Munjeon Bonpuri

Munjeon Bonpuri
Hangul	문전본풀이
Hanja	門前本풀이
Revised Romanization	Munjeon-bonpuri
McCune–Reischauer	Munjŏn-bonp'uri

The Munjeon Bonpuri (Korean: 문전본풀이) is meaning 'Annals of the Door', 'Book of the Door', 'Narration of the Door' or 'Explanation of the Door', is a myth of Jeju Island, explaining how many of the Gasin, or deities believed to reside within the house. It is one of the better-known myths of the Korean Peninsula.

Plot

In the village of Namseon in the kingdom of Junyeon lived Namseonbi and his wife, Yeosan Buin. Yeosan Buin was a very capable wife who raised the money for the family. However, her husband Namseonbi wasted all of the money whenever Yeosan Buin gathered enough.

The family of Yeosan Buin had nine members: Namseonbi, Yeosan Buin, and their seven sons. The name of the seventh was Nokdisaengin.

Because of the family's poverty, all of the family starved and lacked clothing. Yeosan Buin was worried by their pitiful condition, and bought fine cotton clothes and hats and fifty silver coins by selling her treasures she had brought from her family. She suggested that with these accessories, they buy grain, which was cheap in their village, and sell it in other villages, where grain was expensive.

Namseonbi thus set out to another village in the village of Odong in the Kingdom of Odong. There, Namseonbi, dressed in expensive clothing and controlling a ship full of grain, looked as if he was a wealthy man.

Noiljadae, the daughter of a Jumak owner, approached Namseonbi and suggested that he rest in her Jumak. There, Namseonbi sold all of his clothes and grains for rice wine and games. Once Namseonbi again fell in poverty, Noiljadae chased her away. Namseonbi had to build a hut outt of rice stalks and build a door of rotten wood. Noiljadae fed him harsh grain in a dog's tray. Because of the harsh grain, Namseonbi went blind.

Meanwhile, Yeosan Buin became worried at Namseonbi's absence and made a small wooden boat. She then floated away to the village of Odong.

Yeosan Buin heard a girl sing a song to chase the sparrows away from the grain fields. The lyrics of the song was that Namseonbi was tricked by Noiljadae's wit and chased away to a hut. She tracked down Namseonbi.

Namseonbi was blind, and thus he did not recognize his wife. However, when Namseonbi tasted the food that Yeosan Buin prepared, he recognized Yeosan Buin. Yeosan Buin began prparations to sail home.

Meanwhile, Noiljadae decided that she should get rid of Yeosan Buin. She invited Yeosan Buin into the lake of Ocheongang to wash there. However, Ocheongang was an icy lake that had no bottom. Noiljadae did not enter the lake, but Yeosan Buin did. She drowned in the lake.^[1]

Meanwhile, Noiljadae pretended to be Yeosan Buin, and went to the village of Namseon with Namseonbi. Because of the first encounter that she had with Namseonbi, she believed the family was rich.

Six of the seven sons threw down their accessories to greet their parents; however, Nokdisaengin knew that one of his parents was not truly his mother, as Noiljadae did not share her umbrella with Namseonbi, and because her appearances and voices were different. She responded with various excuses, but only six of the seven sons were fooled.

Noiljadae decided to kill Nokdisaengn, and malingered. She said that there was a famous prophet called Jangjeol Doryeong in Jajeot Street. However, when Namseonbi was gone, she ran to Jajeot Street and said (with a different voice) that the cure would be to feed her the liver of Nokdisaengin.

However, Namseonbi refused. In response, Noiljadae performed the same trick two more times, pretending that she was a doctor and a Jangseung, or a totem pole. Finally, Namseonbi sharpened his knife to kill Nokdisaengin. However, Nokdisaengin said that he would suicide. In a nearby mountain, Nokdisaengin gathered his brothers and killed a young boar. He said that if their 'mother' was cured when she ate boar liver, than she was not actually their mother.

The brothers fed Noiljadae boar liver. She was miraculously cured, then tried to kill the sixth son.^[2] However, she was ambushed by the six brothers, led by the youngest, Nokdisaengin. She hanged herself in the bathroom.

The brothers then went to the village of Odong. They prayed to the supreme deity Cheonjiwang for four days and nights. Finally, the cadaver of Yeosan Buin was revealed. There were only bones left.

Four days later, Nokdisaengin heard a crane say that he could fly the smallest and lightest, Nokdisaengin, on his back to the fields of Seocheon, where grew flowers that could remake the body, if the brothers caught them seven carps. Each of the brothers caught a carp, and Nokdisaengin went on his way.

However, Nokdisaengin accidentally drowzed, and one of the carps fell down. Thus, the crane had nothing to eat. Nokdeisaengin fed it his own arm.^[3]

When the crane reached the fields of Seocheon, the god of flowers, plants, and emotions, Hallakgungi, recreated his arm. He then gave Nokdisaengin each of the five varieties of Hwansaengkkot (Reincarnation flower). (see Igong Bonpuli)

He flew the crane back to Odong. Then, he put the Salsalikkot (Flower that revives flesh) on top of Yeosan Buin's bones. Flesh formed around the bones. Next was the Pisalikkot (Flower that revives blood. He revived his mother's blood, which again flew in Yeosan Buin's veins. Next was the Sumsalikkot (Flower that revives breath), which made Yeosan Buin breatthe again. Finally, Nokdisaengin put the Honsalikkot (Flower that revives soul) on top of the unconscious Yeosan Buin. She finally awoke, having been revived from death.

Cheonjiwang made Yeosan Buin the Jowangsin, the goddess of the kitchen, hearth, and fire, to make up for her times in an icy lake.

Namseonbi became the Japsin (Evil spirit), defender of the dark fertilizer shed, because it was regarded that he indirectly blinded himself.

Five of the seven brothers became the deities who defended each cardinal direction: The eldest was Cheongje of the east, the second was Baekje of the west, the third Jeokje of the south, the fourth Heukje of the north, and the fifth Hwangje of the center. The sixth, who was nearly murdered by Noiljadae, became Duitmunwang, who guarded the back door. The hero Nokdisaengin became Munwangsin, defender of the front door.

Noiljadae became the bathroom goddess, Cheuksin, because she hanged herself in the bathroom. Because of the relationship between Cheuksin and Jowangsin, it was a taboo in Korean society to make the bathroom next to the kitchen, or to make the bathroom door face the kitchen. However, it was actually because feces would cause the food in the kitchen become infected with pathogens.

As a gut

Like most Korean mythology told by mudang, or shamans, the Munjeon Bonpuli is a gut, or ritual. This gut was sung and retold when reconstructing or building a house, along with the Seongjugut.

Comparison with Chilseong Puli

The Munjeon Bonpuli is told only in the island of Jeju, but it bears a similar plot to the Chilseong Puli of the mainland.

Similarities

Both the Chilseong Puli and the Munjeon Bonpuli feature an evil stepmother (Yongye Buin and Noiljadae), an unpaternal father (Chilseongnim and Namseonbi), a dead mother (Maehwa Buin and Yeosan Buin), and seven children.

Differences

In the Chilseong Puli, there are seven twins; however, in the Munjeon Bonpuli, the seven brothers have a year-wide gap in between their age.
In theChilseong Puli, the mother, Maehwa Buin, die of childbirth; however, in the Munjeon Puli, Yeosan Buin drowns.
In the Chilseong Puli, Chilseongnim does nothing; however, in the Munjeon Bonpuli, Namseonbi goes to Odong to sell grain.
In the Chilseong Puli, nothing happens; however, in the Munjeon Bonpuli, Noiljadae blinds and fools Namseonbi.
In the Chilseong Puli, the father, Chilseongnim, tries to kill the seven children; however, in the Munjeon Bonpuli, there is no father-children conflict.
In the Chilseong Puli, the stepmother, Yongye Buin, bribes the doctor, but in the Munjeon Bonpuli, Noiljadae pretends to be a prophet, a doctor, and a jangseung.
In the Chilseong Puli, Yongye Buin demands the livers of all seven children; however, in the Munjeon Bonpuli, Noiljadae demands the liver of Nokdisaengin alone.
In the Chilseong Puli, Maehwa Buin's reincarnation, a golden deer, gives the children her liver as they are about to suicide; however, in the Munjeon Bonpuli, Nokdisaengin purposely hunts and kills a young boar.
In the Chilseong Puli, Yongye Buin turns into a mole; however, in the Munjeon Bonpuli, Noiljadae becomes the feces deity.
In the Chilseong Puli, the seven brothers become the seven stars in the Big Dipper; however, in the Munjeon Bonpuli, the seven brothers become various Gasin.

Beliefs

Many things can be gleaned from the culture and beliefs of ancient Korea at the time from the Munjeon Bonpuli.

The villain of the myth is Noiljadae, the concubine of Namseonbi, and also the stepmother of the seven children. This 'evil stepmother' theme is common throughout Korean mythology and legends, and even European ones, such as Cinderella or Snow White.

In the myth, Nokdisaengin, the hero of the myth, becomes the deity of the front gate. As can be known, Koreans at the time believed that the door was a patriarchic area, contrary to the bathroom and the kitchen, considered to be feministic.

Meanwhile, Jowangsin spent many years underwater as a corpse. Thus, she is seen to control water, ice, and fire together, though the aspect as the fire goddess is stronger.^[4] This aspect of the goddess is highly natural as the kitchen goddess; the main food of Koreans, steamed rice, requires both water and fire to make it.

The conflict between Yeosan Buin and Noiljadae symbolizes the conflict over concubines and wives to earn the sexual desire of the husband.^[5]

References

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