The Religious Attitude toward Sacrifice of Domestic Gazelle in Medieval Korea

[명주]

The Religious Attitude toward Sacrifice of Domestic Gazelle

in Medieval Korea   By Michael  Heo (Abstract of his article) 

The gajang(家獐) is the domestic gazelle. Garok is the domestic deer. It is the same domestic animal belong to the canine family. Literary works of Goryeo and Joseon Dynasty gajang was used instead the canine. The meat of gajang was generalized as one of the food in East Asia. In the neolithic shell mounds and in the wells of the Silla the gajang bones found, It had been used food or sacrifice of the festival or the ceremony.

Buddhists are against for the people to eat the meat and to use sacrifice. In Goryeo Period Buddhism was the natinal religion and the gajang was used primarily as a purpose of hunting and house keeping. The dish of gajang was decreased as a food at that time. They used the  food serisls and tea in ancester worship instead of meat and spiritsin Koryo perriod.

The meat of gajang was used widely in the Joseon dynasty. Soup of gajang meat was a special favorite in early summer. The dish was used to serve the seasonal food to the students of the National University. Neo-confucian of the Joseon Dynasty followed the classics which used canine meat soup at the national rituals and memorial day of ancestor worship. Neo-confucian scholars actively discussed the importance of this. Buddhists and Taoists were against for canine sacrifice.

Neo-confucian scholars of the Joseon Dynasty for using the sacrifice was almost realized. The attitude of Confucian classic joint efforts of those sacrifices of food not only in the periodization of Korean history but in the world history through ages sacrifice is one important issue. The canine was one of the important sacrifices.