earticle

영어

The main idea of this paper is to examine the common treasure of Mongolian and Korean shamanism by looking at the spiritual system and religio-cultural symbols. The thing most commonly associated with the Mongolian and Korean culture would be the tradition of shamanism. Why is shamanism important? It espouses a view of the world that is vital to human's survival in the future. The northern shamanism has been originated from Lake Baikal where is known to be the spiritual birth place of shamanism. Lake Baikal lies in Southern Siberia in Russia between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and Buryatia to the southeast near the city of Irkutsk. People treat Baikal as a sacred area. "The Sacred Sea," "The Holy Lake." "Holy Water." They are the names of Baikal called both by the residents and the travelers who worship its Grandeur. Olkhon(Olchon), by far the largest island in Lake Baikal, is the second largest lake-bound island in the world. Olkhon has been also known as a mystical shaman rock and reputed to be the birthplace of Mongolian ruler Genghis Khan. Glorified and sacred is Baikal for something different, for its miraculous vivifying spiritual power and beauty. The shamanic spirit of Baikal is a peculiar matter that makes people to believe in nature's great spirituality. Mogolian and Korean shamanism share a number of common traditions such as heaven worship, sacred tree, oboos, shrine of a tutelary deity(Seonangdang), color symbolism, sacred birds, rock paintings, etc. The shamanic attributes of the cult of the mountain spirits can be observed unequivocally in many rural areas of Mongolia and Korea. Sacred mountain is deeply connected with reverence for trees which is also essential parts of shamanism. They especially revere large or unusual trees, which are believed to be the residence of powerful spirits. They may be honored by tying on pieces of cloth or placing offerings of milk or alcohol to the spirit of the tree as they would pass during their travels. The tying on of the ribbons is done with a specific intention for healing, luck, or some other purpose, and the spirits are believed to heed the intentions conveyed by the ribbons. The sacred tree symbolizes the world center, where heaven and earth touch, where all times and places converge. For this reason trees are considered to be places of prayer. Another place where earth and heaven touch is the stone oboo, which are usually erected on or near mountaintops. Similar to the tying on of ribbons, it is customary to walk sunrise around the oboo and place stones on it. The oboo shown below stands near the reputed birthplace of Genghis Khan. Unusual rocks are considered to be sacred, having powerful shamanic spirits similarly to sacred trees and oboos. This is similar to stone pyramids and the shrine faith(Seonangdang) of Korean shamanism. The main features of the shamanic spirituality commonly shared with Mogolian and Korean traditions are life-centriam, ecological spirituality, pain and healing, harmony of transcendence and immanence of spirits, symmetrical relation between spirits and humans, holistic ethics of shamanism. For people with the shamanic spirituality, the world is not a dead place, but vibrantly alive with spirits and souls in every thing and in every place. The universe is a living organism. For that reason respect for the spirits of nature and living things shaped a religion and life ethics that minimizes negative impact on the earth. This is a way of life which is radically different from that of western peoples, whose philosophy considers most of the world to be lacking sentience and useful only for exploitation. Therefore, the holistic and life-centred characteristics of shamanic spirituality, flowing from the lake Baikal Olkhon, are particularly important and relevant to today’s life-destroying world, marked by the massive poverty of the Third World, eco-cide, and other "ism oppressions." This organic view of the life-giving spirituality becomes a corrective to the dualistic worldview and further suggests an integration of both the spiritual and physical dimensions of reality. This provides the context for the spirit of liberation, the transformation of every dimension of life in its socio-political, cultural, and environmental aspects.

한국어

이 글의 목적은 바이칼 알흔섬에서 흘러 내려온 무의 영성을 몽골과 한국의 종교문화적 상징속에서 찾아 보고자 하는데 있다. 바이칼 알흔섬은 지형적 특징과 역사적 의미도 있지만 북방유목민족의 정신 세계를 다시 느끼게 하는 중요한 종교문화의 상징이기도 하다. 일반적으로 북방유목부족들 사이에서 발견되는 공통적인 문화특징들은 비파형 청동검, 사슴뿔 혹은 자작나무형 금관과 빗살무늬 토기, 샤먼의 신접전통등을 꼽는다. 특히, 종교문화적 차원으로 동북아시아의 문화적 가치를 찾는 과정에서 샤머니즘 혹은 무의 전통은 결코 간과할 수 없는 깊은 문화적 인연이다. 이런 면에서 바이칼 알흔섬은 신과 인간이 함께 거하며 조화롭게 공존했을 태고의 시절을 전승해 온 북방 유목민족의 영성적 유적지인 것이다. 바이칼 알흔에 서려있는 영성의 세계와 문화적 가치의 재발견은 한민족 조상들이 공유했던 영성적 모체전통을 다시금 느끼게 하는 신인간의 에로스라고 할 수 있다. 공유된 모체전통을 지니고 있는 몽골과 한국의 영성적 전통을 찾기 위하여 이 글에서 제한적으로 논의될 내용은 몽골과 한국무의 신령체계, 몽골과 한국의 신목신앙, 몽골의 어워신앙과 한국의 서낭당신앙, 그리고 색깔상징등이다. 이를 기초로 몽골과 한국 무에 나타난 무의 영성세계를 종교철학적 해석을 통하여 현대적 조명을 하고자 한다. 대표적인 무의 영성세계는 생명의 영성, 초월과 내재가 합일을 이루는 조화의 영성, 아픔과 억울함이 해원과 상생으로 승화하는 치유의 영성, 개별성의 존재가 인정되는 전체성의 공동체 영성이라고 할 수 있다.