Recharging...

Pilbong musicians circumambulating the village flag (Ki-kut)

I've been averaging a total of 2 trips out of Seoul each month. I find that these excursions (whether research related or not) are a necessary respite from the chaotic life in Seoul. This weekend I went to see the Jeongwol Daeboreum kut (정월대보름굿) in the Pilbong Village of the North Jeolla Province. This event was in celebration of the first full moon (February 9) of the first month in the lunar calendar. I've attended several smaller scale daeboreum events in the past, but this one was by far the most endearing and uplifting. The first reason being was that this was in all senses a community ritual - from the spatial usage of the village throughout the entire day to the participation of the locals serving as volunteers or performers. The second reason is that Pilbong is well-known for its rural percussion band music (called pungmul or nongak). This wasn't the first time I've seen or heard Pilbong, but in the context of the daeboreum and the performance within the village boundaries, it was a sensory experience that I won't soon forget. I came back to Seoul physically fatigued, but emotionally refreshed.

This video that I found on a Korean website gives a brief glimpse of most of the rituals performed in the Pilbong daeboreum kut. And, for those who want to dig even deeper, I'd like to recommend the work of Dr. Donna Kwon, an ethnomusicologist who has written eloquently about the intersections between music, movement, and space. She's also an expert on Pilbong music (her dissertation features an extensive analysis of the Pilbong daeboreum kut), and her trenchant insights have added an important and fresh dimension to Korean music studies.

 

Senior villagers resting and listening to music performed by Pilbong musicians in the Dangsan-je

Women preparing the immense quantities of rice and kimchi soup for the hundreds of attendees that would be fed throughout the day/evening.

The colored pieces of paper here have wishes inscribed on them by villagers and attendees. The slips of paper are tied over pieces of rope which are then strung around the conical mound. In the climax of the evening ceremony, prayers are made in front of the mound, and the bonfire is lit with torches. The engulfing flames then whisk away the wishes made for the lunar new year.

My friend took this photograph towards the beginning of a three hour drumming session (pankut) in the evening. I love this shot because you can see a few people feeling the inescapable itch to dance. Later on in the evening, there were probably over 100 people who went to join in the circle where the musicians were playing.