[Author’s Note: This essay was included in the journal, S/HE: An International Journal of Goddess Studies (Vol 3 No 1, 2024). Footnotes numbers here differ from those of the original article.]
UNPACKING 93 SKIRT MOTIF STORIES
The skirt motif Mago folktales recur in all provinces of the Republic of Korea, South Korea, except for one tale, the 93rd, in North Korea (see Appendix I).[1] The dense recurrence on the territory of today’s South Korea indicates that Mago folklore and toponymy are NOT the only South Korean phenomenon. In fact, Mago tales and placenames are found in a vast territory of pan-East Asia beyond the Korean Peninsula.[2] In classifying 93 folktales, I have coded each of 93 tales as a combination of an alphabet and a number. The province indication (from A to J) is followed by S-X (X: the number indicating a tale). “S” stands for the skirt motif. For example, the first tale from Gangwon Province is coded as (A S-1) and the last 93rd tale from North Korea as (J S-93). The order of provinces follows the Korean alphabet order (see [Table 2]).
As shown in [Figure 2], each of the provinces of South Korea is marked as a capitalized alphabet from A to J.
[Figure 2: Provinces and Cities of the Korean peninsula]
| Provinces/Metropolitan Cities (M.C.) /North Korea | |
| A | Gangwon Province (강원) |
| B | Gyeonggi Province (경기), Seoul M.C., Incheon M.C. |
| C | South Gyeongsang Province (경남), Busan M.C., Ulsan M.C. |
| D | North Gyeongsang Province (경북), Daegu M.C. |
| E | South Jeolla Province (전남), Gwangju M.C. |
| F | North Jeolla Province (전북) |
| G | Jeju Province (제주) |
| H | South Chungcheong Province (충남), Daejeon M.C., Sejong M.C. |
| I | North Chungcheong Province (충북) |
| J | North Korea (북한) |
[Table 2: Provinces and Metropolitan Cities]
Epithets of the Magoma Divine and Her Representatives
“Mago Halmi” is the primary epithet referring to the cosmogonist in Korean folklore. I have determined the 27 kinds of the Divine/Agent in five groups: (1) Mago Halmi, (2) the Divine, (3) the Women, (4) Other Humans, (5) Cetaceans (see [Table 3]). As seen in the category four, Other Humans, there are two male agents. Nonetheless, male agents do not come independently but as a brother-sister duo and the consort of Mago Halmi.
Given that such variations as “Mago,” “Magu,” “Nogo (老姑 Ancient Great Mother),” “Magui (Devil),” and “Halmi” are interchangeably used, I put them together as the Mago Halmi epithet group. As seen [Table 3], the Mago Halmi epithet group involves 93 times. “Mago,” recurs the most in 33 times (see No. 1 in [Table 3]). “Magu” recurs 5 times. Mago is sometimes designated as Mago Halmi of Mt. Cheontae (Tiantai in Chinese), an extant place in Zhejian Sheng, present China, 5 times. Nogo (Ancient Great Mother) is a popular name for Mago, frequently used in placenames like Mt. Nogo, Rock of Nogo, and Nogo Stronghold. Nogo is an endearment of Mago and appears throughout the regions of the Korean peninsula.
“Magui,” which means a devil, recurs 23 times (see No. 5 in [Table 3]). Noteworthy is that the Korean word for a devil is derived from “Mago.” Apparently, “Magui” is a corrupted word for “Mago.” Unlike its literal meaning, however, the persona of “Magui” does not convey an evil deity per se. Demonization appears ineffective. Patriarchal erosion is evident but minor to the degree that she is attributed to an inferior deity under the command of a higher deity, supposedly the male deity. Even in those stories, “Magui” is said to be the cosmogonist of a local topography. As a whole, it is inferred that Mago Halmi folklore has survived the process of patriarchalization, the Dark Period.[3]
Mago is simply referred to as “Halmi” or “Halmeoni,” with its dialects (Halmae, Halmeom, and Halmang) 10 times.
The Seon epithet (No. 7 in [Table 3]), which includes “Seonin (Magoist Luminary or Mage),” “Sinseon (Divine Magoist),” “Seonnyeo (Female Magoist Luminary), remains largely misrepresented. In the West, the Seon is introduced as Daoist Immortals. I hold that they are pre-Daoist in origin, referring to Magoist Luminaries. There is no equivalent term in the English language. The character Seon (仙 Xian in Chinese) refers to a Magoist Luminary or Magoist. It is a gender inclusive term, which means a male or a female. I sometimes transliterate it as a Mage.[4]
Mago Halmi is also referred to as a Mountain Deity or Mountain Divine Spirit, which indicate Goma and the Magoist Mudang lineage (see No. 8 in [Table 3]).
Nomo (Ancient Mother) and Gomo (Great Mother) are general epithets, referring to the Magoma Divine.
Gyeang Halmi is a parochial reference to the Magoma Divine in North Jeolla Province, whereas Seolmundae is the Jeju Province equivalent, both of which I will discuss in the later section of 21 Sample Mago Halmi Folktales. They offer crucial insights to the contexts of the Magoist Cosmogony and Magoist Cetaceanism.
Other names including “Mabu Halmi,” “Imun Halmeoni,” “Goyang Halmi (Cat Great Mother),” “Kokkki Halmae” and “Manggu Halmae” are the local references that occur occasionally. “Goyang Halmi” also called “Gwaengi Halmi,” which is associated with such placenames as the Sea of Cats and the Island of Cats.
In some other tales, women are depicted as the main agent. Among them are “Virgin,” “Sole-Mother,” “Widow,” and “Mother.” In the sense that they are women unattached to men, I detect an undertone of parthenogenesis, a central theme of the Magoist Cosmogony.[5] Women and girls are characterized by their physical greatness, tall and strong.
Occasionally, local heras in their family relations (the sister of a noted male, the daughter of a noted male, the wife of a renowned historical figure, and the sister in the brother-sister duo) replace Mago Halmi as the cosmogonist.
Dragons, although not so much visible in the skirt-motif tales, represent the “signing” of the Cetacean Divine. That is, a dragon is the visual symbol of the sound of whales.
| Epithet Group | No | Epithets of Divine/Agent | Tales (Number of occurrences) |
| Mago Halmi | 1 | Mago | S-6, S-7, S-8, S-9, S-10, S-19, S-20, S-23, S-24, S-28, S-29, S-30, S-31, S-33, S-34, S-36, S-37, S-39, S-41, S-44, S-46, S-48, S-49, S-50, S-51, S-52, S-54, S-55, S-56, S-63, S-69, S-70, S-86 (33) |
| 2 | Magu | S-42, S-44, S-47, S-67 (4) | |
| 3 | Mt. Cheontae Mago/Magu Halmi | S-30, S-41, S-42, S-46, S-48 (5) | |
| 4 | Nogo (Ancient Great Mother), Nopa (Crone) | S-57, S-84 (2) | |
| 5 | Magui | S-1, S-2, S-3, S-4, S-5, S-11, S-12, S-14, S-15, S-16, S-17, S-19, S-21, S-25, S-27, S-32, S-35, S-45, S-53, S-64, S-65, S-66, S-83 (23) | |
| 6 | Halmeoni, Halmi, Halmae, Halmang | S-19, S-22, S-38, S-40, S-60, S-77, S-78, S-79, S-93 (10) | |
| Great Mother/ Sinseon/ Mountain Deity | 7 | Seonin, Sinseon, Seonnyeo (Magoist Luminaries, Mage) | S-19, S-31, S-52, S-59 (4) |
| 8 | Sansin, Sansinryeong (Mountain Deity/Mountain Spirit) | S-13, S-67, S-68 (3) | |
| 9 | Samsin (Triad Deity) | S-15 | |
| 10 | Nomo (Ancient Mother) | S-71 | |
| 11 | Gomo (Magoist Mother) | S-50, S-51 (2) | |
| 12 | Gaeyang Halmi | S-72, S-73, S-74 (3) | |
| 13 | Seolmundae Halmang | S-81, S-82 (2) | |
| 14 | Mabu Halmae | S-33 | |
| 15 | Imun Halmeoni | S-26 | |
| 16 | Goyang Halmi (Cat Great Mother) | S-61 | |
| 17 | Kkokkki Halmae | S-91 | |
| 18 | Manggu Halmae | S-25 | |
| Woman, mother, girl | 19 | Virgin, sole-mother, widow, mother | S-62, S-76, S-86, S-89, S-90, S-92 (6) |
| 20 | Jade Woman | S-59 | |
| 21 | Woman General | S-83 | |
| 22 | Bride | S-77 | |
| 23 | Nine Daughters | S-90 | |
| 24 | Girl | S-75 | |
| Other humans | 25 | Mago Halabeoji (Grandfather) | S-23 |
| 26 | Brother-sister duo | S-58, S-68, S-85, S-88, S-89, S-92 (6) | |
| Cetaceans | 27 | Dragon ruler, Dragon | S-1, S-59, S-62, S-77 (4) |
[Table 3: Epithets of the divine/agent and their occurrences]
While Mago Halmi is generally assumed as the giant cosmogonist, she is directly referred to as a giant in two tales and a woman of physical strength, jangsa (장사 a person of physical strength) or jangsu (장수 a warrior or a general) in many other tales (see [Table 3]).[6]
| Characters | Tales (Number of occurrences) |
| Giant | S-25, S-45 (2) |
| Jangsa | S-34, S-43, S-67, S-68, S-75, S-89, S-90, S-92, S-93 (9) |
| Jangsu | S-15, S-83, S-88 (3) |
[Table 4: Mago Halmi as the Giant and Strong Figure]
(To be Continued)
[1] To understand and discuss Mago folklore and toponymy, I have made various taxonomical charts for my forthcoming book series. The skirt motif is the classification to be complemented by “Mago (Halmi),” “Goma,” “the Nine,” and “Whale-Dragon” motifs.
[2] The pan-East Asian occurrence of Mago folktales and placenames attests to the myth-history of Magoism taking place in the pre- and proto-Chinese times.
[3] The Dark Period is the fifth of the six periods of the mytho-history of Magoism that I have constructed. It follows the Post-Budo Period and is followed by the Revival Period. Korean people underwent a relatively short period of patriarchalization (about 4 centuries) from the 17th century to the late 20th century. Details of the Dark Period is as follows:
This period marks from the 17th century of the Joseon dynasty until mid 1986 when the Budoji reemerged in Korea. The Japanese invasion (Imjin War) in 1592 brought much havoc on the life of the traditional Korean populace. Joseon rulers subjugated themselves to the Ming dynasty and suppressed their own indigenous cultures.[3] Anti-traditional and anti-women policies were taken by pro-Chinese Joseon administrators who espoused Neo-Confucianism as state ideology. The legacy of Magoism was purged from the public sectors. Shamans, women, and traditionalists were made the underclass and chased out of the capital. Finally, Joseon fell under the Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945). Old history books were once again confiscated and this time taken out of the country by the Japanese colonial government. Magoist myths were secularized if not demonized. Mago folktales were rendered as anomalous or ridiculous stories of the unsophisticated. The remnants of ancient historical records were further obliterated.
Hwang, “Mago” in Reader, 54.
[4] Together with “Go (a Magoist Divine)” and “Mu (a Magoist Shaman),” I hold that “Seon” refers to a Magoist Luminary or Mage. See Hwang, “Goma,” in Reader, 17, 20, 38, 133-4.
[5] For the discussion of parthenogenesis in the Magoist Cosmogony, see Hwang, The Mago Way, Chapters 6, 7, 8. Also see Hwang, “Goma,” Reader, 61.
[6] “The giant crone” that Mago Halmi is said to be in folktales holds the linchpin in defining ancient Korean Magoists. Koreans were addressed as the people of the State of Giants (大人國 Daein-guk).
The Chinese source tells the story of warring between Huangti and ChiU from the Chinese perspective. Thus, in the myth of Haungti ChiU is described as a revolting force. It is intriguing that the Chinese myth of Huanti mentions “a tribe of giants from the far north” who came to aid ChiU’s camp. Littleton (2002), 414. It should be noted that Danguk is referred to as Daeinguk 大人國 (Land of Giants), whereas HanUng is referred to as Daein 大人 (Giant). IlBong Lee, 51-5. This sheds light on the fact that Mago is referred to as a giant goddess in the mythic literature from Korea. See Chapter 8 and 9.
See Helen Hye-Sook Hwang, “Seeking Mago, the Great Goddess: A Mytho-historic-thealogical Reconstruction of Magoism, an Archaically Originated Gynocentric Tradition of East Asia,”Ph.D. dissertation (Claremont Graduate University 2005), footnote 494, 238. Suffice it to say that the giant analogy for Mago Halmi is permeated in folktales and ancient East Asian texts. “The Big” or “the Giant” does not mean in quantity or size. It also means the complete, the whole, and the correct. The physically big and strong within the context of the Magoist Cosmogony intimates a holistic consciousness. On the one hand, the giant motif for Mago Halmi points to the matriversal consciousness, which surpasses the scale of patriarchy. On the other hand, it implicates the people of whales, the biggest surviving species on the planet.