S2023-206b

Understanding Traditional Culture and Society through Gwangju’s Cultural Heritage: Folk Religion 》Gwangju's Farmers' Music

Story

• Farmers’ performances, called nongak in Korean, are a popular performing art derived from communal rituals and rustic entertainment that combine a percussion ensemble and sometimes wind instruments, parading, dancing in various formations, skits, and acrobatic feats. These performances are closely tied to traditional folk religion and were held on special occasions to appease local guardian deities, ward off evil spirits, and to wish for and celebrate a prosperous harvest.
• The farmers’ performance of Gwangsan consists of various performances that have been passed down for generations in Gwangju, including in Sochon-dong, Sanwol-dong, Mareuk-dong, and Chilseok-dong. It is representative of the western Jeolla-do style of farmers’ performances.
• Depending on the scale of the event, the number of participants can range from 20-30 people up to 50-70 people. The performers are divided into two groups: musicians and actors. The musicians play percussion and wind instruments used in Korean folk music such as the small gong (kkwaenggwari), the large gong (jing), the double-headed drum (janggu), the barrel drum (buk), the hand drum (sogo), the bugle (napal), and the double-reeded horn (taepyeongso). The musicians followed around by the actors who depict folk characters such as an artilleryman, a nobleman, an old woman, a monk, a bride, a low-ranking official, and children. The rhythms are diverse and change frequently with clear and natural transitions. Solo instrumental performances, such as the solo double-headed drum (seoljanggu), and well-developed dancing techniques add variety and merriment to the performance.
• The lead small gong player Jeong Deuk-chae, solo double-headed drum performer Kim Jong-hoe, and solo barrel drum performer Seo Chang-sun are officially designated as masters of their valuable artistic skills.
• There is also a famers' performance tradition as part of the Loop Fight of Gwangju.
• Another kind of traditional farming music are farmers’ songs (deulnorae), which are call-and-response style songs sung to withstand the exhaustion of the laborious farming work and to wish for an abundant harvest.
• The Farmers' Songs of Yongjeon are refers to the songs performed by the farmers of Yongjeon Village. They are sung during the steps of rice cultivation which require the coordination of many people, such as picking rice seedlings, transplanting rice seedlings, and weeding. The tradition is being preserved by the Farmers' Songs of Yongjeon Preservation Society.

Semantic Data

Node Description

id	class	groupName	partName	label	hangeul	hanja	english	infoUrl	iconUrl
S2023-206b	Story	Episode		Gwangju's Farmers' Music			Gwangju's Farmers' Music	http://dh.aks.ac.kr/~gwangju/wiki/index.php/S2023-206b	http://dh.aks.ac.kr/~gwangju/icon/episode.png