Sungmo

DeityKorea · East AsiaMythFear 2/10

Description

한국 설화에 등장하는 Deity. Sungmo (崇母, "Holy Mother"), also called Daemo ("Great Mother"), Jamo ("Benevolent Mother"), Sinmo ("

The Legend

Seongmo (성모) is a goddess revered in Korean shamanism, depicted as the mother or daughter of the heavenly king. In some myths, she is referred to as the mother of all shamans. Seongmo is associated with mountains, and there is a myth that connects the origin of shamans through her meeting with the heavenly king's 'Seongmo.' This myth includes a story where Seongmo appears as a human princess who later transforms into a goddess. It is believed that the appointment of shamans is passed down through female lineage. This myth seems to have first materialized during the Silla period, a time influenced by Buddhism and China.

Variants

Myths about Seongmo vary by region. For example, there is a version featuring Princess Ahwang (아황공주) from the Liao dynasty located on the Asian mainland. She has a strong association with divinity and provided welfare for the people. Her father sent the princess among the people to be worshipped for her healing abilities, and the first shamans established themselves as her successors. In northern regions, she is known as Chilgongju (칠공주), the seventh daughter of the king, who was abandoned by her father and trapped in a stone crown, later rescued by the dragon king sent by the heavenly king, and ascended to the western sky to become the goddess of healing.

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