This past November, I gave a TEDx talk on Jeju Island, where I’ve been documenting shamanic shrine culture for the past five years, as you well know if you follow my blog. I talk about my video and photography work and the importance of preserving sacred spaces, many of which are in danger on…
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Jeju Island’s Haenyo: A User’s Manual, bil-le, bil-le, beach of death
“Back then, many people had been killed by the national government’s forces,” the woman informed me. “Many of the bodies from neighboring villages washed up on Pyeol-ro-Neo-man-ri’s shore. The bille was strewn with bodies. The women of our village were offered a deal. If they cleaned up the corpses, then they’d have the rights to the neighboring village’s territory.”
And clean up the bodies they did. The women of Pyeol-ro-Neo-man-ri, many in their twenties and thirties at the time, some much younger, scoured the jagged bille, combing over each and every surface for the remains of the neighboring village’s dead.
Jeju Island’s Haenyo: A User’s Manual, the diver who heard music underwater
Jeju Island’s Haenyeo, A User’s Manual will be released as an e-book this July on Amazon. Pre-orders help sales rankings. If you enjoy the series, pre-order the book and receive it on July 14th. (Description on the book’s amazon page) I had a beautiful experience once, one night drinking wine on a coastal boardwalk, in…
* visiting Jeju w/ daniel paul marshall
Originally posted on The Influence:
photo by Joey Rositano This week’s post features a poem by Daniel Paul Marshall. Marshall writes about the Haenyeo, female divers from the Korean province of Jeju. The Hangul for the word, (해녀)roughly translates to sea women, and serves as the title for this poem. When I informed Marshall I planned…
Field Notes #2: Saewa Village’s Shamanic Shrines Were Burnt to the Ground
During the Anti-Superstition Movement of the 1970s, over one hundred of Jeju Island’s shamanic shrines were burnt, along with many holy relics. President Park Chung Hee’s government had implemented the misin-tapa as part of the movement for the modernization of South Korea. The aim of the misin-tapa was to eradicate traditional religion from rural communities, replacing it…
Field Notes #1: “Solstice.” (Video)
My documentary on Jeju Island’s shamanic culture (Sprits: The Story of Jeju Island’s Shamanic Shrines) will debut this September. I’ll be sharing plenty of extras on my youtube channel . I’ve been researching and filming the project for five years, so there is plenty to come. This clip is from a series I’m calling ‘Field Notes’. In…
Indigenous Islanders are Employing Shamanic Symbolism to Resist Jeju Island’s Proposed 2nd Airport.
Indigenous residents of Jeju Island’s southeastern region are employing traditional shamanic culture to protest the airport that is slated to displace the populations of five villages. So far, the mainstream media outside of Jeju has done little to document resistance to the project. The new airport is opposed by the majority of residents in the…
Sulsaemit Shrine on the Verge of Being Lost?
Recently I’ve been writing about Jeju Island’s threatened traditional shamanic shrines. I’ve just come from an alarming sight and though don’t have time for a proper post, I’d like to share the photos I took this morning of the development happening around the historic and cultural treasure site of Sulsaemit Shrine. Please read this post…
Jeju Island’s Deities #5: Who is the Highest Goddess in the Land? Myoungjinguk Grandmother Goddess, Giver of Life.
“Who is Myoungjinguk Grandmother?” Great Shaman Im looked at me like I was dense. “Myoungjinguk Grandmother,” she said, incredulous, “is the grandmother goddess who came from the sky, the highest grandmother there is. She’s the grandmother who is above everyone on Jeju Island, in Korea, America–she’s the highest in all the world.” I actually hadn’t…
The Photobook is out!!! Spirits: Jeju Island’s Shamanic Shrines Take a look inside!
My photo book containing selections from my four-year exploration of Jeju Island’s shamanic culture is hot off the press and ready for order. ORDER HERE I’ve spent four years interviewing hundreds of people about the endangered practice of muism on Jeju Island. The photo book is a companion to my upcoming film on the same…
Spirits: Jeju Island’s Shamanic Shrines Ready for Purchase
KOREA If you prefer to pay by direct-deposit within Korea, email me: gripa22@yahoo.com– or simply write your request in the comment section below. :) Cost in Korean won: 30,000 (includes shipping) Spirits: Jeju Island’s Shamanic Shrines Photobook $40 (+$5 shipping KOREA) Spirits: Jeju Island’s Shamanic Shrines Photobook + Large Pantheon Poster $55 (+$8 shipping KOREA) Large…
pagans we are 