Ancient Rituals tradition of worshiping the heaven continues in the 21st century

In Korean spirituality, the soul and spirit of a person is defined as Hon-Baek. Hon is the soul that rises to heaven, while the Baek is the spirit body that is interred underground.

From the earliest Korean civilization, Koreans looked to heaven for spiritual strengths.

Chamseongdan, one of the oldest ancient altars for worshiping heaven from the Gojoseon (Ancient Joseon) period, is still used atop Manisan mountain in Ganghwa island.

The Korean indigenous belief of worshiping heaven, the land and people was based on the Cheon-ji-in philosophy. Cheon, the heaven which is round, Ji, the land which has four corners, and In, the people, all are inextricably connected as one.

Additional schools of thoughts came out of the Cheon-ji-in philosophy that led to social changes, such as the Donghak Peasant Movement of 1894 in which the people demanded that even as we are in awe with the heavenly god, each person should also be treated with reverence and humility since we all all connected.

Korean kings through the Goryeo Empire had altars dedicated for regular rituals to pray to heaven. That changed when Neo-confucianism, which was the official religion of the Joseon Kingdom (1392–1910), became the standard for governing ancestor worship for ordinary citizens.

During the Joseon period, ancestor worship became most institutionalized in all of Korea's history with both, the shrines for the ancestor called Jongmyo, and a set of altars called Sajikdan, a place where sacrifices were made to the gods of land and grain, were built near the royal palace in Seoul.

Until the early 20th century, Korean Kings often made ceremonial sacrifices at the Sajikdan altar several times a year praying to the gods of land and grain to avert famine or drought.

Typically, when an ancestor passes away, the Hon soul stays with the family for four generations, roughly about 120 years, covering 30 years per generation. On holidays and on memorial anniversaries, families offer food and drinks to the Hon-Back of deceased ancestors, up to the past four generations.

While vanishing from ordinary practices rapidly in the 21 century, visiting graves to please the ancestor's Baek spirit buried underground on holidays and on special occasions, is also a common practice.

Royal family of Joseon Dynasty was not too different, except, all of the royal family Hon souls lived in the Jongmyo shrine.

Baek spirit, the bodies of the deceased kings and queens, are all interred in the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty, listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. The Royal Tombs have been built over five centuries, to honor their memories and to show respect for their achievements.

The Joseon Kingdom had a standing rule that all royal tombs of the Joseon Kings must be located at least 4 km away but must be within 32 km from the royal palaces of Seoul.

While many royal tombs of earlier Korean kingdoms have been desecrated by tomb raiders, especially during the first half of the 20th century, when antiques became marketable, none of the Joseon royal tombs have been known to be robbed. The royal tombs were built with impenetrable burial vault technology which is stronger than modern concrete.

Jongmyo shrine was dedicated to hold ancestor worship ceremonies led by the incumbent Joseon King to please the Hon-Baek, the soul and spirits of the deceased kings and queens of the Joseon Dynasty.

On the first Sunday of May, some 140 ceremony officiants wearing headgear called Yangguan with hairpin called Gae managed the actual ceremony led by Yi Won, the last heir to the Korea Empire, offering drinks and food to the Hon-Back of ancestors of all of the Joseon kingdom kings and queens.

Incense was burned to summon Hon, the souls from heaven, and drinks were poured into a hole on the ground to welcome the Baek, the spirit bodies of the deceased Joseon royalty from the underworld.

During an elaborate annual Royal ancestral ritual at the Jongmyo shrine, court music which is more than 550 years old, composed by King Sejong the Great (1397 - 1450) was performed.

Some 45 dishes of cooked and raw food are served on ceremonial elevated dishes with drinks. "The offering of uncooked meat and food are a reflection of an ancient tradition of rituals that go back to prehistoric times when raw food was consumed uncooked." according to the Korea Cultural Heritage Administration.

The following prayer was offered to the spirits of the ancestors:
"On this beautiful occasion, please experience a number of ceremonial dishes which have been prepared with longing heart while adhering to proper guidance."

Hanja characters became the first common written language for East Asia some two thousand years ago. Koreans used Hanja extensively until the Hangul alphabet was invented in the 15th century by King Sejong the Great.

Hanja characters are logograms and stylized drawings of the objects they represent.

Reflecting the ancientness of the practice of ancestor worship, there were a number of visual clues observed during the annual Jongmyo rituals which are evident in Hanja writing.

For example, a Hanja character which means a man or husband "夫 Bu" has an extra slash over a character which means a big man. A hair stick called Gae which is worn to secure a male officiant's headgear called Yang-guan, looks like the Hanja character Bu夫.

A Hanja character in the shape of a wooden tray with three compartments for meals placed on the ceremony table for the deceased, is part of the word Jo 祖 which means grandpa and ancestors.

A Hanja character mu 舞 meaning dance has a logogram showing a tilted dancer with equipment.

The annual Royal ancestral ritual at the Jongmyo shrine and its music are listed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Koreans have been called the "People of the East with impeccable manners since the time of Confucious. "Koreans worship gods and chase ideals. The reason Korea still maintains the 3,000 year-old Gojoseon rituals is because it suits Korean people's psyche which is Confucianism, the Gojoseon philosophy that Confucius taught." said Mr. Yi Kihoon, the author of "Dongyi Korean History."

-30-

#종묘 #Jongmyo #ancient #ritual #ancestor #worship #heaven #Gojoseon #joseon #royals #shrine #혼백 #souls #spirits #Korea #UNESCO