三國時代의 巫ㆍ占俗

The Witchcraft and Divination in the Era of the Three Kingdoms

The practices of witchcraft and divination, which form the foundation of Korean folklore beliefs, are found here and there in the literature of the Three Kingdoms(三國). Primitive beliefs in divine protection have been handed down to the present day, and the outlook on life of ancient people, who thought that the ruler of the universe was god as creator of all things, was effective in preserving witchcraft and divination. The witch performed the functions of witch-doctor, prophet, and priest; sometimes serving as vicarious king, he was respected and endeared by all people of the society he belonged to. First among primitive religions, witchcraft has been the most representative of folklore beliefs in Korea. It is in the nature of man to want to know the unknown world and foresee the future. Divination was brought into practice as a means of dispelling such doubts; it drew on the signs of animals, plants, or various phenomena of nature and, sometimes, on human methods. Divination had concern not only with events or fortunes but with national destiny and even geomancy. In other words, it foretold man’s birth, growth, and lifetime fortunes and developed further to touch on man’s “dark abode” -grave- after death. The practices of divination are detected in the living records of the Buyŏ(夫餘) tribes before the era of the Three Kingdoms, and it appears that divination was firmly established as a way of life in the era of the Three Kingdoms from the beginning. The birth and fortunes of a prince, not to mention phenomena of nature, were foretold by means of signs or conjurations. The relience on devination was no less commonplace than that on reality. Although witchcraft and divination appear to be two different things, they were tied inseparably with each other. The witch often served as the diviner, and the two were closely related in the society of common people as well.