This study examines the narrative structure of the shamanic epic Bari Gongju by analyzing three representative versions: the Igo-bun of Ogipuri from the Hamheung Mangmuk-gut, the Mundeok-sun version of Malmigeori from the Seoul Jinogi-gut, and the Kim...
This study examines the narrative structure of the shamanic epic Bari Gongju by analyzing three representative versions: the Igo-bun of Ogipuri from the Hamheung Mangmuk-gut, the Mundeok-sun version of Malmigeori from the Seoul Jinogi-gut, and the Kim An-sun version of Ogupuri from the Sinan Ssitgim-gut. The analysis applies Joseph Campbell’s monomyth theory, particularly the seventeen stages of the hero’s journey, as an analytical framework. The purpose of this study is to identify the archetypal heroic narrative shared by these versions and to clarify how the same structural framework is compressed, substituted, or transformed according to regional ritual contexts, worldviews, and ceremonial environments.
Methodologically, each text is first segmented into narrative units based on the progression of events, and these units are then mapped onto the functional stages of the monomyth. Through this process, common narrative units and variant units are distinguished in order to identify points where the archetypal structure is preserved and points where regional variation becomes operative. In addition, key mythic elements—such as abandonment, passage to the other world, acquisition of healing agents, return, and resurrection—are analyzed in terms of their functional sequences. The symbolic transformation of ritual language is further examined, focusing on healing media and liminal spaces, and the relationship between Bari Gongju and the triadic order of Heaven (Cheon), Earth (Ji), and Humanity (In) is comprehensively considered.
The analysis demonstrates that all three versions share a cyclical heroic structure that begins with the deficiency of the “abandoned daughter,” proceeds through entry into the other world and a series of trials, and culminates in the acquisition of healing agents, return, and resurrection. At the same time, each version emphasizes different narrative strategies: the Hamheung version foregrounds a logic of sacrifice and result-oriented approval, highlighting an ethic of selfless devotion; the Seoul version restructures the trials as stages of spiritual cultivation through Buddhist deities and doctrinal elements; and the Sinan version materializes heroic suffering through contracts, compensation, and the pain of childbirth, embedding the narrative within everyday conditions of life. Healing objects such as sacred water, flowers, and ritual garments, along with liminal spaces such as the underworld, the sea, and desolate fields, function as pivotal devices that mediate boundaries between life and death, humans and the divine.
Through these findings, Bari Gongju emerges not as a figure fixed within a single ontological domain but as a mediator who traverses and coordinates the triadic realms of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity. Her heroism is actualized and renewed through repetition and transformation within the ritual performance of the gut. This study thus contributes by presenting Bari Gongju not as a simple tale of filial piety or a mere product of ritual function, but as a living myth structured by the convergence of an archetypal heroic narrative and regionally differentiated transformations.