고려중기 東神聖母의 재해석과 仙桃聖母

Abstract

Examined in this article is how in the middle period of the Goryeo dynasty the Spiritual Mother(Shinmo, 神母) of the Seondo-san(仙桃山) mountain came to replace Madame Yuhwa(柳花) to be perceived as the Holy Mother(聖母) of Dongshin(東神), and what was the meaning of such perceptional change. Yuhwa was a figure who was known to have had given birth to Jumong(朱蒙), the founder king of the Goguryeo dynasty. She was a symbolic figure, representing the very beginning of the History of the Eastern country(Korea). She was revered accordingly, but later, the Goryeo government intended to separate itself from the legacy of Goguryeo, as we can surmise from the publication of Samguk Sagi (History of the Three Ancient Dynasties), and as a result of such intentions, memorial services that have been held for her over the years were finally discontinued. Kim Bu-shik, author of Samguk Sagi, regarded the Mt. Seondo’s Spiritual Mother (instead of Yuhwa) as the one who gave birth to the King that originated the history of Haedong(海東始主), and modified Yuhwa’s story by merging it with the mythical tale of Saso(娑蘇), who as a daughter of a Chinese emperor actually came to the Korean peninsula. In other words, Kim literally invented another Holy Mother, and it was not unlike other previous examples of such sort, as Yuhwa herself had originally been a Goguryeo-based agricultural deity then was turned into a Holy figure, and Jeong’gyeon-moju(正見母主), who earlier was a mountain god of Mt. Gaya, later came to be regarded as the First mother of the Dae-Gaya state. The reason the Spiritual Mother of Mt. Seondo was chosen to replace Madame Yuhwa was because she was a figure with historical relevance to the Park line of the Shilla royal family. And that replacement led to another belief that it was her (Mt. Seondo’s Spiritual Mother) who gave birth to (Shilla’s founder) Hyeokgeose. But in the end, such belief had little impact on the real world, and Mt. Seondo’s Spiritual Mother failed to acquire the status or narrative as a Holy Mother. Later it ended up being regarded as a traditional guardian spirit for the region.