Jeju Chilmeori Shrine Shaman Performance 제주도 굿

For anyone who has ever been interested in seeing a traditional shaman festival, Jeju is one of the few places you can still see one. The weekend before last was a special performance, held at 관덕정 (Gwandeokjeong) in Jeju City.

Normally there are two "guts" or 굿 (pronounced goo-t) held in February, but because the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province is trying to register the Jeju Chilmeori shrine shaman performance as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage property, they arranged to have it held earlier in order to qualify for status this coming year.

The performance has already been designated as the 71st major intangible cultural asset since 1980 in Korea. The gods of Chilmeoridan Shrine are Dowonsugamchaljibangkwan and Yowhangheasinbuin. As a couple, "Dowon" controls birth and death, while his wife, "Yowhang," protects woman divers and their living.

The procedure of the "gut" is to call all the gods to the table spread with ritual food. The shaman explains the creation of heaven and earth, and Jeju island's geography and history. Then he explains the performance's date, place, reason to the gods, asking them to eat the offerings on the table.



The shaman calls the two gods, asking them to be seated on the table. Next is a prayer for the fishermen and woman diver's safety and richness in their living. Finally, warding off the entire village's evil and sending the gods back.



This particular "gut" was only about an hour and a half, but was followed by another:



Both Saturday and Sunday were filled with shaman rituals. I only stayed for the one on Saturday, but I'm definitely interested in seeing it again when they hold it again in February.