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Seohaean Baeyeonsingut and Daedonggut (Fishing Ritual of the West Coast)
National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea These rituals are held annually in coastal villages in Haeju and Ongjin, Hwanghae-do and Yeonpyeongdo Island to pray for the peace of the village and for a bountiful catch. Baeyeonsingut is held by boat owners to pray for the safety of the boat, a bountiful catch, and the happiness of the family. It is performed on the boat and creates a merrymaking atmosphere. Daedonggut is one of the largest-scale rituals. It is held on a suitable day in January through March on the lunar calendar to pray for the happiness of all villagers and strengthen ties among them. Representatives of the village hold a rite on a nearby mountain, while each household holds Segyeonggut (Rite to Farming Deity). Then, all villagers march along the coast, praying for the safety of fishermen, a bountiful catch, and peace for the spirits of those drowned while catching fish. These two rituals are held on a large scale. They are characterized by flamboyance, mysteriousness, and merrymaking, and require lots of props.

#rituals #annual #marine #coastal and island areas #the west coast #fishing village #pray

South Korea

Seohaean Baeyeonsingut and Daedonggut (Fishing Ritual of the West Coast)
National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea These rituals are held annually in coastal villages in Haeju and Ongjin, Hwanghae-do and Yeonpyeongdo Island to pray for the peace of the village and for a bountiful catch. Baeyeonsingut is held by boat owners to pray for the safety of the boat, a bountiful catch, and the happiness of the family. It is performed on the boat and creates a merrymaking atmosphere. Daedonggut is one of the largest-scale rituals. It is held on a suitable day in January through March on the lunar calendar to pray for the happiness of all villagers and strengthen ties among them. Representatives of the village hold a rite on a nearby mountain, while each household holds Segyeonggut (Rite to Farming Deity). Then, all villagers march along the coast, praying for the safety of fishermen, a bountiful catch, and peace for the spirits of those drowned while catching fish. These two rituals are held on a large scale. They are characterized by flamboyance, mysteriousness, and merrymaking, and require lots of props.

#rituals #annual #marine #coastal and island areas #the west coast #fishing village #pray

South Korea

Ceremonial Keşkek tradition
Ensuring solidarity and collective identity, national and religious holidays, celebrations, feasts, commemorations are of great significance as regards to social values. The providers, the distribution and the consumption of the food are strictly determined on these special days. Traditional ceremonial keşkek is one of the social practices which sustain its significance from the past to our present day. Keşkek tradition is practiced at circumcisions, wedding ceremonies, religious holidays such as, Ramadans, sacrifice Aid, Muharram Month (first month of the Islamic calendar), charities, pilgrimage feast, prayers for the rain, Mevlid (Islamic poetry reading), Hıdrellez (a kind of seasonal celebration) and similar practices. Preparation and consumption process of keşkek bears a collective character. Particularly in village communities, preparation of ingredients and cooking process of keşkek are actualized through collective work. The villagers contribute to keşkek ceremony by providing the ingredients and participate in cooking process. Wheat and meat are the basic ingredients of keşkek. The main ingredients are provided by the household on special days for the family and the dwellers of the village provide the work force if needed. The wheat for keşkek, of an amount proportional with the number of participants, is washed with prayers a day before the wedding ceremony. Accompanied by davul-zurna (traditional Turkish musical instruments) the wheat is carried carefully to a large stone mortar. The wheat is hulled on the large stone mortars by two or four persons using gavels in a fixed rhythm. The rhythmic sound is a sign for the start of wedding ceremony. The hulled wheat is one of the main ingredients of keşkek to be prepared on the wedding morning. Meat is the other main ingredient for keşkek. Cooking keşkek requires specialized knowledge therefore it is carried out by experienced persons called ""keşkekçi"" (keşkek maker). Keşkekçis are trained in a master-apprentice tradition. Cooks and his assistants in charge of keşkek cooking start the preparations at early hours in the morning of the day before the ceremony. As weddings - the primary occasions for ceremonial keşkek tradition – are usually held during summer or early autumn, keşkek is usually cooked outdoors. Requiring a long-lasting source of heat, keşkek is cooked in large copper cauldrons, the bottom of which is smeared with ash to protect it before being put on a big open fire. Hulled wheat, chunks of meat on the bone, onions, spices, water and oil are all put together in the cauldron. It is important to maintain the heat at a certain temperature while cooking. Therefore, cook and the assistants take turns to maintain the cooking process as desired until morning. Watching the heat and preparation of the side dishes to be served with keşkek last all night long. This night spent around the keşkek is full of stories, friendly talks and jokes. The cook checks the keşkek cauldron in the morning of the wedding day. Towards noon, the most important phase of the keşkek tradition takes place. The strongest of the village youth, who were previously chosen for ‘keşkek dövme (keşkek beating)’, are called in to ‘beat’the keşkek with a wooden tool which can be named as ağaç kepçe (wooden ladle) tokmak (gavel), çomça or şişe. This is in a way a mashing process. The rhythm while hulling the wheat goes on during the beating process as well. The wooden tools are used in a rhythmic order. The beating process of keşkek attracts great interest among the crowds. To motivate the beating youth, the crowd cheers and sings folk songs. During the beating, one or two persons apart from the beating youth take the bones out with a special kind of tongs. The neighboring towns and villages are invited and keşkek is collectively consumed in the ceremony premises (courtyard of mosque for religious holidays, bride’s or groom’s house on wedding days, a sacred venue for charities and hıdrellez). Prayers are uttered before and after the feast. The pots and pans used during ceremony are collectively washed. A special set of equipments are necessary for the preparation of keşkek. The stone mortar, a collectively owned product of particular craftsmanship, a copper cauldron made especially for such ceremonies and tinned regularly. Hand made ladles and gavels made of wood are among the most important tangible elements of the keşkek tradition. The most significant aspect of the tradition is unifying all people in this ceremony regardless of age, ethnic origin, gender and culture even being invited or not. The hosts of the ceremony check whether all the guests are at the dining table for keşkek. Each person attending to keşkek ceremony is considered as an element of this cultural environment. All individuals within the community through participating in such a ceremonial event have a sense of belonging. This ‘sense of belonging’ reflects itself with the common expression ‘our keşkek is better’, which is a bare evidence of considering keşkek as an important element of cultural heritage. Keşkek ceremony should be practiced with all the components of the tradition or else it loses its traditional aspect for the bearers. In Zonguldak-Ereğli on the west coast of Black sea Region, there is a village named ‘Keşkek’. People from the neighboring villages go to this village, which is a developed locality among the surrounding places, in order to worship on Holy Friday and the visitors are served keşkek there. This clearly explains why the village is called ‘Keşkek’. The villagers see keşkek as a major part of their cultural identity and they are glad to have the name keşkek for their village. Today, this ceremonial tradition, through organizing keşkek festivals and festivities has been preserved by the intimate efforts of city and district municipalities and the hemşeri (locality fellowship) associations, founded by fellow citizens for creating a kind of solidarity. It is observed in these occasions unifying aspects of ceremonial keşkek tradition continues in the cities as well. Preservation of this tradition in the cities is particularly important in terms of how much this tradition is embraced by the communities concerned.

Turkey 2011

the west coast