essay
The meaning of polution in Korean ritual life
Religion and ritual in Korean society • Berkeley, Calif. • Published In 1987 • Pages: 139-148
By: Ch'oe, Kil-song.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article addresses Korean notions of pollution (PUJONG). All rituals begin with a purification rite. Before carrying out a KUT, a shaman (MUDANG) purifies the ritual space by first sprinkling water onto the ground and altar, and then burning a paper torch. For Confucian ceremonies, a ritual official (CHEGWAN) cannot be handicapped, deformed, abnormal, or sick. He must be married, with at least one son, and his household free of ritual pollution. Prior to the ritual he must observe taboos and keep ascetic confinement for a period of seven days. Births are polluting. All postpartum excretions are ritually unclean and must be buried, and birth ropes strung up across the household gate to warn villagers of pollutants and also to keep polluted persons out. Death pollutes the whole community. Villagers must avoid washing clothes, put off marriage plans, and postpone any other rituals. Death pollution affects all kin, closely-related kin more so than distantly-related kin, no matter where they happen to live. The funeral ceremony is a means of purifying the the soul and transforming it into a sacred ancestor.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Community structure
- Magical and mental therapy
- Burial practices and funerals
- Eschatology
- Purification and atonement
- Childbirth
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Korea
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1998
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Asia
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- East Asia
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypesThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Indigenous Person
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard ; 1997
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1971-1972
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1950-1972
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Republic of Korea
- NotesAdditional notes
- Kil-song Ch'oe
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 147-148)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 86082390
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Koreans