Planing the soundboard of a komungo

2.CAittingopeningsinthesoundboard.

3.Attaching

one soundboard

totheotherwith

oxhide

glue.

4.Stringingthe instrument.

5. Filingthefretsofthe

komungo.

6.Tyingthestrings inpreparationfortuning.

Michael SasoisProfessorofChineseciiul Asiiin Relif>io)isintheDe/kirtmenI ofReligion.

I'niversityofHiiwaiiHeisauthor ofIlic Tcadiingsof TaoistMisterChuang(l'J~8)

amiBlueDragon.

W

hitcTigerII'JSJ).

Practicingniiu/angs enterinprocessional, pa.stseated.s7;/</((7ensemble.

PHOTOSBYRALPH RINZLER

Korean Folksong,

Dance, and Legend

By Michael Saso

For

Americans

of

Korean

ancestry, folksong,dance,

and

legendareacher- ishedp;irtoftheirAsianheritage.Atthisyear's Festival,dances, songs,

and

legends taken

from Korean

har\'est

and

fertility-celebrationsofspring

and summer

areenacted

on

the Mall

each

day.

The

originsoftheritesoffertility-

and

har\cstin

Korea

are certainlyvery ancient. Burialsites

from

the

Three Kingdoms

period(

^"^B.C.-

668

A.D.)in south

Korea

ha\'eyieldedevidencethatthecostumes,hairornaments,

and

musicalinstrumentsused today

were

anessentialpartofcourt ritualin that early period. Buttheadvent of

Confucianism

duringthe

Kono

Dvnastv

(918 -

1392

A.D.)turnedthe

upper

classes

away from many

nativeforms ofreligion.

The

ritesofspringfertilitv

and summer-autumn

harvest arestillpreserved todayaspart ofvillage celebraticjn. Hie

Koreans

take.specialprideinthesefes- tivalsbecause ofa sen.seofcontinuitywith theirculturalpast.Cireatheroes of tbmierdvnasties,generals,literan figures,

and

naturespirits"attend" thefestival inthe

form

offancifulh attireddancers.

The

legends oftheheroes ofthe past are toldinsimplelyricsong,

and

their tellingisthoughttocreatethe culture hero's actualpresence.Sojovfularethesongs

and

so

heady

the

dances

that bystandersoftenjoinin. Blessingofcrops, babies, wealth, healing,

and many

otherblessingsarethoughttt)accruetothose

who

attend theperformance.

VC'oment;ikespecialprideinpreservingthe legends,bringingtheirchildren to

be

instnicted

by

theancienttales.

Humor

isanimportantpartof the per- former'sart,ashe

mixes

stt)riesofthe pastwithwit

and

jokes

from

the present.

The dance

stepsofthefolkarethe basisfor statelycourtrituals

and

for classical

Korean dance

seen

on

formaloccasions,lliedancingistothe

accompaniment

of

drum,

tlute,

and

stringed instruments.

The mvths

orepics toldinthesong-danceare calledhonplmti.Usually spicy talesofa spirit,anancestor,ora

hero

ofthepast,thecharacters

who

appear are calledout

by

the

performer

as

he

or she

assumes each

identitv'. Elaborate

50

costumes

areput

on

toidentify

each

spirit: Chit-sulnim,thespiritof theseven startsof UrsaMajor,isdressedin abeautifulwhite robe overaredskirt

and dons

apointedwliitecap; Taegam-)iim,thespiritv^'hoprotectsthehouse,

wears

abluetunicwithablacj-;rininied

hdUjcinggun nim

isageneral

with

a

weapon,

wliilePaliGiinjuisabeautifulprincesswith herhair

done up

ina bun.Tlieaudiencelauglisindelightaseach.spiritappears

and

itsstor)'istold.

No

matter

what

the

purpose

ofthefestival,thegeneraloutlineofthe dances

and

legendan- songs remainsthesame,lliedancers portraysucces- siveh'theliteran- spiritsofthepast,the martialspirits,the ancestors,

and

spiritsof^theunderworld.

Each

ofthe

segments

ofthe

dance

-with-stor\'is different,buttheaudience nevertiresofthe legendretold,orthewit

and humor

ofthedancersinterjected

between

tales. Hie beauty ofthecostumes, the intricacy of the

dance

steps,

and

thejo)-ofseasonalfestivalgive a special value to^this

form

offolkart

from

the ancientpast.

Among

the

more

poignant legendsisthe

m\th

ofthefertility'goddess,told inspringduringthe plantingofcrops.

A woman,

fleeingtheinjusticesofacruel husband,isaccostedin afield

by

aspiritofthe soil(in

some

versions,

by

an

unknown

\agrant).

Becoming

pregnant

by

the

chance meeting

inthe grain field,shegives birth toa child,

and

^laternursesthe

baby

ⁱⁿthefield.

The

field yields afertilecrop,

and

the child

grows up

to

be

afinefarmer, collecting abundanthar\ests

each

year.

Another

legend,in

which

the Princess PaliGunjii rescues her brother

from

hell,is

known

throughout InnerAsia.

Once

aking

had

se\'enchildren,six daugliters

and one

son.VCIiilethe

boy was

thepride

and

jo\ ofhis father,

who

had

longprayedforasonto

succeed

him,theyoungest daughter,the Princess Pali,

was unwanted and was

thereforemarriedto adistant

kingdom

inthe

Mongolian

Desert.In

extreme

loneliness

and

^isolation.Princess Pali

one

nightin a

dream saw

thatherbrother

had

died

and

thatherfather

was

heart-

broken

withgriefInthedream, she

descended

intohell

and

cajoledthe

King

of Helltoreleaseher brotherinreturnforher

hand

inmarriage.Then,by trickery,sheescaped with herbrother's soul

and

returnedtothe

world

ofthe living.

During

theFestival thisstory

and many

otherswill

be

toldindramatic

dance and pantomime; no spoken word

is

needed

toexpresstheirbeauty.

Ahuiangdunccrbeforetraditionalsitutwi en.scmble.

luck\iiiitii!()icicircilbisI'b.Din Folklore

tiiiclhilk'lifefiiinillwIniri'isityo/Pcniisyl- niiiiti lieiscunx'iillvci sliifffolkloristat the Offieeofliilklife I'tTtunims.SmitbsonicinIn- stiliilioiiandlemhesfolklorecoursesatTlje deorticWiishiniitoiirniivrsily

Enjoy the ^Festival

All Year Long

by Jack ^Santino

Atthe

Renwick

Gallen'throughoutthe

coming

year,

on

a

monthly

basis, a seriescalled "Living (x'lebrations"will

be

lield inconjunction\\ itiitheexliibit

"Celebration;

A W

brldof Art

and

Ritual."Ct)-producedb\ the

Renwick

Gal-

ler\-

and

the OfficeofFolklifePrograms,theCelebrationexliibit willcontinue throughlune. 198,^.Brought togetherinthe exhibit arc objects

from

the .Smithsonian's\astholdings,

which

are usedincelebrationsallo\ertheworld.

Distinguishedfolklorists

and

anthropologists, including guestcuratorDr.\'ic- tor I'urner,conceivedthisexliibitas apresentationof the unixersal

compo-

nents offestivals,suchasmasks,costumes, musicalinstRiments,

and

food.

Tlieobjects arepresentedaspartsoftraditional celebrationsofthemilestones

in sociallife,suchas birth,marriage

and

^death,

and

^{holidaysassociated}with

mid-w

inter,spring,the har\est.etc.

Tile

program

ofLi\ing(Celebrationswillhelpus to.seethese objectsintheir naturalcontext, the

way

they

were

actually used.Based

on

the

same

philosophy

;lsllie Festi\alof,\merican Folklife.perhapsbest

summed up

by.Secretar>

S.Dillon Riple\"sexhortation to"tiiketheinstruments

from

theirca.ses

and

let

them

sing,"the

program

ofLivingCelebrationshas

been

designedto

com- plement

the disphn' ofcelebraton objectswithcelebratoPi'e\ents heldinthe

drand

Salon of the

Renwick

dallen. Tliesescelebrations are

more

thanrecrea- tions:

w

herecNcrpossible

we haw

arrangedfor

groups

toholdtheirregular celebratoPi eventsinthe

Renw

ick forthepublictowatch,learn,participatein,

and

enjoy

Tlie series

began

in .March,

w

ith aSt. PatricksDa> celebration

on March

l^th.

Since then,

we

lia\efeaturedl.aotion

and Cambodian New

^ear's festivalsin .\pril

and

atraditional(Caribbeanfestival,calleda Big

Drum

celebrationin.\Iav

.

On June

24, 25,

and

26,inconjunction withtheFestivalof,\merican Folklife,

we

willpresenttraditional Fskiniomusic,dance,

and

^{storv telling} usuallyheldtocelebrate the

end

of thehuntingsea.son. Fifteen residents

from

St.

Lawrence

Island,.\laska.willbe pertorming niroughoiit the

coming

year, v\ewillpresent anancientniona.stic

ceremon) from

India,

performed

partly inSanskrit,a .MexicanDav oftheDead,aPuerto Rican.Saint'sDav celebration

and

aPolish(Christmas holidav,as

w

ellas

manv many

others,'^buarecordiallv invited tojoin us.

Smithsonian

Institution

Secretcvy:S.Dillon Ripley Utuier SetreUity.PhilUpS. Huglies Assiskint Secretary

for

^History

and

Art:CharlesBlitzer;Special As- sistant to Assistant Secretary

for

History

and

Art.

Dean Anderson

Assistant Secretary

for

Administra-

tion.

)ohn Jameson

Assistant.Secretary

for

^{PublicSenice.}

JulianEiiell

Assistant Secrvtary

for

^Science:

Da\idChallinor

Assistant Secretary

for Museum

Pr-ograms: Paul Perrot

Folklife Advisory Council Members

Chair-man:>Xilconib

Washburn Roger

Abr;ihams

RichardAlilborn William Fitzhugh Lloyd

Herman

Robert Laughlin ScottOdell R;ilphRinzler PeterSeitel RichardSorenson

Thomas Vennum

Office of

Folklife Programs

Director:RalphRinzler

Admi'iistrativeOfficer:Bett>

Beuck

Arxhivist:Richard Derbyshire StaffAssistant:^Patricia

Huntington

Pr-ograrnCoordiruitor:)cfiK\ LiRiche AdministrativeAssistant: Sarah Lewis FestivalPrrrgrarnCoordinator:

Diana Parker Folklorist:ydc\iSantino Antbr-opologist:Robert Sayers SeniorFolklorist:PeterSeitel Designer:

Daphne

Shuttleworth ArchivesAssistant: Cal

Southworth

Administrcitii'cAssistant:Barbara

Strickland

SeniorFthrumrusicologist:

Thomas Vennum

Etbnomusicologist:Kazadi

wa Mukuna

CelebrationKxhibitionStaff:

KristieMiller Beth Hantzes Katherine

Fox

National Park Service

Secretary

of

^theInterior:

lames

^Ci.

Watt

"

AssistantSecrvtary

for

Fish. Wildlife,

and

Parks:Ci.RayArnett Director-:RussellE.

Dickenson Regional

Director:

National

Capital

Region:

ManusJ.

^Fish,Jr.

Officials and ^Staff

Deputy

Director.

National

Capital Region:Robert Stanton

Chief National

Park

Police:

Lynn

Herring

AssistantChief UnitedStates

Park

Police:Larr\'Finks

Deputy

ChiefOper-ations, United States

Park

Police:

James

C.

Lindsey

Special Fi<ents. UnitedStates

Park

Police:Lt.Ciar)'

Treon

Associate RegionalDirector,Public Affairs:SandyAlley

Superintendent,

National

Capital Parks -Central:WilliamF

Ruback

Facilities

Manager; National

Capital

Parks

^-Central:

James Rubin

Superintendent,

Park

Rangers:

RobertMiller

Site

Manager, National

Mall: Levy Kelh'

Employees

oftheNationalCapital

Region and

the IgnitedStatesPark Police

Contributing Sponsors

The Diamond Jubilee

Commission of the State of Oklahoma

Chainruin:Mr.JackT.

Conn

ExecutiveDirector:Ms.Michelle Lefebvre

The Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation

The International Cultural Society of Korea

Pr-esident: Dr.Kju-taik

Kim

The Music Performance

Trust Funds

Trustee:Mr.MartinA. Paulson AdministrativeAssistant:Ms. Elba

Schneidman

The

U.S.

Recording Companies

furnishfundsin

whole

orinpartfor theinstrumental

music

ⁱⁿthese per-

formances

^throughthe

Music

Per-

formance

Trust Funds.

Cooperating Agencies

The National Endowment

for the Arts

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