Eeopsin (업신)

DeityKorea · East AsiaMythFear 2/10

Description

A household guardian spirit governing wealth and fortune. Manifests as a snake, weasel, or toad dwelling within the home. If the Eop leaves, the family falls into ruin; if properly venerated, it brings prosperity and abundance.

Origin & Background

Eobsin (업신) is expressed as '業神' in Chinese characters used by scholars throughout Korean history, which means 'goddess of occupation.' Therefore, the name Eobsin may have originated from '業神,' which is suitable for the goddess of wealth. However, there is also a theory that '業神' is merely the Sino-Korean term for Eobsin. Scholars who support this theory view the religions of Mongolia, Shinto in Japan, and Ryukyu Shinto as culturally and ethnically similar to Korea. In Mongolia, there is Obog, and some scholars see a linguistic similarity between 'eob' and 'obu.' In Japan, there is a village deity called Ubusunakami, and other scholars compare 'eob' to 'ubusuna.' In the Ryukyu Islands, there is a village deity called Ibi, who is compared to Eobsin.

The Legend

Eobsin is the goddess of warehouses and wealth in Korean mythology and shamanism. She is one of the guardian deities that protect homes, but unlike other deities, she is uniquely depicted in animal form. Koreans considered rats, snakes that eat rats, and weasels as sacred, so Eobsin is generally embodied as a python, and rarely as a weasel or toad. Eobsin is also regarded as a cow, pig, chicken, or dog, and there are records of Eobsin or Eob as a human figure. Koreans believed that worshiping Eobsin would make them wealthy, and she was regarded as the goddess of the warehouse that stores money.

In Popular Culture

Eobsin is considered a black python with ears and can appear as a snake, weasel, toad, cow, pig, rooster, dog, or human. Eobsin often merges with other deities; Eobseongjo (업성조) is a deity that combines Eobsin and Seongju (성주신), and Eobdaegam (업대감) is a deity that merges Eobsin and Teoju (터주신). In Jeju mythology, there is a deity similar to Eobsin called Chilseongshin, and Chilseongbonpul (칠성본풀) is a myth about Chilseongshin, corresponding to Eobsin in Jeju Island, which tells the story of a snake girl and her seven children becoming deities.

This article is based on the Wikipedia article "업신" (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikipedia