Valley (mask)

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Korean Ethnic Dance Mask 09Feb.jpg
Korean spelling
Korean alphabet : 탈
Revised Romanization : valley
McCune-Reischauer : Valley
Hahoe masks

Tal ( Korean 탈 ) is the Korean name for traditional masks in Korea .

Word meaning

In Korea, the term valley is used to describe masks that are either carved from wood or made from layers of paper. In the past, dance or acting pieces were performed with them, which told something of the everyday life of the people in stories, comedies or tragedies or caricatured and criticized clerics and rulers in their performances. The performances performed with the masks in the traditional way are now generally referred to as talchum ( 탈춤 ) (mask dance) and continue to be performed at special festivals or for tourists.

Tal has another meaning in the Korean language that can be used to express adversity, illness or difficulty. For example, Tali-natda ( 탈 이 났다 ) means something like “I am sick” or “I am in trouble”.

history

The existence and use of masks in Korea was first mentioned during the time of the Silla Kingdom ( 신라 ) (57 BC - 935 AD) when, according to legend, Cheoyong, a son of the Dragon King, was mentioned in a plot drove the "spirit of smallpox" from his home. The people then assumed that if they hung the image of Cheoyong on their door, they would be spared from evil spirits, which led to the development of the Cheoyong mask. It was also believed that the more terrible the masks looked, the better they would keep the ghosts away. This assumption suggests that Tal, meaning “to be in trouble”, can only be defeated with an even more terrifying “Tal”, i.e. mask.

Bangsangssi mask

The Bangsangssi mask ( 방상 씨 ) is considered to be the oldest known traditional mask in Korea, dating from the 5th to 6th centuries. It has four eyes and was designed to protect the dead from evil spirits. One of these masks was found 72 cm long and 74 cm wide in the Changdeokgung Palace ( 창덕궁 ) in Seoul in the 1970s . Such masks were used as grave goods or burned after their use. New masks made of wood, paper, straw and bear skin were made for each funeral.

Hahoe masks

The most famous traditional Korean masks are those from the village of Hahoe ( 하회 ) in the former Gyeongsang-do province ( 경상도 ). Of the originally preserved 14 copies of these masks, which date from the 12th century, three have been lost and the rest are located as National Treasure (No. 121) in the National Museum of South Korea .

Each of these masks embodies a different character, so represents

  • the mask Imae ( 이매탈 ) represents a fool,
  • the mask Choraengi ( 초랭이 탈 ) a hasty, confused servant,
  • the mask Kaksi ( 각시탈 ) a bride,
  • the mask Chuji ( 주지 탈 ) a lion,
  • the mask Paekchong ( 백정 탈 ) a butcher,
  • the mask Halmi ( 할미 탈 ) an old widower,
  • the mask Chung ( 중탈 ) a depraved Buddhist monk,
  • the mask Yangban ( 양반탈 ) an aristocrat,
  • the mask Sonbi ( 선비탈 ) a scholar and
  • the mask Pune ( 부내 탈 ) a flirtatious young woman.

Hahoe Mask Museum

The Hahoe Mask Museum is located in Andong City ( 안동 ) in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province ( 경상북도 ). Although the name reveals which masks the museum is primarily about, other traditional masks from other provinces in the country are also on display in the museum.

literature

  • National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (ed.): Tal and Talchum . Tal: Displaying the Beauty of Traditional Korea . Daejeon October 31, 2011 ( online [accessed November 2, 2019]).
  • CedarBough Saeji : The Bawdy, Brawling, Boisterous World of Korean Mask Dance Dramas . A Brief Essay to Accompany Photographs . In: East Asian History and Culture Review . E-Journal No. 4 . University of California , Los Angeles September 2012 (English, Online [PDF; 389 kB ; accessed on November 2, 2019]).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Saeji : The Bawdy, Brawling, Boisterous World of Korean Mask Dance Dramas . 2012, p.  1 .
  2. ^ Tal and Talchum . 2011, p.  11 .
  3. ^ Tal and Talchum . 2011, p.  11-13 .
  4. ^ Tal and Talchum . 2011, p.  15-19 .
  5. ^ Korean Masks . Hahoe Mask Museum , accessed November 2, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Hahoe 10 masks & Byungsan 2 masks . Hahoe Mask Museum , accessed November 2, 2019 .
  7. ^ Mask Pictures Catalog Exhibited here . Hahoe Mask Museum , accessed November 2, 2019 .