| Group Visit to the Gyeryong-san Sanshin-je Mountain-Spirit Festival Third Full Moon, April 20, 2019 |
Shamanic veneration of the goddess of Mt. Gyeryong-san, long believed
to be female and highly powerful, second only to the Jiri-san Cheonhwang-
bong Seongmo-halmae San-shin, a.k.a. Mago, Matriarch of all Korea --
often held to be her first daughter. This annual festival is held by the
Gongju Folk-Drama Association and the Gongju government, on the
3rd Full Moon (by the Oriental Lunar Calendar). It takes place just
outside of Shinwon-sa Temple on the western foot of the great mountain,
and outside the border of the Gyeryong-san National Park, and within the
southern border of Gongju City in Chungcheongnam-do Province. This
mountain was thought to be extremely sacred since the ancient Baekje
Kingdom and then the Unified Shilla Dynasty, and was designated of
supreme holiness by Doseon Guksa, a highly-enlightened scholastic
and meditation master while also a renowned geomancer-prophet.
to be female and highly powerful, second only to the Jiri-san Cheonhwang-
bong Seongmo-halmae San-shin, a.k.a. Mago, Matriarch of all Korea --
often held to be her first daughter. This annual festival is held by the
Gongju Folk-Drama Association and the Gongju government, on the
3rd Full Moon (by the Oriental Lunar Calendar). It takes place just
outside of Shinwon-sa Temple on the western foot of the great mountain,
and outside the border of the Gyeryong-san National Park, and within the
southern border of Gongju City in Chungcheongnam-do Province. This
mountain was thought to be extremely sacred since the ancient Baekje
Kingdom and then the Unified Shilla Dynasty, and was designated of
supreme holiness by Doseon Guksa, a highly-enlightened scholastic
and meditation master while also a renowned geomancer-prophet.
| National Founding-King Dan-gun (painting at center) is also primarily venerated at these rituals |
| images from the 2008 Shamanic ritual-performances |
| Gyeryong-san Sanshinje Festival 1999 Gyeryong-san Sanshinje Festival 2018 article-1 KT Gyeryong-san Sanshinje Festival 2018 article-2 KQ |
| I plan to attend this Festival again this year, leaving Seoul on Friday evening by KTX, staying in a nearby motel seeing the main events on Sat morning until about 4pm, then returning by early Sat evening. If any friends would like to come along with me, contact 010-9734-9753 by MSG or KakaoTalk. |