The
Kangrung Mask Dance is Important Intangible Cultural Property
No. 34. It has been handed down from generation to generation
in Kangrung, Hwanghaedo.
It was restored after the Korea civil war by those
who moved from North Korea to South Korea. It was performed
at the Dano festival, on the fifth day of the fifth
lunar month. It starts on the eve of the Dano festival
and continues until the following day of the Dano festival.
The performers used to be farmers and fishermen.
People
wearing long sleeves dance very slowly.
The conflict between the servant and the noble man has
been watered down and, yet, the jester between them
boasts the uniqueness of the Korean language.
It consists of seven parts.
The first part of the mask dance is the lion dance.
Two lions and a footman dance to Tarung and Gutguree
beats, ending with a unique monkey dance.
The second part is a servants' dance. Unlike the other
mask dances, two servants appears on the stage and dance
to the music.
The third and fourth parts are the Buddhist's dance.
A Buddhist monk dances on the stage, by which one can
guess that he is a apostate monk. It makes fun of Buddhism
that failed to meet the needs of the oppressed.
The fifth part is the nobles' confesssion. The noble
class discloses their ignorance and inability. And a
servant ridicules and makes fun of the noble class.
The sixth part is the old monk's dance who tries to
entice a young girl.
The seventh part is about the tragedy of a family, which
results in the death of the wife after being left by
her husband. he husband later performs a sacrifice for
his deceased wife.
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