Jeju - the magical island of 18.000 gods

Island is considered to be a sacred place of 18.000 gods with over 300 shrines built to worship them. One of the most representative Jeju rites is the Yeongdeung rite, designated as a major Intangible Culture Treasure.

The name of the rite originates from the name of the Great King Yeongdeung. He belonged to neither the earth, the heaven nor the Dragon Palace. One February day in the Chinese calendar, Yeongdeung was playing the cowry trumpet when he heard a big noise on the sea. He found that a strong wind had pushed the fishing boat towards where one-eyed carnivore giants live.

Yeongdeung hid the sailors and provided the tail wind so that they could return home safely. By the time the fishermen came back home, one-eyed giants showed up with dogs. They tore Yeongdeung into pieces and threw them into the sea. With his spirit surviving, Yeongdeung became a god blowing spring wind to Jeju. Jeju people have given him the name the Great King Yeongdeung and honored him between Feb 1st and Feb 15th every year by holding Yeongdeung rite festivities.

It is a shamanistic rite where the shaman offers a sacrifice to the spirits. Through singing and dancing the shaman begs the spirits to intercede in the fortunes of the humans in question. The shaman wears a very colourful costume and normally speaks in trance. There are three elements to the rite. Firstly there is the spirits as the object of folk beliefs. Secondly there are the believers who pray to those spirits and finally there is the shaman mediating between the two.

Here are some pictures from a Yeongdeung rite in Ongphyong Region in Jeju, wishing safety and plentiful catches for the women divers of Jeju.