Tongyeong ogwandae is Korea's traditional mask playing which is selected as the sixth Important Intangible Cultural Properties of Korea  next to Pansori

Pansori

Pansori is a genre of Korean traditional music. It is a vocal and percussional music performed by one sorikkun and one gosu . The term pansori is derived from pan , and sori .- Overview :...

. It is distributed mainly in Gyeongsangnam-do province in Korea which is yeoongna-style mask playing. The meaning of it Korean name,ogwandae, is five clowns because the play is organized with five different mask players and has five stories.

History

According to Korean official culture information service, Tongyeong ogwandae has been started since 90 years ago by Uiheunggye and then old people called Nansagye maintained it and Jang jae-bong who was in the group of Chunheunggye succeeded and restored it when he was 29 years old. With its origin, in 16 century in Yongyouung, the navy force was established and every the last day of the year, people gathered to ceremony with mask playing. 30 musicians who were drafted in the navy from small islands practiced under the control starting the 28th of the twelfth month of the lunar year. They marched in procession in office district and then private houses from New Year´s Eve until the 15th of January. This playing was kind of a ceremony exorcising evil spirits. The name of mask Junggwandae leads the procession chanting Buddhist prayer to exorcise ghosts. the performance shows the life of ordinary people and satirizing the landed gentry and ridiculing the problem of wives. The most serious satire is the performance of Malttugi that mocking noblemans. Currently Tongyeong ogwandae is the only traditional Korean dance wich has the sajachum.

Procedures

The directing of Tongyeong ogwandae is similar with other five-story mask dance in Korea but accompaniment of percussion has its characteristic style of the province. ogwandae's dancing is called dutbegi and malttuki's dancing was active as sword dance but it became more calmly. The first story is about mundung-tal. mundung come out with instrument and dance with lamentation. He says that his incurable illness is due to his ancesters. The second story is about pungja-tal. malttuki comes ouut and ridicules 7 noblemans and argues that he is the onlly noble. The third story is about youngno-tal who is a monster. He eaats everything and says he has eaten 99 nobleman and he will become a dragon if he its one more nobleman. The nobleman claims that he is not a noble but youngno finds him. The fourth story is about nongchang-tal. Two monks dances for jaejagaksi and thrown out by the grandmather. The last story is about posu-tal. A marten comes out and eaten by the lion and it dies by the cather. its means the law of the jungle.

Transmission

Tongyeong ogwandae became the important intagible properties of Korea in 1964. At that time, the holders were designated ;Jang jae-bong, Oh Jung-du, kim jin-su, Gu sam-bong, Go young-su, Mun Chang-seob, Kim sam sung, Yoo ding-ju.