herself by showing that shamans can cure disease and guide the deceased to the underworld, this myth describes the shaman as a holy one who manages disease and death of humans 01 Introduction KM:Master Testpages KM 10/12/07 13:50 Page 7 InTRoDUCTIon: UnDERSTAnDInG KoREAn MyTHS  DISEASE MyTHS: HUMAn-lIKE, bUT Holy Disease myths are about the gods who give all kinds of disease to us The representative... THE KoREAn GoDS  of these goddess include Cheso(kbonp’uri or Tanggu(maegi and Samt’aejap’uri, and can be found throughout Korea Saengbulhalmang: This is a goddess on Cheju Island She is worshipped during Puldomaji (A Shamanist Rite for Inviting the Birth Goddess) She always holds flowers in her hands, predicts pregnancies, and helps the birth and raising of children Two other goddesses appear in another... shaman’s law, invented the shaman’s instruments and tools, and performed the shaman’s ritual ceremony first Also, the three brothers are respected as ‘Ch’ogong gods, that is, the ancestor gods of shamans because shamans on Cheju Island thought that the first shamanist ritual performance was invented by the three brothers Furthermore, the three brothers are also called sammyo(ngdu; sword, bell and a . 10/12/07 16:17 Page ii An Illustrated Guide to Korean Mythology  Choi Won-Oh GLOBAL ORIENTAL 00 Prelims KM:Master Testpages KM 10/12/07 16:17 Page iii AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO KOREAN MYTHOLOGY Choi Won-Oh First. been retold according to their main plot and meaning because the original texts’ songs by shamans are not easily understood by the layman and non -Korean readers, or even Korean readers and scholars vi Preface  T he kut, a Korean shamanistic ritual, is the origin of all Korean oral myths and is the prime mechanism for handing down myths to successive generations. It is certain that no Korean oral myths