From whence the Chongun came
Chongun History
Early totemistic clans apparently followed communal, shamanistic practices at first, which included the yonggo ceremony to invoke a supernatural force. The shamanistic ch'on'gun ("Heaven Prince") associated with these clans may have carried out broad priestly and military leadership functions. However, the two roles eventually bifurcated in a manner comparable to the emergence of the kysh'itra (warrior) and Brahmana (priestly) rites in Hindustan early in the second millennium B.C. It has been suggested this separation is marked by the exclusion of the exercise of criminal justice within the clan settlements (sodo) as they became religious centers increasingly under the domination of the ch'on'gun shaman priest. Perhaps because shamanism was absorbed into an aspect of the male leadership of the nascent state institutions embodying a social contradiction, shamanism as a popular religion at the village level became associated with women priests called mudang. In the sodo, the mudang would have erected a (phallic?) pole on which were hung bells and a drum (yonggo - "spirit-invoking drums") for the shamanistic ceremonies. Also part of them was the much'on ("Dance to Heaven.")
Because the shamanistic rite had access to supernatural forces, and was therefore less constrained by circumstance, it was able to look beyond the clan to establish alliances. In fact, at the beginning of the first millennium A.D., the tribal kingdom of Saro emerged as a clan confederation headed by shaman kings (interestingly associated with metal working, as in African tradition). The title of these kings were kosogan, then ch'ach'aung, and finally isagum, with ch'ach'aung meaning "shaman." These shaman tribal kings served to reduce conflict between rival clans in support of tribal state formation.
The tribal alliances eventually consolidated into The Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea: Koguryo (from the 2nd century A.D.), Paechke and Silla (from the 4th c.). In the Koguryo Dynasty, the king performed rites at the shrine of his Urfather, beginning an ancestor cult that fortified between rival clans in support of tribal state formation.
The tribal alliances eventually consolidated into The Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea: Koguryo (from the 2nd century A.D.), Paechke and Silla (from the 4th c.). In the Koguryo Dynasty, the king performed rites at the shrine of his Urfather, beginning an ancestor cult that fortified political leadership. These kingdoms were deeply influenced by Chinese political institutions and ideology that consolidated the landed rite of clan patriarchs and tribal leaders into a military aristocratic ruling class. They also contributed to the transition to state-level society in Japan.
Author: Gildenstar