Shamanic epics and narrative construction of identity on Cheju Island.

SINCE JAN VANSINA's suggestion in his classic Oral Tradition (1961), it has been widely acknowledged that oral traditions can provide important historical data. Although oral traditions do not describe actual historical events, they can contain elements of historical evidence. By definition, oral traditions stress the fact of "transmission" through ages. However, the historicity of oral traditions does not merely serve to retrieve the past or confirm the present. Oral traditions convey meaning--that is, cultural values and experiences--rather than aspects of the past. In fact, the distinction between the historical dimension and the mythical dimension is often unclear. Even mythical episodes can contain elements of historical truth. Specific events described in oral traditions can symbolize historical processes lasting over long periods of time. In mythical terms, the epic tales describe not only the origin of certain social groups but also express the tensions which existed among them.

This paper examines the way in which shamanic epics and oral traditions reflect the social history of Cheju Island, focusing on narrative construction of place and sense of identity. A volcanic island located some fifty miles below the southernmost tip of the Korean peninsula, Cheju Island has kept its indigenous cultural and religious heritage different from mainland Korea due to its geographical and political isolation. Although the people of Cheju Island also use Korean language, their dialect is unique and mostly incomprehensible to mainland Koreans. Their oral traditions are well preserved because they have been transmitted through shamanic epics, ponp'uri. (1) Among the ponp'uri that are still actively recited by the shaman during rituals, ponhyang ponp'uri, the origin-stories of the tutelary gods of village shrines, reflect the indigenous conceptions of identity and history.

Originally Cheju Island was an independent tribal state, Tam-ra, ruled by an indigenous king and several princes who formed a federation of separate estates owned by three major clan groups, Ko, Yang, and Pu. (2) However, after Tam-ra was annexed to the mainland dynastic state, Koryo, in 1105, Cheju Island lost political autonomy and became a low level local district (kun) at the southernmost frontier against foreign invasion. (3) This geopolitical reality of Cheju Island's status as a remote frontier conflicts with the indigenous cosmology in which the island is believed to be the sacred land of shrine gods. Shamanic worship of shrine gods has taken the dominant place in the social and religious life of Cheju people. (4) It could be said that Cheju Island has maintained its cultural autonomy until now through the transmission of shamanic epics. Ponhyang ponp'uri contain the epic stories which reflect not only the historical establishment of an autonomous cultural and political rule on Cheju Island, but also the political conflicts which existed between the island and the mainland.

Focusing on ponhyang ponp'uri, this paper will firstly illuminate their textual features that follow the narrative pattern or the cliche of oral epics. Next, regarding their narrative effect on the identity of Cheju people, it will explore how their textual features are active and dynamic to make meaningful connections to the historical experience and cultural values. (5)

A SHORT HISTORY OF CHEJU ISLAND