The accommodation of Korean folk religion

·期刊原文
The accommodation of Korean folk religion to the religious form of Buddhism:
an example of reverse syncretism
by James Huntley Grayson
Asian Folklore Studies
Vol.51 No.2
Pp.199-217
Oct 1992
COPYRIGHT Asian Folklore Studies (Japan) 1992

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In a previous study (Grayson 1984) I have examined the question of
the process of religious syncretism as an aspect of the transmission
and development of Buddhism during the era of the Three Kingdoms in
ancient Korea. The religious syncretism of that period is an example
of a world missionary religion, Buddhism, accommodating itself to
the fundamental religious ethos of the culture to which it has been
transmitted. In this study I propose to examine another form of
syncretism, a syncretism that is the reverse of the process that is
normally observed to have occurred during the period of the Three
Kingdoms: the accommodation of the autochthonous religion of Korea
with the missionary religion, Buddhism. Although the historical
evidence for the exact means by which this process of reverse
syncretism took place is slim, syncretized Korean folk religion is
an obvious, if often overlooked, feature of the religious scene in
contemporary Korea. This paper is divided into three principal
sections. In the first, I discuss a definition of religious
syncretism; in the second, I present two models for the process of
syncretism: High Syncretism and Low Syncretism; in the third, I
examine in some detail the major shamanistic center in Seoul, which
gives clear evidence of the effects of reverse syncretism.
What Is Syncretism?
Religious syncretism is a cultural process that may be understood as
one part of the broader process of cultural diffusion. This has been
long recognized to be the case by historians of religion and by
cultural anthropologists. James Moffatt (1870-1944), Carsten Colpe,
and others have observed that religious syncretism occurs as the
result of the diffusion of culture or elements of culture from one
ethnic group or cultural sphere to another ethnic group or cultural
world. Moffatt speaks of syncretism as a "blending of religious
ideas and practices" that are "often preceded and accelerated by a
new philosophical synthesis as well as by a political
re-arrangement" (Moffat 1921, 156). Defined fined in this way,
religious syncretism is placed squarely within a particular
historic, cultural, and political context. Colpe goes further and
describes syncretism as 1) a condition or a process in which either
the missionary religion or the indigenous religion predominates, or
2) a state in which a mutual balance between two religious
traditions is achieved (Colpe 1987).
E. H. Pyle points out that syncretism can occur either as a
spontaneous and natural result of intercultural contact, or as the
result of some plan, which may have religious and/or political
dimensions as well. In his view, not all syncretism is either
unplanned or random. Pyle adds that it is important to understand
this cultural process of religious syncretism in order to comprehend
both the rise of the great, historic world religions and the
emergence of various new religious movements that have appeared
recently in the Third World and elsewhere (Pyle 1984, 317).
J. A. NORTH, in discussing the formation of syncretic cults in the
Roman Empire, says that religious syncretism is "the merging of
elements from different traditions, characteristically in
circumstances of political or cultural dominance/subjection" (1984,
317). This definition, like Moffatt's, points beyond the simple
concept of intercultural contact leading to religious mixture, and
stresses the unequal political and cultural relations that may exist
between two peoples during the period of intercultural contact.
As one example of the process of religious syncretism, North cites
the modifications that were made in the beliefs and practices
relating to the worship of the indigenous Roman deities after the
Romans had come into contact with the Etruscans and the Greeks.
According to North, this type of religious syncretism would occur
when a significant cultural disparity between the two groups
entering into contact is the principal nonreligious factor. North
also cites the example of tribal peoples within the Roman Empire
applying the names of the Roman deities to their own autochthonous
spirits. Whilst there is an obvious cultural disparity between the
two groups in this latter situation, it would seem that in this
instance the political relations between the Romans and the tribal
peoples would have been the dominant nonreligious factor. North also
cites a third case of religious syncretism, in which the Pax Romana,
the condition of universal peace within the Roman Empire, provided a
context in which the religions of subject civilizations (such as
Egypt) could spread beyond the boundaries of their original nation
and mix with the religions of the tribal peoples of the Roman
Empire, and indeed of the Romans themselves (North 1984, 317-18).
Outside the Roman Empire, the most frequently cited examples of
religious syncretism by historians of religion are Manichaean
religion and Ryobu Shinto, both of which are also examples of
intentional syncretism. In the case of the Manichaean cult, the
founder Mani (216-277) was a Parthian who had been brought up in a
family that practised one of the Gnostic cults. Through a series of
revelations, Mani came to believe that he had been given the
authority to create a new religion that would be the fulfillment of
the three world religions of that era: Buddhism, Christianity, and
Zoroastrianism. in this case, Mani's religious syncretism was a
conscious attempt to draw together the essential tenets of the
principal religions of the Persian Empire.(1)
Ryobu Shinto, although a conscious attempt to create a syncretic
religion, is different from the example of Manichaeanism in that it
was an attempt to harmonize a world religion, Buddhism, with
indigenous religious practices, the Shinto cults of Japan. Following
the introduction of Buddhism to Japan in the sixth century, there
existed a state of tension between the foreign cult and the
indigenous cults. This conflict was seemingly overcome during the
era of Shotoku Taishi (573-621), when Buddhism was finally granted
official recognition. Nonetheless, even though Buddhism spread
throughout Japan during the course of the next two centuries, a
state of uneasy peace must have existed between the practices and
beliefs of the two religious systems. In the eighth century, the
Shingon sect of Buddhism, an esoteric sect, developed a concept
called Ryobu Shinto, or Shinto with Two Aspects. In the view of the
Shingon practitioners, the native Shinto deities of Japan were
particular manifestations of the Buddhas or bodhisattvas. Through
the concept of Ryobu Shinto, the Shingon Buddhists provided both a
universalistic and a particularistic explanation for their own
religious practices while at the same time aiding in the
indigenization of Buddhism in Japan (Anesaki 1930, 136-38; Kitagawa
1966, 58, 68-69). The concept of Ryobu Shinto as developed by
Shingon priests is similar to the process by which the Romans
identified their own gods with the gods of the Etruscans and the
Greeks.(2)
Two Types of Religious Syncretism
On the basis of my own experience, I have come to believe that there
are at least two forms of syncretism that may occur as the result of
sustained contact between a world religion (Buddhism, Christianity,
Islam, etc.) and a religion indigenous to a particular people. When
there has been a high degree of syncretism by the transmitted
religion with the indigenous religion, the result will be that the
core values of the indigenous religion will constitute the center of
the new religion, with the missionary religion providing many
external or superficial features. On the other hand, when there has
been a low degree of syncretism by the missionary religion with the
autochthonous cults, the core values of the missionary religion will
form the central aspect of the new religion, with the indigenous
religion providing certain superficial features or details. I
believe that every religion, whether a world religion, a higher
religion, or a folk religion, has a certain core set of values,
concepts, or beliefs. If these core values are altered, one can then
say that syncretic change has been made in a certain direction away
from the traditional belief system. Likewise, in the absence of
significant change in the core set of values, however many
superficial changes may have been made (i.e., changes in names of
gods, and so forth), one can say that the process of syncretism was
only superficial.
Figure 1 illustrates the case where significant change in the core
set of values of the missionary religion has taken place, whilst
figure 2 illustrates superficial, syncretic change in the cultural
and religious features of the missionary religion. The type of
syncretism illustrated in figure 1 I term High Syncretism, and the
type of syncretism illustrated in figure 2 I term Low Syncretism.
Although Korea provides examples of both High and Low Syncretism, in
this paper I will be examining only a case of High Syncretism, the
accommodation made by the autochthonous religion of Korea to
Buddhism. As High Syncretism is the reverse of what is normally
thought to be religious syncretism, I also refer to it as "reverse
syncretism."
What I am calling here Low Syncretism, the more superficial
accommodation made by a world religion with an indigenous cult, is
usually what is understood to be the process of religious
syncretism. The most obvious example in Korea of this particular
process of syncretism may be observed in the case of Buddhist
temples where the sansin-gak (mountain god shrine), the samsin-gak
(three spirit shrine), or the ch'ilsong-gak (seven-star
spirit shrine) have become constituent parts of the layout of the
temple precinct. These shrines, which are dedicated to autochthonous
deities, have become subsidiary shrines within the total temple
complex, and the rituals practised in them have become one component
of the total ritual system practised at the temples. These three
spiritual figures--the mountain god, the three spirits, and the
seven-star spirit--are all manifestations of the mountain god, a
master spirit who has control of all the mountains of Korea, and who
is also said to be a guise of Tan'gun, the mythical first king of
Korea. These subsidiary shrines are a prime illustration in Korea of
a conscious attempt made by a foreign religion, Buddhism, to absorb
the external forms of the indigenous religion without changing the
essential character of the foreign religion.(3)
The reverse of "normal" syncretism--which I have referred to as Low
Syncretism--is what I have termed High Syncretism. This latter form
of syncretism, not often referred to as such by historians of
religions, is a phenomenon widely observed by cultural
anthropologists. It is, in short, the accommodation made by an
indigenous religion to the beliefs, practices, and imagery of a
world religion. To cite one illustration, Gary H. Gossen, in an
examination of the Roman Catholic practices of the Mayan people in a
remote part of the Yucatan Peninsula, demonstrated that their
current religious practices were the folk practices of a bygone era
quite literally dressed up in the guise of Roman Catholicism. Names
of saints, forms of rituals, and the dates for the performance of
rituals, although ostensibly related to Roman Catholic usage, in
reality only expressed the primal concepts of the Mayan people
(Gossen 1972, 135-49).
We have seen another example of High Syncretism in the syncretic
religions that emerged following intercultural contact between the
Romans and the tribal peoples of the Roman Empire. The tribal
peoples, in a state of political subjugation to the Romans, came to
apply the names of various Roman deities to the gods they
worshipped. A similar situation of political subjugation would have
existed between the Spanish conquistadores and the Mayan people in
the sixteenth century.
A third example of High Syncretism would be the Cargo Cults,
especially the Christian-derived cults, which arose in New Guinea
and other parts of Melanesia from the middle of the nineteenth
century. In this case, unlike the two previous examples, high
religious syncretism was enabled, not by conditions of political
subjugation, but by conditions of perceived economic and cultural
disparity.(4)
Although it is not often commented on in the literature of religious
studies, there was a similar process of accommodation made by the
indigenous religion of Korea to Buddhism. This process of High
Syncretism must have begun at the time when Buddhism, a world
missionary religion, first entered Korea. It is also my opinion that
this form of High Syncretism would have occurred more or less
contemporaneously with the accommodation made by Buddhism to Korean
primal religion. Given conditions of geopolitical disunion in China
and the relative political strength of the ancient Korean kingdoms
of Koguryo and Paekche, the process of High Syncretism would have
occurred in Korea under conditions of perceived cultural disparity
rather than in a context of political subjugation. Although there is
very little documentary evidence for the history of this process of
high religious syncretism, nonetheless, the results of this process
are obvious to the observer of the contemporary religious scene in
Korea.
Perhaps the earliest evidence for reverse syncretism is a story
contained in the book of ancient Korean tales, the Samguk yusa
(Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms). In this story, it is related
that when a detached palace was under construction during the reign
of King Chinhung (r. 540-576), a yellow dragon was discovered to be
living at the bottom of a pool on the construction site. The
construction of the palace was halted immediately. When construction
was recommenced, the building was dedicated to the dragon but in the
form of a Buddhist temple. The dedication of this shrine as the
Hwangyong-sa (Temple of the Yellow Dragon) is a strong indication
that by the sixth century, shrines that would have been
unequivocably dedicated to indigenous spirits in a previous age
were, in the new Buddhist era, disguised as Buddhist temples.(5)
I first began to recognize the existence of this "reverse
syncretism" when I read Laurel Kendall's anthropological study
Shamans, Housewives, and Other Restless Spirits: Women in Korean
Ritual Life (1985). In this book, Kendall mentions the close
relationship between autochthonous shamanism and Buddhism. She
states that the mansin, or shaman, and her clients "called their
shrine worship Pulgyo, ~Buddhism'" (Kendall 1985, 84). She also
remarked that the mansin with whom she was particularly friendly
would introduce her to other people saying that Kendall was "a
student of Buddhism" (Kendall 1985, 84). I realized then that in
examining the question of religious syncretism in Korea, I had been
looking at it only from the aspect of the accommodation made by
Buddhism to the indigenous religious practices of Korea. Kendall's
comments made me realize that there was another process, a process
of reverse syncretism, in which the indigenous religion absorbed
certain features of the world religion without altering its
essential character.
Kendall's book stimulated me to examine what aspects of the current
Korean religious scene might reflect a process of reverse syncretism
by the folk religion of Korea with foreign religions in Korea. There
are numerous examples, some of which are well known, but because the
difference between what I term High and Low Syncretism is not often
distinguished, this remarkable process of the accommodation of folk
religious practice with a missionary religion is seldom described in
the literature. To exemplify what I mean by reverse syncretism, in
the remainder of this study I will describe one of the major
shamanistic centers in Korea, for it shows strong evidence of this
process. The description will focus largely on the material aspects
of the syncretic religious practice, rather than on the actual
ritual aspects, which need further research.
A Case Study: The Sacred Site at Muak-tong
Location and History of the Site
The principal shamanistic center for Seoul is located in the hilly,
eastern section of Muak-tong in Sodaemun-gu in western central
Seoul. This area is just beyond and to the northeast of the
Independence Arch. The site of the shamanistic center is just
outside the western wall of the old city of Seoul in the hilly
flanks of Inwang-san on the approach to the Muak Pass. The sacred
buildings of the shamanistic center are built around the rim of a
Ushaped valley.
It is said that when the walls for the capital of the new Choson
dynasty (1392-1910) were being laid out there was considerable
discussion between two advisors to the king about whether or not a
certain grouping of weird rocks should be enclosed within the walls
of the new city. Chong Tojon (?-1398), the great Confucian scholar,
argued that they should not be included within the boundaries of the
new capital, whereas the king's religious preceptor, the monk Muhak
(1327-1405), argued that they should be. Chong argued that because
of the "superstitious practices" conducted in front of the strange
rocks, it was inappropriate to enclose them within the walls of the
new dynasty's capital. In the end, the king agreed with Chong and
decided that the rocks should not be included within the city walls.
This is the first known historic reference to the Son pawi (Son
monk rock), a tall basaltic rock group much ravaged by the
elements into weird hollowed-out shapes. It is obvious from the
arguments about the rock that even in the fourteenth century the Son
pawi was already a focal point for the practice of certain
shamanistic rites. In the twentieth century, it was to become the
nucleus of a major shamanistic ritual center.
The development of this sacred site around the Son pawi was an
unintended effect of the Japanese attempt to impose the State Shinto
cult on Korea. When the Japanese colonial government decided to
build the central Shinto shrine for Korea on the slopes of
Nam-san--the prinicipal mountain in southern Seoul--a decision was
also made to remove a shamanistic shrine on the top of the mountain
that would have overlooked the site of the new Shinto shrine. This
shamanistic shrine, called the Kuksa-dang, was originally located on
the site of the present octagonal pavillion that is on the top of
Nam-san. In July 1925 the proprietors of the Kuksa-dang acceded to
the demands of the Japanese governor-general to remove the shrine
building. The Kuksa-dang was reerected below the sacred site around
the Son pawi. During the interwar years, from the 1920s onwards,
further private constructions were made on the slopes below the
Kuksa-dang until, by the early 1960s, a village of temples and
shrines had emerged. It would seem that the sacredness of the Son
pawi itself became a magnet that drew first the Kuksa-dang and then
subsequent shrines, creating a complex, hierarchical sacred space
composed of a variety of shrines and "temples."
Description of the Site
Map 1 shows the three principal sections of the site: 1) the area
around the gate that separates the entire sacred area from the
profane world outside; 2) the outer sacred area comprising "temples"
and shrines that have been built beneath the core area; and 3) the
inner sacred area or core precinct comprising the Kuksa-dang and the
Son pawi. I will describe each section in turn.
1. The Sacred Gate
Emile Durkheim (1912), Mircea Eliade (1959), and other sociologists
and historians of religions have made much of the distinction
between the sacred and the profane. According to these authorities
it is usual in the layout of a temple or shrine that there is some
indication that the ground surrounding the shrine or temple is
sacred, that it is "set apart." In the folk religion of Korea a rope
is used to indicate that the area is set apart, whereas in Buddhism
the entrance to a temple precinct is marked off by a sacred gate
called an ilju-mun. The tradition of placing such gates at the
entrance to Buddhist sacred precincts dates back at least to the
practice of placing four gates at the four cardinal points around
the stupas of Sanchi in India in the first century B.C.(6)
In the case of the sacred area of Muak-tong, the precinct is marked
off by a large ilju-mun at the entrance to the sacred precinct. This
gate has a large wooden placard on its principal crossbeam that
bears the inscription "Inwang-san Inwang-sa". The inscription on the
placard follows the normal Korean Buddhist practice of giving both
the name of the temple and the name of the mountain upon which it is
situated.
It is important to note in the case of this temple placard that,
although the words inwang in the name of the mountain and in the
name of the temple are homophonous, they are not synonymous.
Different Chinese characters with different meanings are used in the
two names. The inwang (benevolent king) referred to in the title of
the temple is the principal figure in the Inwang-gyong (Ch. Renwang
qing, Sutra of the Benevolent King), one of the key scriptures of
the esoteric schools of Buddhism that were introduced into Silla
from the seventh century. This king (a guise of one of the Buddhas)
promises protection to the nation that worships him with true
devotion. The Paekchwahoe (Assembly of One Hundred Seats) of the
Silla period was an important Buddhist ceremony dedicated to the
adoration of this figure and to an explanation of the scripture
dedicated to him.(7) The appearance of the name of this figure from
esoteric Buddhism, the inwang, on the temple name board is the
visitor's first clue that shrines within the sacred precinct do not
belong to traditional, orthodox Buddhism. Mainstream monastic
Buddhism in Korea is almost exclusively Son Buddhism (Jap. Zen),
which places an emphasis on meditation for liberation and
enlightenment.
2. The Outer Sacred Precinct
Within the outer sacred area there are a number of sacred
structures, including 1) "temples," 2) ancilliary shrines to various
"temples," 3) separate shrines not designated as part of a
particular "temple" complex, and 4) undesignated houses used for the
performance of a kut (shamanistic ceremony). Until a few years ago
one of the most striking features of this sacred area was the fact
that none of the Buddhistic "temples" claimed affiliation with any
of the Buddhist orders that are legally registered with the
government of the Republic of Korea. This is no longer the case, as
two of the "temple" buildings now claim affiliation with two of the
major Korean Buddhist denominations.
Every building that has a claim to being a "Buddhist temple" in this
area has a signboard on the outer perimeter of its grounds
announcing what temple it is. For example, the signboard for the
Inwang-sa states in the Korean alphabet: "Tae Han Pulgyo Inwang-san
Inwang-sa" (Korean Buddhism, Mount Inwang Inwang Temple). What is
missing from the signboards of these "temples" is the denominational
designation that appears on the placard of every orthodox temple
stating its affiliation with a particular order of Buddhism. There
is no such designation on the signboards of the "temples" in
Muak-tong because such denominational affiliation does not exist.
The "temples" are private property.
When I visited the sacred area of Muak-tong in August 1990, I
noticed that there were now two temples claiming denominational
affiliation with two legally registered Buddhist orders. The
signboard in front of the Yongch'on-sa claimed that the temple was
affiliated with the Pure Land Buddhist sect. This legally
constituted sect, contrary to the practice of its antecedents in
China and Korea, is one of the esoteric sects of modern Korean
Buddhism. A rather different case is the temple to the right of the
entrance to the outer sacred area just beyond the ilju-mun. The
signboard on the outside of the Ch'onan-sa claimed that it was a
member of the principal denomination of orthodox Korean Buddhism,
the Chogye sect.
One other feature of the "temples" in the outer sacred area is the
fact that the majority of the signboards are written in the Korean
alphabet rather than in Chinese characters. Consequently, although
one can guess at many of the characters behind the alphabetically
written names, it is impossible to know for certain the exact
designations of all of them.
There was some confusion, possibly deliberate, about the exact
identification of the Inwang-sa temple mentioned on the ilju-mun at
the entrance. There is one major complex of shrines in the outer
sacred precinct that in its center has a large building designated
as the tae'ung-jon, or principal shrine of a Buddhist temple. In an
orthodox temple, this is the building that contains the figure of
the historic Buddha, Sakyamuni. However, north of this major
complex, across the alley and behind its principal shrine, is
another building claiming to be the tae'ung-jon of the Inwang-sa.
During my visit in August 1990 both of these shrines seemed to have
a flourishing business.
Aside from the regular and irregular temples in the outer sacred
precinct and their associated outer shrines, there were eight houses
that had no signboards designating them as Buddhist temples. These
buildings were houses used for the performance of shamanistic
rituals. Each house had, set up in its courtyard and visible from
the alleyway, a long bamboo pole that announced that this building
was a place where a kut could be performed.
Among these undesignated buildings there was also one house that,
during a previous visit of mine to this area in 1985, had been
designated as a "Buddhist hermitage" and that in 1990 had no
designation whatsoever. This change from a designated Buddhist
structure to an undesignated building is an indication of the
impermanence of some of these "Buddhist" institutions.
Among the buildings of the outer sacred precinct there are also a
hexagonal pavilion providing a place of rest for visitors to the
area, and a corner shop selling various household items and foods.
3. The Inner Sacred Precinct
The Kuksa-dang
Access to the Kuksa-dang(8) is gained by leaving the outer sacred
precinct and proceeding upwards through a shallow depression,
passing the smaller of the two Inwang-sa tae'ung-jon on the left and
the hexagonal pavilion on the right. Immediately before reaching the
raised terrace upon which the Kuksa-dang has been reerected, there
is a large tree, the limbs of which have been sawn back. On the
stumps of the limbs are hung the brilliantly colored cloths that
would have been used in a shamanistic ceremony. The placing of these
cloths on the limbs of the tree next to the Kuksa-dang shrine is
like the Korean custom of placing strips of cloth on trees or bushes
just before the crest of a mountain pass. The latter act represents
a pious offering to the mountain god, petitioning him to bless the
traveler's journey. In the case of the Kuksa-dang, passage beyond
the venerable tree would indicate the passage from the outer to the
inner sacred precinct and a wish for a safe journey.
The Kuksa-dang itself is a very old building, though whether it is
as old as claimed can probably not be historically verified. It is
said to date to the reign of King T'aejong (r. 1400-1418). The
shrine is known to have occupied a site on the highest part of
Nam-san since at least the end of the nineteenth century until the
first quarter of this century. Consequently, the Kuksa-dang is at
least one hundred and twenty years old. The interior of the shrine
consists of one large central room with two smaller rooms off to the
left- and right-hand sides. Around the walls of the main room are
hung twenty-eight different paintings. Twelve of these paintings are
said to date to 1623, while the remainder date from the end of the
nineteenth century. Among the figures depicted on the paintings are
Ch'on-sin (Spirit < Ruler) of Heaven), San-sin (Mountain God),
Su-sin (Water Spirit), King T'aejo (r. 1392-1398), founder of the
Choson dynasty, the monk Muhak, and the obang changgun, the
guardians of the five cardinal points of the East Asian compass.
These spirits are powerful figures in the native pantheon, whose
presence in the Kuksa-dang indicates a certain concern for the
affairs of the nation. It is said that when the Kuksa-dang was still
on Namsan, the most powerful shamans in the nation would go there to
perform rites for the protection, preservation, and prosperity of
the nation. At the end of the nineteenth century, it is alleged that
through the influence of Queen Min (1851-1895) shamanistic practices
on behalf of the state were frequently performed at the shrine site
on Nam-san.
The name of the Kuksa-dang may be translated as "the shrine of the
national preceptor." Kuksa was a title accorded to certain eminent
monks during the Koryo dynasty (926-1392) and was held by Muhak, the
preceptor to the first king of Choson. It is probable that the
national preceptor referred to in the name of the shrine is Muhak
himself. This supposition is strengthened by the presence of an
ancient painting of the great monk amongst the oldest shrine
paintings.(9)
Whatever the use of the Kuksa-dang may have been in the past, its
present function is somewhat different. The shrine functions in many
ways like a contemporary yesik-chang or wedding hall. Like the
yesik-chang, the Kuksa-dang is a hall rented out for ceremonial
purposes, in this case the performance of a kut. Along the back wall
of the shrine is a fitted altar. In the central section, just in
front of one of the sacred pictures, there is a telephone and a box
of business cards giving the address and telephone number of the
Kuksa-dang. Time and space at the Kuksa-dang can be booked by a
shaman for the performance of a particular rite.
The Son pawi
Proceeding north from the Kuksa-dang, one climbs up a series of
stairs until one comes out onto a concrete terrace with balustrades
in front of the Son pawi. Directly in front of this great pitted
rock is a large altar, divided into three sections. The principal
section is the long central altar itself. To the left- and
right-hand sides of this altar are two cabinets in the shape of a
tile-roofed pavilion. Inside these cabinets are sets of electric
votive candles that are lit to offer perpetual prayers for the
repose of various souls or to ask for a particular wish. In front of
the large altar is a centrally placed, smaller altar that is the
table for the incense burners. Although shamanistic, or folk
religious, worship in front of strange rocks deep in the mountains
is a common practice in Korea, I can think of no other example in
Korea where the area around a grouping of sacred rocks has been
clothed with Buddhistic ritual paraphernalia.
On the right-hand side of the Son pawi precinct there is a small
iron gate that opens out onto a path that ascends the bare rock face
of Mount Inwang. Some way up the mountain, this path leads to the
final shrine of the entire sacred area, a ch'ilsong-gak--a shrine
dedicated to the Spirit of the Pole Star. The picture within the
shrine, however, is of the tiger, the messenger of the mountain god.
This is not surprising, as it is common in Korea for the term
ch'ilsong-gak to be used as an alternative name for a shrine
dedicated to the mountain god.
The only other shrine dedicated to the mountain god is found on the
grounds of the Ch'onan-sa, the one temple that claims affiliation
with the principal Korean Buddhist denomination, the Chogye-jong.
Just beyond the precinct of the Kuksa-dang and within the precincts
of several of the "temples," there are freshwater springs. While
these springs serve the obvious purpose of providing water for
thirsty hikers and attendants at the shamanistic rituals, it is also
important to remember that worship of water spirits is an ancient
practice in Korea. The story of the yellow dragon, whose presence in
a pool of water led to the construction of the Hwangyong-sa, is one
indication of the antiquity of the worship of water spirits in
Korea.
4. Functions of the Shrines
All of the buildings in the inner and outer sacred precincts,
whether they are designated as Buddhist temples, hermitages, or
shrines, or whether they are undesignated buildings, are known to be
locations for the performance of shamanistic types of rituals. In
the undesignated buildings, such as the Kuksa-dang or private homes,
pure shamanistic rituals are performed. In the buildings designated
as Buddhist structures, rituals are performed that are similar in
format and intention to the kut of the undesignated buildings. The
rituals performed in the buildings designated as Buddhist use
Buddhistic elements. The spirits referred to in the rituals are
Buddhist figures; the clothing worn by the ritual leaders is
Buddhist in appearance; and many of the ritual paraphernalia and
implements used in the ceremonies are similar to the ceremonial
materials one would expect to see in an orthodox Buddhist temple.
Prominent amongst the ritual items of all of these "temples" are
Buddhist statues and paintings, which lend an air of authentic
Buddhism to the shrines. Several of the orthodox Buddhist festivals,
such as Buddha's Birthday, are also celebrated in these shrines.
Nonetheless, the format of the ceremonies performed in these
"Buddhist" shrines, and the reasons for their performance, are
comparable to the rituals performed in the undesignated buildings.
It is for this reason that one can be justified in saying that all
of these shrines and the rituals performed in them are collectively
an example of syncretic shamanism, a product of the accommodation
made by the indigenous religion of Korea to Buddhism.
CONCLUDING COMMENTS
From observation of the layout of the sacred ritual area at
Muak-tong and of its component structures, one may draw the
following conclusions:
1) that the sanctity of the Son pawi acted as a magnet that
initially
drew around itself the relocated Kuksa-dang and later a host
of ritual structures originally unrelated to either the sacred rocks

or the Kuksa-dang;
2) that there is a clearly differentiated, hierarchical layout of
sacred space in the area around the Son pawi, consisting of two
areas: an inner sacred precinct encompassing the sacred rocks
and the Kuksa-dang; and an outer sacred precinct comprising
various "Buddhist" temples and undesignated shamanistic houses;
3) that, although the rituals, implements, and decor of the
Kuksadang
are characteristic of pure Korean shamanism, the superficial
appearance of the paraphernalia in front of the Son pawi is
Buddhistic,
indicating a Buddhist sacralization of even the most sacred
of the shamanistic ritual precincts;
4) that the predominant feature of the outer sacred precinct is
the large number of "Buddhist" temples and ancillary shrines,
even though there are also several undesignated buildings that are
the venue for pure Korean shamanistic rituals;
5) that the rituals practised in front of the Son pawi, in the
Kuksadang,
and in the various "Buddhist" temples and undesignated
shamanistic houses, are wholly shamanistic in character, form,
and purpose regardless of differences in superficial, external
appearances;
and
6) that the entire ritual area at Muak-tong is set apart as a sacred

area, not by a rope (as in Korean folk tradition), but by an
ilju-mun,
a sacred practice clearly borrowed from Buddhism.
All of these points taken collectively would indicate that there has
been a process of reverse syncretism in an area of high sanctity to
indigenous Korean shamanism, the effect of which has been to clothe
the entire sacred area around the Son pawi in a Buddhist guise.
Although this process of reverse syncretism in Muak-tong took place
in the twentieth century, stories in the Samguk yusa would indicate
that there is a precedent in Korea for this phenomenon as far back
as the sixth century. The author believes that it is important that
historians of religions, folklorists, and cultural anthropologists
consider the question of reverse syncretism as an important element
in studying the diffusion of culture and religion. In the case of
Korea, further study of the rituals practised in "Buddhist" temples,
such as those at Muak-tong, is important to show the degree to which
certain practices have become "Buddhicized."
NOTES
(1.) A good history and discussion of the consciously contrived
syncretism of the prophet Mani may be found in Gnoli 1987. (2.) The
Tendai sect had a similar concept called Sanno Ichijitsu. For a
discussion of this phenomenon, see Kitagawa 1966, 68. For a fuller
discussion of the process of syncretism in Japanese Buddhism, see
Kamstra 1967. (3.) The process whereby the cult of the mountain god
was absorbed into the cultic practices taking place within Buddhist
temple precincts must have begun sometime in the seventh century, as
it was during that period that the major mountain ranges in Korea
were given their present Buddhist-style names. See Grayson 1989, 53.
A fuller treatment of the process of Buddhist syncretism in Korea
may be found in my earlier work, Grayson 1985. See especially
chapter 2. (4.) Discussions of the history and anthropological
interpretations of the Cargo Cults may be found in Kamma 1972,
Steinbauer 1979, and Worsley 1957. In analyzing the phenomena of the
Cargo Cults, distinctions must be made between cults that arose in
areas under direct European colonial rule, and those that emerged in
areas outside colonial domination. (5.) This story and others
related to the Hwangyong-sa may be found in an English version of
the Samguk yusa in Ilyon 1972. An extensive discussion of the
Hwangyong-sa may be found in McClung 1978. (6.) For a description
and discussion of the great monument complex at Sanchi, see LEE
1964, 84-86. A discussion of the diffusion of the sacred gate of
Buddhism from India to East Asia may be found in Kail 1975, 17-18.
(7.) A thorough discussion of this trend may be found in Lee 1969,
14-16. (8.) A description of this shrine and its setting may be
found in Clark and Grayson 1986, 185-87. (9.) This claim was first
made in an article by the missionary scholar James Scarth Gale
(1863-1937). See GALE 1902.
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