According to time and places to see animals even if they are same, the fortune telling point of view concerned with animals is totally different. For instance, the spider is considered as symbols of fortune and anxiety according to time to see it. The...
According to time and places to see animals even if they are same, the fortune telling point of view concerned with animals is totally different. For instance, the spider is considered as symbols of fortune and anxiety according to time to see it. There is mention of fortune telling on the spider: "The spider seen in the morning stands for fortune while the spider appeared in the evening symbolizes cares." If people saw it in the morning, they thought that it brought fortune, so they didn't kill it while if seen in the evening, they never saw it without putting their feet on it. Merchants don't want to have dreams on deer which was admired in a poem but is considered as a unlucky animal to them. Dreams are an important part of Koreans' belief system. Like this, animals can be distinctively understood even in the same cultural area according to time, places, and people's points of view.
From the prehistoric age, people used animal symbols representing a certain meaning to demonstrate a variety of living culture, religion, and thought of the time. Many animal images were shown in drawings incised on rocks and cave paintings as well as mural paintings in the graves, clay dolls, and pottery. These animal symbols are reflected in people's conscious world of those days and depict a part of living culture. Korean ancestors embossed the symbolic and suggestive meanings manifested in the outward figure and behavior of animals. Most animal figures appeared in ancient relics and sites can't be wholly interpreted. Cultural and ideological backgrounds of the time should be first understood and their contexts studied to understand the animal symbols precisely appeared in Korean culture.
The folklore related to animals approves their spiritual power and represents the relations between human and nature and the understanding and interpretation of many-sided human life. Relics decorated with animal figures reflect the conscious world of ancient people and include a part of living culture. Research on the folklore as to animals can be started from this point of time. The approach on the folklore with regard to animals should be first interpreted via the study on animal themselves and folkloric system associated with a certain animal. The approach can not carry out the systematic recognition and general studies perfectly in a point. Therefore, the approach and methods by archaeological excavations and their results, artistic sites and relics depicted with animal images, and zoology as well as folkloric research results must be found.
The approaching system on animal folklore can be classified into three basic kinds: diachronic and synchronic approach, the use of folkloric and scientific models, and the approaching system understanding the spatial world structure via animals. I investigated animal symbols shown in Korean culture by employing these approaching systems.
First, today folklore is constituted by historically and socially accumulated everyday living culture. Therefore, the analysis on the folkloric elements contained in animals will be fulfilled with the diachronic approach through archaeological relics and sites, mural paintings, and records, so that the origin and change of animals will be clarified. With the use of the synchronic approach, the function and meaning of animal images will be completely understood. These are just diachronic approach and that of synchronic. Each animal's background and historical mutation process can be traced through
archaeological and artistic materials and documents.
Second, the animal folklore will be clarified by using the folkloric and scientific models. The scientific models include the biological characteristics of animals and stand for the immutable scientific analytical system lingered on a nation and culture while the folkloric models demonstrate the characteristics of animals which has been differently understood and interpreted according to a nation, a society and cultural context of the society. The symbolic meanings of animals are mixed with a diversity of concepts and thoughts by historical development but the ecological models display the original meanings of animals. Not like other folkloric thoughts, animals can be oserved in the ecological world and each animal's behavior and ecology produce the folkloric models via "window of culture". When the original meaning of scientific models is converted to the folkloric models though culture, it can be distorted and misunderstood. The distorted and misunderstood contents will be a shortcut to understand the thinking system on each animal.
Third, the approach to understand the spatial world structure through animals will be introduced. Ancient people produced the cultural images in the forming aspects of animals as well as in their meaningful aspects. These animals serve as a sign to illustrate the images on the world and reflects the contents through the forming properties of animal figures. Animals reflected the ideological images. Therefore, they are looked upon as the cultural codes containing a fixed meaning. Their cultural images mentioned in the periods can be considered as a language and a text composed of the language. Animal figures reflected in the ideological images act as a sign to express ideas. Also, they are animal signs to express images on the world. Each animal has abilities to move to one more places such as heaven, the earth, and underground. These abilities added the cultural duties to act as a messenger of gods. When they move to other domains, cultural codes acting as a guide are produced. This approach will be a quick way to understand the spatial world structure.
Each animal's symbolic meaning shown in Korean culture can be divided into two images: positive and negative. <표삽입>
Unlike the folkloric study of other fields, the study on the folklore in regard to animals deserve notice in the concrete objects expressing animals such as archaeological excavations and artistic materials and their basic characters. The language comprises the sign system to deliver information. The diversity of
animals appeared in Korean culture act as the symbolic system of signs and characters in various cultural relations and deliver the cultural information throughout all periods and fields. Animal symbols serve as a password and a key to the secret of culture.