Buddhism--Korea; confucianism; Shamanism; Folk religion; women--Korea
摘要
In a patrilineal, patriarchal society such as late traditional Korea where important ideological influence has been exerted both by Confucianism, in which the subordination of females to males is considered necessary, and by Mahayana Buddhism, in which female gender has been viewed as an impediment to salvation, one expects to find a religious system in which ideas taken from these great traditions serve as a rationale for excluding women from important public ritual. Both Confucian and Buddhist rites that exclude females from participation in roles of ritual leadership exist. However, the spiritual welfare of traditional Korean families depends upon a religious division of labor that leaves women with important, legitimate, and autonomous ritual roles. By analyzing the myth of Princess Pari, sung by and among women in the context of certain of these rituals, it is possible to examine how Korean women represent to themselves both those structural contradictions implied in the texts of the great tradition, and those actually experienced in their lives. The continued ability of Korean women to control symbol-making in a religious context allows them to affirm their moral worth as women and confront elements of valued great traditions which seem to deprive them of moral excellence, legitimate religious roles, and even entry into paradise.
目次
1. Princess Pari and Images of Women in World Traditions 403 2. Women in the East Asian Great Traditions 405 3. The Confucian and Buddhist Great Traditions in Korea 407 4. The Religious Division of Labor and Treatment of the Dead in the Korean Little Tradition 411 5. Princess Pan and the World of Women 414 6. Princess Pari and the Grat Tradition in Korea 416 References Cited 418
