Draft:Creation myth of Geumgwan Gaya

• Comment: Needs secondary sources on the subject, encyclopedias are considered tertiary sources. Lightoil (talk) 15:44, 1 November 2023 (UTC)

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The creation myth of Geumgwan Gaya is a myth about King Gim Suro, the progenitor of Geumgwan Gaya and the progenitor of the Gimhae Gim clan. This story is written in The Garak Gukgi (가락국기) of the "Samguk Yusa" Volume 2. This story tells that the six eggs turned into boys, and they became founders of each country of the Gaya confederacy.

History

It is the same as the 'Dangun Myth', 'The Myth of King Dongmyeong', and 'The Myth of Bak Hyeokgeose' in that it is a founding myth. However, it is different from the others in terms of the sequential structure of the biography leading to birth and death. 'The Myth of King Dongmyeong' and 'The Myth of Seok Talhae' are structured in the ordeal of birth due to paternal infidelity and the ordeal and struggle to become the founder of a nation. On the other hand, 'Bak Hyeokgeose Myth' and 'The Myth of King Suro' deny both paternal and maternal lineage, but they have no struggle to rise to the throne as the founder of a nation without going through the ordeal of birth. The former can be defined as 'the myth of the illegitimate child type' and the latter as the 'myth of the foster child type'. From this point of view, 'The Myth of King Suro' can be said to be a founding myth and a progenitor myth, as well as a myth that reflects the collective unconsciousness of the foster child.

Plot

After the beginning of the world, there were still no titles to call a country on this land, and there were no titles to call a king or a subject. However, there were nine gans: Adogan, Yeodogan, Pidogan, Odogan, Ryusugan, Ryucheongan, Sincheongan, Ocheongan, and Singuigan, and they became chiefs and led the people. There were 75,000 people in 100 households. Each of them lived together in the mountains and fields, dug wells, drank, and plowed the fields. In the thrid lunar month of the 18th year of Emperor Guangwu's reign in the late Han Dynasty (A.D. 42, and the year of Linin (壬寅)), the Gyeyok event was held which is a day when people gather at the water's edge to ward off evil in spring and autumn. There was a sign of something calling in a suspicious voice here in Bukguji, so a group of 200 to 300 people gathered. It sounded like a human voice, but it hid its form and said out loud, “Is anyone there?” did The nine gan answered, “We are.” And the voice said again, "Where am I?" So they replied, “It is Guji.” He also said, “The reason God commanded me was to come here to renew the country and become king. That's why I came down here. You will hold a handful of soil from the top of the peak and sing a song and dance, then this will be the joy of jumping to meet the Great King."

Gujiga

Turtle, turtle
Put your head out
If you don't,
I'll ​​roast you and eat you,

The nine gans enjoyed singing the song Gujiga and dancing as told. After a while, they looked up and saw a purple string hanging down from the sky and touching the ground. When they looked for the end of the string, they found a golden box wrapped in a red cloth. They opened the box, then there were six golden eggs round like the sun. The people were all amazed and delighted and bowed together countless times. After a while, they packed up the eggs again, returned to Adogan's house, put them on the table, and dispersed.

Twelve hours later, the next day, around dawn, the group gathered again and opened the box, and six eggs turned into boys whose faces were dignified. As soon as they sat down on the table, the crowd celebrated, bowed, and respected him wholeheartedly. They grew up day by day and passed ten days and nights. They were 9 feet tall, so they could be called Tang of Shang; their faces were like a dragon, so they could be called Emperor Gaozu of Han; their eyebrows were eight different colors, like that of Emperor Yao; their pupils were doubled, like those of Emperor Shun. The first of the six eggs which turn into a human ascended the throne on the fifteenth day of the same month, and because it appeared first, it was named 'Suro' or 'Sureung' and the country was called 'Daegarak' or 'Gayaguk' which is one of the six Gaya countries. The remaining five became the head of the five Gaya.

Analysis

Historical research to reconstruct the history of Garakguk, literary research centered on the interpretation of 'Gujiga (구지가, 龜旨歌)', and folklore research to explain in relation to ancient rituals were conducted. In terms of literature, above all, research was conducted to clarify the literary value of 'The Myth of King Gim Suro' by examining the entire context of the myth, the surface layer and depth of the text, and the entire type of founding myth. There are studies that revealed the fact that 'The Myth of King Gim Suro' is an oral correlate of the coronation ceremony of kings and that 'Gujiga' is an exorcism song for a ritual to ward off disaster, and a study on the specificity of the narrative principle of myths, and studies on the ritual structure of 'The Myth of King Gim Suro' in the context of the ritual narrative structure of the founding myth. The psychological approach to 'The Myth of King Gim Suro' is further diversifying the layers of meaning, and in particular, recently, studies on storytelling methods for cultural contents have been conducted, and the current significance of the myth is being newly illuminated.

See also

• Suro of Geumgwan Gaya
• Gimhae Gim clan
• Geumgwan Gaya
• Song of Guji

External links

• "삼국유사" '가락국기(駕洛國記)' (Garak gukgi in Samguk Yusa) (in Korean)
• Gaya, the Nation of Iron
• Gujiga (Wikisource) (in Korean)

This page will be placed in the following categories if it is moved to the article namespace.

Categories:

• Korean mythology
• Gaya confederacy