동북아시아 곰-인간 교혼 설화 다시 읽기 - 존재론적 전회를 중심으로

초록

The establishment of the bear totem was not a unilateral acceptance of the bear by humans, but was possible because the human who survived being preyed upon by the bear transformed into a different category, a different being-a bear-human. The bear-human interspecies marriage could have been realized because, although they existed in different worlds, they acknowledged each other as the same ‘human,’ and this is why the bear totem might have been possible. However, in primitive society, there is no ‘inside.’ Although all beings in the world are ‘human’ and possess personhood, their bodies are different, and they posit different worlds; thus, humans can confirm their own identity-what kind of being they are-through the different, external presence of the bear. Only after the sister, who became a bear-human and married a male bear, is killed by her younger brother in the form of a bear, does it become a moment of self-recognition for the Orochi people that the bear and human are the same ‘human’ but distinct beings who view different worlds. The transition from endogamy to exogamy, and the establishment of their own tribal identity, are only possible through this capture of the ‘outside’ in the form of the bear. And through this process, the Orochi people establish themselves as descendants of the bear, constructing the bear as their totem through the establishment of various taboos concerning the bear. Ultimately, it can be boldly stated that by acknowledging the bear as a different being, humans came to recognize the methods and system of classification for themselves and other species.

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