Jwibulnori
Jwibulnori (쥐불놀이) is a popular Korean game. It's a play to make a fire on paddies and fields to exterminate harmful insects and rats during the first full moon of a year in the lunar calendar, which is the national holiday in Korea. Also, this game has a meaning to wish for good health.[1]
| Jwibulnori | |
 | |
| Korean name | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 쥐불놀이 |
| Revised Romanization | Jwibulnori |
| McCune–Reischauer | Chwibulnori |
People make a torchlight on a basket or a container tied with a strong string, going out, playing with, twirling it. Sometimes, there's a fight between other village members. They play the game until midnight and after enjoying the game, they make a fire on the farmland.
Meaning
The play is exciting as many of them run and run along, set fire, and turn on the empty can. Through this game, the spirit of play as well as sense of belonging as a group member and community spirit are raised. It is not just a play on the fifteenth of lunar January, but a traditional custom that reflects the healthy wisdom of the Korean people. In other words, the damage caused by the mouse is so severe that it burns the dried grass, burns off the pests of the pest, the germs and larvae that are attached to the grass leaves, and there is a scientific thought to warm the frozen land and make it sprout well. As a result, not only were it good for farming because it reduced harmful insects and insects, but it was also effective in health and quarantine by burning germs. In addition, it implies that the new year will be actively welcomed in order to purify all old misfortune up to last year by fire and to obtain good fortune etc. In this context, it can be seen that Jwibulnori is still practiced as a folk game in modern industrialized and urbanized societies.[2][3]
Origin
Originally, Jwibulnori originated from ridge between rice paddies burning customs that set fire on the dry grass of the paddy fields the day before the New Year's Day.[4]
Modern Jwibulnori
Although the traditional Jwibulnori has gradually disappeared, it is still being held as part of the event during the New Year's Eve event. On the way to modern times, children use long rings made of wire in cans by drilling holes in the bottom and sides of cans. The place where Jwibulnori is mainly held at a place where a sheaf burning event is held, in a wide field or a field with a low risk of fire.[5]
Fire-can game is a play that has been performed with Jwibulnori. According to the testimonies of the elderly, the origin came from the widespread use of cans after the Korean War. In other words, it was naturally combined with Jwibulnori while various kinds of canned food among the military materials that were airlifted during the war were used as amusement tools. When the turning of the can is progressing and midnight is near, all the trees put in the fire-can are burned and only embers are left under. At this time, when you climb up a small garden or go out to the riverside and throw a fire-can high up in the sky, hundreds of fireworks remaining in the cans fall and glitter the night sky. This can be understood as a way to send out bad luck and welcome good luck by throwing away a fire-can at the end, just as people believe that they can beat bad luck by flying a kite on the first day of the year.[5]
How to play Jwibulnori
There is no particular way to play, but it is usually played by burning a bunch of brooms or trees and burning the fields around the village. Depending on the province, people run around with kindling made of mugwort and set fires and nowadays, they even run Bulkkangtong (Hangul: 불깡통, mean: fire-cans)[6]
To make a fire-can, first drill dozens of holes in the surface of an empty can with a spike. The reason for punching holes is to make the air flow well so that the branches in the cans are well burned. After drilling into a can, a wire of about 1 meter is connected to each side of it to make a handle. When a fire-can is made like this, the tree is placed in the can and the fire is started. Then, if you hold the string with one hand and turn it vigorously, the fuel in the can burns, creating a beautiful spark like a dance. Children spin cans and compete with whom fire burns better. Recently, there have been more and more a fire-can instead of a torch or a bundle of straw. So playing the fire-can be understood as a Jwibulnori.[6]
Jwibulnori in Jeju
In Jeju Island, people set a fire in the rangeland of Mt. Halla (Hangul: 한라산) during the month of February, or Hwaip (Hangul: 화입). In addition, the area calls the rat "daughter-in-law" because you just call a mouse ‘a mouse’, it will understand and be nasty. There is also a custom that a divination sign can not be found on the day of the mouse, and a custom that doesn’t put some starch on the clothes. As Jwibulnori. is a folklore related to rats, it is same as placing a fire on a field on the first day of the first lunar month. Depending on the region, it is also known as the “Jwibul (Hangul: 쥐불)” in conjunction with the moon torchlight on the New Year’s Eve. Nowadays, to prevent fire, it is not allowed to put a Jwibul. Pesticides are developed and the disease and pests are exterminated, so Jwibulnori. is gradually disappearing.[7]
Jwibulnori in China
Bulnori (Hangul: 불놀이, mean: Displaying fireworks) on the 15th day of the New Year is derived from the idea of Sunghwa (Hangul: 숭화, Hanja: 崇火) which reveres fire. In southern China and Europe as well as Korea, farmers' practice of burning fire is associated with their products. In China, there is a Hunchung (Hangul: 훈충, Hanja: 燻蟲) event called Yongdaedu (Hangul: 용대두, Hanja: 龍擡頭) on February 2 of Lunar New Year. This is a holiday in which a dragon raises his head. It is said that it is possible to prevent various insect disasters if it goes out of the door and in the kitchen while spraying the ashes like a dragon at the beginning of the farming.[7]
Jwibulnori engraved in Pyeongchang commemorative coins
Pyeongchang commemorative coins are engraved with Jwibulnori. The currency issued to commemorate the PyeongChang Olympic Games is divided into commemorative bills and commemorative coins. There are gold coins, silver coins, and brass coins, and Jwibulnori are engraved in gold coins. In addition, the gold coins are engraved with traditional play paintings such as mono maple sled and Jwibulnori. In the silver coins and brass coins, speed skating and bobsleigh were engraved.[8][9]
References
- 김, 나영 (2016-02-22). "Meaning of Korean traditional games at the 15th day of the New Year according to the lunar calendar". 세계일보(Segyeilbo).
- "Daeboreum, Secrets contained in Jwibulnorii". 증산도(JeungSanDo) (in Korean). 2017-02-10. Retrieved 2018-06-03.
- "한국문화재재단" [Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation]. www.chf.or.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-06-03.
- "온가족 무병장수 빌며…" [Blessing of the whole family...] (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-05-14.
- "문화콘텐츠닷컴" [Korean Culture Content]. Korean Culture Content. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
- "쥐불놀이-문화콘텐츠닷컴" [Jwibulnori-Culture Contents]. www.culturecontent.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-06-03.
- 국립민속박물관. "한국민속대백과사전" [Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture]. folkency.nfm.go.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-06-03.
- Kim, Chungbeom (2018-02-18). "[Pyeongchang Winter Olympic] Issue of the first commemorative coin of all time…culring, Kim Hong-do picture". Global View아주경제(Ajugyeongje) (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-05-14.
- "2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Commemorative Coin". Retrieved 2018-06-04.
