Bongsan Mask Dance
By Shim Hyun-chul
Staff Reporter
A rumble of laughter follows as a masked actor delivers his lines. Here, the distinction between performer and audience is blurred, and free dialogue takes flight as the latter encourages the former to go on with ``chuimsae'' or enthusiastic remarks. At the flick of the wrist, the actor's long sleeve gives way to graceful dance movements that move the heart and sway the hips of the beholder.
``Tal'' or mask means ``false face'' in Chinese characters, and ``talchum'' or mask dance is literally dance featuring masked dancers. The type of mask dance varies from region to region and is staged during traditional holidays and other special occasions.
There are a few types of dances that are representative of the mask dance, called Haeseotalchum, that originate from the Hwanghae Province, North Korea: Bongsantalchum (Important Intangible Cultural Asset No. 17); Eunyongtalchum (Important Intangible Cultural Asset No. 61); and Gangryeoltalchum (Important Intangible Cultural Asset No. 34).
Bongsantalchum was passed on from one generation to another in Bongsan, Hwanghae Province until 1915 when it appeared in neighboring Sariwon. The dance was normally featured on Dano Day, or the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, a traditional day of festivity and prayer for a good harvest. Dancers would dance all night long until the break of dawn before a blazing bonfire. Some 200 years ago, An Cho-mok facilitated its wider practice through efforts such as switching the wooden masks for papier-mache ones, and this particular school of dance became best known among Haeseotalchum.
The Bongsantalchum we see today embodies various influences from diverse regions. The dance features gestures, movements, witticisms and vocals rendered in rhythm to ``piri'' (cylindrical oboe), ``daegeum'' (horizontal bamboo flute), ``haegeum'' (two-stringed fiddle), ``janggu'' (double-headed drum) and ``buk'' (drum), and comprises of two parts, song and dance, and theatricality.
Bongsantalchum is split into seven acts and presents 26 masks for 34 different roles because some masks represent several characters.
Recurring themes are ceremonial rites, satires about depraved monks and ruined noblemen, love triangles between a man, his wife and concubine, and the daily lives of common folk. These dances expressed ideals told through satirized jokes and stories that were set within the framework of shamanist customs, Buddhist beliefs and the idea of good being rewarded and evil being punished.
The Bongsan Mask Dance-Drama Preservation Society in Seoul is working to preserve the tradition of Bongsantalchum. Anyone can learn the art, and can visit www.bongsantal.com (Korean and English) or call (02) 566-6356 for more information.
