Page:The passing of Korea.djvu/524

 besought the dragon spirit to treat the company well and bring them back in safety. The ceremony was in the shape of a pantomime, in which one of the mudangs personated the envoy and another the Minister of State.

Such are only a few of the occasions upon which a mudangs services are required. Korean folk-lore teems with stories in which the mudang plays a leading part. We have space for only one. A mudang dreamed that the Great Spirit of Smallpox appeared to her and said that he was about to enter a certain house in the neighbourhood, and that he had selected a certain closet in the house as his favourite place. When the woman awoke, she hastened to the house indicated, and found that it was true. The young son was stricken with the disease, and continually asked to be placed in that closet". By this the mudang knew that her dream was a true one. As the disease developed, the child kept scratching his neck, which caused a dangerous swelling. The mudang said, " Someone in this house has witnessed the killing of a hen." Upon inquiry this was found to be true. Still the father refused to allow the mudang to hold a kut over the child. At last the boy began to turn a livid green in the face, the sure sign of approaching death. The mudang said, " Search and you will find that someone has brought a piece of green cloth into the house." This too was found to be true. The father could no longer refuse to let the mudang try her hand, and in the story of course the child recovered.

It is said that not until some time after the beginning of the present dynasty was the horrible custom of throwing a young virgin into the sea at Po-ryung discontinued. At that place the mudang held an annual seance in order to propitiate the sea dragon and secure plenteous rains for the rice-crop and successful voyages for the mariners. A new prefect was appointed to that district, and as he had no faith in mudangs he determined to go and witness the ceremony and put a stop to the custom, if possible. Three mudangs were on hand and had secured the maiden for sacrifice. As they led her down to the water's edge to cast