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Brass Pot
새옹 ( 塞饔 , Saeong )
Saeong is a small brass pot for cooking rice or porridge, used in village rites as a ritual prop. Me, or steamed rice, is one of the most important sacrificial foods on any ritual table, and saeong refers to the pot that is used to cook the rice to be offered, especially for rituals that observe strict taboos, mainly Buddhist rituals and village rituals in mountainous regions including Gangwon Province. When rice is cooked inside a saeong, it must be served on the table in the pot. Wild insam (g
Korean Folk Beliefs -
Earthenware Steamer
시루 ( 甑子 , Siru )
Siru is an earthenware steamer that is used for cooking grains and also as a prop in folk rituals. The earthenware steamer was first used in the Korean peninsula during the late Bronze Age, mainly in the northern regions. By the Three Kingdoms period (57 B.C.E.–676), its use had spread evenly to all parts of the peninsula. The traditional steamer comprises handles, main body, bottom and hole. It cannot be placed directly over fire and requires a separate pot for heating up water. The steamer is
Korean Folk Beliefs -
Five-Colored Ribbons
오색천 ( 五色布 , Osaekcheon )
Osaekcheon, meaning five-colored fabric and comprised of the colors red, green, blue, yellow and white, is worshipped in Korean folk religion as a sacred entity or offered in rituals as sacrifice. Five-colored ribbons are used as offerings for the village guardian deity Seonang; or as banners tied to bamboo staffs for the wind god ritual yeongdeunggosa or for worshipping the boat guardian deity Baeseonang; or for wiping the body of the patient in healing rituals (byeonggut). Osaekcheon is offere
Korean Folk Beliefs -
Nose Ring for Cows
쇠코뚜레 ( 牛鼻环 , Soekotture )
Soekotture is the term for the wooden ring attached to the nose of a cow, also used as a sorcery tool for keeping out evil spirits. These nose rings are made with tree branches between 2 and 3 centimeters thick, the bark stripped and fastened with rope to be shaped into a ring. Cows are big, powerful animals, but once the nose ring is attached, the pain confines them to a life that is constrained by humans. The nose ring, therefore, was a symbolic tool that connotes eternal confinement, and ther
Korean Folk Beliefs -
Pine Branch
솔가지 ( 松枝 , Solgaji )
Solgaji, or pine branch, is used in Korean folk religion to chase away impurities and to cleanse a given space, enlivening it with vitality. Pine trees were believed to be sacred and auspicious, providing humans with protection and other benefits, and were used in important functions and occasions that required high devotion, including seasonal customs, initiation rites, and folk rituals, as a means of keeping out evil forces and praying for good fortune. On Seol, the first day of the first luna
Korean Folk Beliefs -
Prickly Castor-Oil Tree
엄나무 ( 刺楸 , Eomnamu )
Eomnamu, or prickly castor-oil tree, particularly its thorny branches, are used in Korean folk religion to chase away evil spirits and illnesses. Kalopanax septemlobus, common name prickly castor-oil tree, is a deciduous tree in the family Araliaceae, which grows around Korea, Japan and China. Its branches are prickly with thorns, believed to scare away evil spirits and diseases, and are hung over gates or room doors in homes at Seol (Lunar New Year). Another related custom is to take malaria pa
Korean Folk Beliefs -
Talisman
부적 ( 符籍 , Bujeok )
Bujeok is the term for talisman, comprising letters or patterns that are believed to carry the power to chase away evil ghosts and prevent calamities. In Korean folk religion, amulet sheets are generally made by painting letters or pictures in red on a sheet of yellow paper, and can be categorized into good fortune talismans (gilsangbujeok) and ghost-repelling talismans (byeoksabujeok). The former includes wish talismans (sowonseongchwibu), prosperity talismans (bugwibu), harmony-and-longevity-i
Korean Folk Beliefs -
Winnow Basket
키 ( 簸箕 , Ki )
Ki is a basket for winnowing grains and is used as a sorcery tool for fortunetelling or in rituals. Woven of bamboo or willow, a winnow basket measures between 50 to 70 centimeters in width and 70 to 100 centimeters in length. Its function of sifting grains from chaff is reinterpreted in folk belief as that of sorting out impurities and uncertainties, and thus used for problem-solving and decision-making. The most common uses of winnow baskets as a sorcery tool are for harvest divination and rai
Korean Folk Beliefs -
Wood Charcoal
숯 ( 木炭 , Sut )
Sut, or wood charcoal, in Korean folk religion, is believed to possess the power to keep out evil forces. When a new baby was born in the family, charcoal was tied to left-hand lay straw rope to hang as taboo rope (geumjul) for keeping out unclean persons and bad fortune, and the same rope was also placed inside sauce jars during fermentation process. Charcoal was sometimes offered as a sacrifice in household rituals for the kitchen deity Jowang. Wood charcoal is an effective dehumidifier, and w
Korean Folk Beliefs
