The content of significant changed-aspects of ritual common sacrifice performed in Jeon-nam Province is as follows :
(1) The date of the sacrifice is being changed from the day before January 15th to January 15th and the time of the sacrifice is be...
The content of significant changed-aspects of ritual common sacrifice performed in Jeon-nam Province is as follows :
(1) The date of the sacrifice is being changed from the day before January 15th to January 15th and the time of the sacrifice is being changed from night to daytime of from midnight to early evening.
(2) The location of the sacrifice is being changed from the mid-slope or the top of a mountain to a place located on a plain or in the center of a village and the places at which the sacrificial ritual is conducted are being reduced from many to a few.
(3) The condition of selecting a priest is being alleviated and, as some villages don't have any volunteers, the head of a village or director is charged with conducing the ritual. The number of priests is decreasing and is now 2~3 as compared with 5~6 in the past.
(4) The offering of the sacrifice is being simplified. Nowadays, there are few villages that conduct a garden festival(madangbapgi) as a means of financing the sacrifice. Consequently, the cost of the sacrifice is deducted from village funds.
(5) The combination of Confucian sacrifice and a festive sacrifice is the most general style used in a sacrifice. There is hardly any superstitious sacrifices remaining. There are, however, a few combinations of a Confucian sacrifice and superstitious sacrifice.
There are some major reasons for the change of ritual common sacrifice. First, the weakening of faith as the heart of the community. Second, the effect of economic ideas of efficiency and waste control. Third, the weakening of community consciousness considering the public and the individual. Fourth, a decrease in the rural population.
My research in this area will be limited to the above at this time although I plan additional research with another thesis on Korean village sacrifice in relation to various nation-wide data.