Shaman's Cosmic Tree

- The Cosmic Tree is the beginning of the idea of ​​the unity of Heaven, Earth and Humankind

- The sacred tree is a symbol of productivity, sacrifice, and immortality.

 

In our Sanggosa, it is recorded that King Hanung opened the country of delivery under the 'Sindansu (神檀tree)'. This tells us that our people had the faith to worship trees. It can be said that the reverence for trees arose in our people from the time King Hanung came down under the new yellow-brown tree and wrote a new poem. This reverence has become a divine tree (cosmic tree) and has existed as an excuse to prevent disaster and a god of blessing.

 

In the shamanism of many peoples around the world, including Siberia, there is a cosmic tree called Shinsu (神樹). This cosmic tree is considered the central tree of the universe and is sacred. A Siberian shaman performs a shamanic ritual of climbing to the top of a birch tree.

Trees came into existence as divine trees because they were regarded as passages or entrances to other planes of existence connecting heaven and earth. Gods or beings from the underworld descended to the earth on this sacred tree, or the souls of the living climbed on the tree and considered it a link to heaven. In other words, it is also a passage through which God descends, and it is considered the only way for humans to approach God. In addition, the power to produce leaves, flowers, and fruits of trees was regarded as magic.

 

This thought manifested itself in reverence for the tree and held a sacrifice.

Tree worship is deeply rooted not only in our shamanism, but in all religions around the world.

 

There are the Christian tree of life, the tree of good and evil, the ‘fig’ meaning the people of Israel, and the ‘olive’ meaning God’s life and abundance of blessings. In Buddhism, there are three sacred trees that are important passages of enlightenment: the radish tree, the bodhi tree, and the Sara tree. The Celts performed ancestral rites using oak as a sacred tree, and have staffs carved from oak. In Japan, ancestral rites were also held.

 

Seeking trust in a tree or having a sacred grove in your living space is commonplace in the world. All these trees are called the Cosmic Tree and the World Tree. The World Tree is the path through which the spirits or spirits of the dead can reach the highest god and shamans can forge into other cosmic dimensions. In the religious experience of the ancients, trees were recognized as beings representing one force, and in the minds of ancients who could not separate nature and symbols, trees would have been intuitively recognized through a cosmological connection.

 

Tree shapes, ladders, strings, five-colored cloth, cotton cloth, and ropes are also used as means of traveling to the world of spirits. The cosmic tree itself is a symbol of divine lineage. It means to be with the divinity of the tree, and furthermore, it means a symbol of spiritual power.

 

The Cosmic Tree is the Tree of Life. Namely, productivity, sacrifice and immortality. When a shaman climbs a tree, he ascends to true life. And as he ascended, his experience of cosmic integration became more perfect. The fantasy of the cosmic tree presents us with a new life. Feel the presence of creativity and discover the secret to prosperous production and growth.

 

In Korean shamanism, the divine tree is regarded as the center of the universe, the sacred place where heaven and earth, gods and humans meet, and has the meaning of a cosmic tree. In the Dangun myth, Hanung (桓雄) came down to the top of the mountain of Shindansu (神壇樹). Shinsoo faith is mountain faith and celestial faith, and God descends on the cosmic tree and humans ride the universe. Trees go through the process of sublimation to unite heaven and earth, gods and humans. This is the unity of Heaven, Earth and Humankind.

 

According to ≪Joseon Geosunosu Mokji 朝鮮巨樹老樹名木誌≫ published by the Japanese Government-General of Korea in 1919, there were a total of 940 divine trees in the entire Korean peninsula at that time. Zelkova was the most sacred tree, followed by hackberry and sandalwood.

 

Sacred trees can be broadly divided into two categories based on location. There are two at the entrance of the village and in the mountains. Sacred trees at the entrance of the village, such as Seonangmok, Sansinmok, Bugeonmok, and Bonhyangmok, are specially treated as the village's guardian trees. For this divine tree, a village exorcism is held regularly every spring or fall. It is believed that if you are careless and do not perform an exorcism, disaster will befall you as punishment. In some places there is a pair of sorghum torches that provide the souls of neighbors.

A pile of stones is built around a sacred tree on a mountain or an altar is built with stones. It is called Seonangmok, and there are pieces of cloth (pieces of cloth), pieces of paper (pieces of paper), five-color baekpyeon (five-color silk), pieces of cloth (clothes), and hair on the branches of trees. , Gihyeol (器血), phone (錢貨 / money and wealth) are countless.

 

Passers-by walked to get riches, and Popyeon prayed for longevity for their children. Merchants sometimes place bets on small items or things like straw to get riches. Osaekbaekpyeon is said to prevent the bride and groom from following their parents when they leave their parents' house and move to a new house. If this is not prevented, it is said that the family will perish. This is a universal belief. If the bride tears off the hem of her dress and hangs it on the branch of Seonangdang, it means that her parents' vassal will return to her hometown without further training.

 

After the Japanese colonial era, it was common for Christians, who regarded Shinsu faith as superstition, to cut or damage the sacred trees in the village in the process of destroying them, resulting in a significant decrease in the number of sacred trees. However, many sacred trees are still alive by faith.