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> Cyber Museum > What is a Mask |
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Masks handed down to the present in Korea
are those used in mask plays, folk plays,
shamanistic mask plays, Cheoyongmu, etc. In
addition, Bangsangsi mask found at the warehouse
of the Changdeok Palace seems to have been
used in funerals in Court.
Masks are also used in Important Intangible
Cultural Asset No. 2 Yangju Byeolsandae Nori,
Deotboegi in No. 3 Namsadang Nori, No. 6 Tongyeong
Ogwangdae, No. 7 Goseong Ogwangdae, Gangneung
Gwanno Mask Play in No. 13 Gangneung Danoje,
No. 15 Bukcheong Saja Noreum, No. 17 Baongsan
Talchum, No. 18 Dongrae Yaryu, No. 34 Gangryeong
Talchum, No. 43 Suyeong Yaryu, No. 49 Songpa
Sandae Nori, No. 61 Eunyul Talchum, No. 69
Hahoe Byeolsin Guttal Nori, No. 73 GasanOgwangdae,
No. 81 Jindo Dasiraegi, etc. Besides, masks
are used in mask plays such as Cheongdan Noreum
in Yecheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do and Jainpalgwangdae
Nori in Gyeongsan, Gyeongsangbuk-do.
Folk plays using masks include Japsaek Nori,
which is found throughout the country, that
follows farm band, Yongho Nori in Muan, Jollanam-do
and Dokkaebigut in Jindo, Jollanam-do.
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| Masks are also used in shamanistic mask
plays such as Ipchungut Nori in Jeju-do, Sonorigut
in Yangju, Gyeonggi-do, Sonorigut in Pyeongsan,
Hwanghae-do, Hotalgut (Beomgut) and Talgut,
which are part of Byeolsingut in the east
coast, Yeonggam Nori, Gusamseungnaem and Jeonsang
Nori in Jeju-do, Yeongsan Halmeom Harabeomgeori
of Baeyeonsingut in Hwanghae-do, Gwangingut
in the east coast and Samseoryanggut in Suncheon,
Jollanam-do. |
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| Cheoyong mask is used in Cheoyongmu. Cheoyongmu
was designated as Important Intangible Cultural
Asset No. 39 in 1971. It originated from <The
Story of Cheoyong> during the reign of
the 49th King Heongang of the Shilla Dynasty.
Since then it was handed down to the Koryo
and Chosun Dynasty and became a key ritual
dance of Narye to expel demons in Court. Cheoyongmu
in the Koryo Dynasty was danced by one or
two persons but it was expanded to Obang Cheoyongmu
in Chosun Dynasty. The Cheoyong mask has a
peony flower and a peach branch fixed on it.
The peony flower symbolizes wealth and rank
and the peach branch is to drive out ghosts. |
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Masks used in Korean mask plays do not include
a hat whether they represent common people
or noblemen. Characters who wear a hat uses
a separate hat. Most masks express up to the
brow. Some mask indicate hair with simple
lines. Thus the nature and characteristics
of characters are expressed by the change
of the face. For example, Palmeokjung mask,
which is a ghost face in Baongsan Talchum,
produces a frightening look through its facial
expression. This is the same in No-o mask
in Japan. Chinese masks, however, express
the nature and characteristics of characters
using both the head and the face. The top
of masks is decorated with a hat or a crown.
In addition, Korean masks do not have ears
in general. However, masks in Yaryu and Ogwangdae
have ears. The ears of Malttugi mask in DongraeYaryu
and SuyeongYaryu are especially exaggerated.
Moreover, Chinese masks express ears very
remarkably.
Masks in Korean mask plays were designed to
be convenient for energetic dancing. Some
masks in the past had large holes on their
eyes so that the entertainers could see outside
without difficulty. |
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Masks appearing in mask plays belonging
to the Bonsandae Nori family often have shapes
in common. This is because the shapes of masks
were spread together with the transmission
of Bonsandae Nori. Thus there are regular
patterns in masks according to character.
First of all, let's examine Chwibari. There
is a common point among Chwibari masks used
in Baongsan Talchum, Gangryeong Talchum, Yangju
Byeolsandae Nori and Songpa Sandae Nori collected
in 1929 as well as that in Gupabal Bonsandae
Nori collected in the late 1930s and that
in Toegyewon Sandae Nori collected in the
1920s and kept in the museum of the Seoul
National University. That is, the ground of
the face is red, several thick wrinkles are
on the brow, and a streak of long hair hangs
down from the top of the forehead. Thus it
is easy to find Chwibari Tal from however
many masks mixed together. Despite geographical
difference among Seoul, Gyeonggi-do and Hwanghae-do
and temporal difference between the 1930s
and 2000s, Chwibari Tal is maintaining a common
look. This proves that Chwibari Tal had established
a certain pattern in the past and mask plays
using Chwibari Tal belong to the same family. |
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Not only Chwibari Tal but also Nojang Tal,
Halmi Tal, Yeonggam Tal, Yeonggameui Cheop
Tal, Saennim Tal, Jonggajip Doryeong Tal,
Sangjwa Tal, Somu Tal, etc. form certain types
of characters despite geographical and temporal
differences.
Saennim Tal, which is the first Yangban, has
a double harelip on a white ground of face
in Byeolsandae Nori and Haeseo Talchum in
Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, so they are easily
distinguished from other mask.
The second Yangban is also a mask with a single
harelip. Saennim Tal, however, appears to
have already been expressed as a harelip in
Bonsandae Nori. The rear part of <Namseonggwanhuija>,
which Gang I-cheon(1769～1801) composed to
depict a play he watched outside the South
Gate in 1779, describes Bonsandae Nori. The
poem tells, "It is wrong for such a dirty
old Confucian breaks into the play! He is
harelipped with long eyebrows...” This shows
that the mask of Saennim, the first Yangban,
is harelipped with long eyebrows. This exactly
coincides with Saennim Tal in Yangju Byeolsandae
Nori collected in 1929 (the museum of the
Seoul National University) and Saennim Tal
in contemporary Yangju Byeolsandae Nori, Songpa
Sandae Nori, Baongsan Talchum, Gangryeong
Talchum and Eunyul Talchum. |
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Yangban Tal appears as
different types of deformities such
as Moyangban Tal, Hongbaek Tal and Heuk
TalㆍGombo Tal in Yaryu and Ogwangdae
in Gyeongsangnam-do. Many mask plays,
Jonggajip Doryeong Tal has a white face
with a deformed nose.
On the other hand, Malttugi, who is
the servant of Yangban in Dongrae Yaryu,
is much larger than other masks. Its
nose extending from the brow to the
jaws is big and reminds of man's sexual
organ, producing a young and rebellious
image. Thus, its appearance overwhelms
Yangban. In particular, Malttugi Tal
in DongraeYaryu collected by Song Seok-ha
in the 1930s is aesthetically outstanding.
The mask has several characteristics
in its shape including the ground color
of the face, the big nose resembling
man's sexual organ, the big ears and
fat earlobes. |
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| Nojang Tal has many white dots on the black
ground. These dots are known to be fly specks
accumulated as Nojang had been in ecstasy
for many years as he devoted himself to training.
However, Nojang apostatizes as he is excited
by young woman Somu. The satire on Nojang
makes the play even more interesting. |
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| There is a Korean mask that can blink its
eyes. It is Nunkkeumjjeogi Tal in Byeolsandae
Nori in Yangju, Songpa and Toegyewon. Originally
Nunkkeumjjeogi Tal was designed to blink its
eyes, so it was named Nunkkeumjjeogi. However,
the mask has not been reproduced at present.
Its original shape can be inferred from Nunkkeumjjeogi
Tal in Toegyewon Sandae Nori at the museum
of the Seoul National University. |
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On the other hand, Chwibari or Palmeokjung
in Korea mask plays appears drunken in a mask
of a western-region people. Muhoehoe in Namu
at Gwiji in Anhui Province, China also plays
in a mask of a western-region people like
Chwibari or Palmeokjung in Korea mask plays,
which suggests mutual relationship between
Korean and Chinese mask plays. There are five
types of Muhoehoe, which are Hoinchwijuhyeong,
Hoinmubanghyeong, Hoinmusahyeong, Hoinyongmuhyeong
and Hoinheonbohyeong, in which drunken Hoin
(western-region people) appear. Thus, it was
named Muhoehoe, which means, "Hoihoi
dances." Hoihoi indicates Muslims in
the western region including Uighurs. Many
of Hoihoi, namely, Muslims in the western
region are western people and their dress
style is unique, so they are easily distinguished
by their appearance.
As one of Wonjin's poems says, "Hodeungchwimugeungoryu",
there was a play in which drunken Hoins called
Chwihodeung and Chwihoja appear in the Tang
Dynasty. The play was transmitted to Japan
under the name of Hoeumju. Sinseogoakdo, a
painting on a scroll handed down in Japan,
describes Hoeumju as one of Muaks, which is
definitely a western-region people.
Chwiho in Giak, a mask play transmitted to
Japan by Mi Ma-ji from the Baeje Dynasty is
also called Chwihowang. This is the mask of
Jeongchangwon, but according to the material
book in several temples, each Chwihowang mask
had 6~8 subordinate Chwihos. In Baongsan Talchum
as well, Chwibari appears to be the head of
Palmeokjungs, all of them are drunken, and
their masks resemble the appearance of Hoin.
This suggests that Hoihoi, namely, drunken
western-region people in Chinese mask plays
and drunken Chwibari and Palmeokjung who look
like western-region people in Korean mask
plays have a long history. |
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| Masks in Hahoe Byeolsinguttal Nori have
many formative characteristics distinguished
from those in other mask plays in terms of
the technique of creation and shape. For example,
Yangban, Seonbi, Baekjeong and Jung have a
separate lower jaw connected to the face with
a string, Imae does not have the lower jaw,
Choraengi is a servant with a deformed mouth,
Jung has a big lump on its forehead, and each
mask was made according to its phrenological
characteristic. Unexpectedly, however, Nadanghee
mask in Guizhou Province, China and No-o mask
in Japan have many points in common with Hahoi
masks. These should be examined in the future.
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