Igong Maji

DeityKorea · East AsiaMythFear 3/10

Description

한국 설화에 등장하는 Deity. The Igong Maji (Korean: 이공맞이; lit. 'Greeting the Igong' is a Korean shamanistic ritual done in Jeju

Origin & Background

Igongmaji is a Korean shamanistic ritual performed in Jeju Island, welcoming the deity of the flower Igong. Since Igong does not play a significant role in ordinary life, Igongmaji was only conducted as part of a large-scale gut ceremony.

The Legend

Igong is the guardian deity of Seocheon, a mythical realm where magical flowers grow. The myth about Igong is known as Igong Bonpuri, and while there are many magical flowers in Seocheon, two of them are particularly important. They are the Hwanseang Flower and the Sanyeom Oblivion Flower. The Hwanseang Flower includes various types of flowers that can revive bones, flesh, organs, blood, breath, and souls. The Igongmaji ritual was intended to prevent the destruction and evil caused by the Sanyeom Oblivion Flower and to gather the prosperity brought by the Hwanseang Flower. Additionally, it was believed that if a child under the age of 15 died, they would help nurture the magical flowers, so parents who lost their children prayed to Igong not to torment their offspring.

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