Cheonji-wang
Jeju Island shamanism · deity · Jeju Island shamanism traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Cheonji-wang, the King of Heaven and Earth, opens the Cheonji-wang bon-puri, the origin chant sung at the outset of the great Jeju kut to establish the order of the cosmos. In the beginning sky and earth were fused; when they parted, two suns and two moons scorched and froze the world by turns. Cheonji-wang descends to the human realm, where he punishes the arrogant tyrant Sumyeong-jangja with fire and lightning, and lies one night with the earthly woman Chongmyeong-buin. Departing, he gives her gourd seeds and foretells the birth of twin sons. Those sons, Daebyeol-wang and Sobyeol-wang, later climb the gourd vines to his heavenly court, where he sets them the contests that divide the worlds of the living and the dead.
Children
Domains
- sky and heaven
- cosmic order and justice
Powers
- smite the wicked with heavenly fire
- descend to wed a mortal woman
Epithets
- 천지왕 — King of Heaven and EarthHyun Yong-jun, Jeju-do musok jaryo sajeon (Seoul: Singu Munhwasa, 1980) (primary)
Relations
- spouse: Chongmyeong-buinHyun Yong-jun, Jeju-do musok jaryo sajeon (Seoul: Singu Munhwasa, 1980) (primary)
- child: Daebyeol-wangHyun Yong-jun, Jeju-do musok jaryo sajeon (Seoul: Singu Munhwasa, 1980) (primary)
- child: Sobyeol-wangHyun Yong-jun, Jeju-do musok jaryo sajeon (Seoul: Singu Munhwasa, 1980) (primary)
- enemy: Sumyeong-jangjaCheonji-wang punishes the tyrant for his arrogance and cruelty.Hyun Yong-jun, Jeju-do musok jaryo sajeon (Seoul: Singu Munhwasa, 1980) (primary)
Sources
- Cheonji-wang is the celestial sovereign of the Cheonji-wang bon-puri, the Jeju creation chant, who descends to wed an earthly woman and fathers the twin gods who order the cosmos.: Hyun Yong-jun, Jeju-do musok jaryo sajeon [Dictionary of Jeju Shamanic Materials] (Seoul: Singu Munhwasa, 1980) (primary); Kim Heonsun, Han'guk-ui changse sinhwa [Korean Creation Myths] (Seoul: Gilbeot, 1994) (secondary)