나주시문화관광

Owner : Bulhoesa Number : Important Folklore Material No. 11 Era : Chosun Dynasty Designated date : 25184 A pair of jangseungs (totem poles) that are considered the best masterpiece among the extant stone totem poles today are found at the Bulhoesa Temple in Naju. They are the totem poles depicting a man and a woman that stand on the left and right side of the path leading to the entrance of Bulhoesa in Masan-ri. The genders of these two totem poles are clearly distinguishable. A close look will reveal that the totem pole on the right depicts an elderly man, while the one on the left depicts an elderly woman. It appears that considerable attention was paid to the details including the facial features and size as well as the height to make the gender discernable. The totem poles are speculated to have been erected in 1719 (45th year of King Sukjong’s reign), and they were designated as Important Folk Material No. 11 on December 12, 1968. They are somewhat sinister in appearance, yet they also appear mischievous and friendly. What’s interesting is that they were erected to safeguard the temple, not a village, by preventing corruption on the temple grounds and driving away evil spirits. According to folklorists, there had originally been no totem poles at Buddhist temples because their functions were fulfilled by the statues of the four maharajas or the diamond deva of great strength. However, at some point, people began erecting totem poles near the entrances of Buddhist temples. The advent of Korean totem poles resulted from the process of Buddhism becoming integrated into Korean culture, while compromises were made with the indigenous faiths. This means that jangseungs (Korean totem poles) are folk cultural assets arising from the fusion of indigenous faiths and Buddhism.