Daily in April will be posted a written story: 'How Dragons Shaped China'; the Hindu Ramayana from SITA's point of view; and from Korea, 'Taming of Tiger'; from my days of telling verbal stories at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. These tradi...
There are only 2,000 Tigers left in our world and causes great sadness for this mightiest of earthly beasts! ~~~~~~~~~~> from a million.
While I researched at the Asian Art Museum to tell the ancient history of Korea more than 4,500 years. I was given 'Taming of Tiger' by the stories themselves, on the simplest of simple, understandable way. The stories fell into place as a brief, simplified, segue through the ancient arts of pottery, jewelry, paintings, lacquer boxes, and gowns with Tiger and the celebration of the 'Old Man on the Mountain.'
Saying this, here is my adapted, enhanced, re-imaged, embroidered, modified and elaborated "TAMING OF TIGER' to honor this power animal now almost extinct.
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The first is a creation story of the princess who lost her sacred golden jeweled fish in the mud of Korean and the Guard of the West, Tiger finds the jeweled fish while building up Korea.
The heavenly prince asks his father, the son god, if he may be a King of Korea. When arriving, the heavenly prince asks bear and tiger to be the first people. Tiger wants freedom and runs off and hides to watches for bear, who becomes the first woman and the Heavenly Prince her gives her the first earthly king.
When the Heavenly Prince, the first King (the Emperors of Korea claimed ascendancy for him) dies, he gives his wife's gifts to his children. (I add the daughter as we are always left out). The daughter receives the clay and pottery (the artist); her husband is in the army. One son gets a rope, gourd, and bamboo stick, shaman and totem carver. One son gets the millstones, the miller. The last son gets the drum, the musician.
They travel on their different paths to return home in ten years for the feast for their father 'the old man of the mountain'.
Tiger travels across the Mongolian across the Chinese Mountains into South East Asia into the Himalayas of India across to Iran and into Greece. Being old he decides to come back to Korea. In the Himalayas, he dies. Four Shamen find dead Tiger; three revive him. He eats the three. One Shaman with common sense with the help of farmers takes him to the outer Mongolian Mountains. Tiger with his special power cross into Korea; King of Beast and Guard of the West is a tyrant looking for the King.
Tiger, vain and arrogant, rulers or bullies the animals. A rabbit tricks tiger (a story from a dance of the people about the Confusism leadership) and leaves Tiger with his tail frozen in the creek.
The totem carver (Shamanism), the first son, marries well. He saves Tiger from a pit, as the Tiger is the Guard of the West and King of the Beasts. Rabbit tricks Tiger into the pit as Tiger wants to eat the totem carver.
The miller (agriculture), the first son, scares thieves away and marries a rich daughter of a tradesman. In his travels selling millstones for the farmers, he meets Tiger (changed from a snake) wanting revenge as the miller injured Tiger's foot with a millstone saving pheasants (Buddhist).
Tiger hides in a cave humiliated, injured, and starving.
The daughter lost the pottery shop (the arts) given to her by her father. Her husband injured emotionally in the wars cannot help her. She goes to a shaman who tells her to get a whisker of a live tiger and her husband will heal. The tiger is also healed.
Tiger hears the third youngest son while passing his cave play drumming (music). The tiger dances behind the son into a rich kingdom, where the son marries the princess. Tiger becomes the kingdom's pet and travels with the son performs.
The ten years are over and the celebration for 'the old man' (the father) arrives. The daughter and three sons return to the top of the mountain, meeting each other's families. They recognize Tiger they sing and dance with him
After the celebration, Tiger slips away with 'the old man of the mountain' the Heavenly Prince, the first King, who comes for him. Since then and today together, they are seen at all the mountain celebrations in Korea every ten years.
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For SOURCES of stories, history, and rituals go the Part *30, Bibliography for Korean Tales.
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😋 I hope you enjoy the segue of the stories about Tiger as a character in Korean History. Please leave a ⭐️ vote and a comment to make telling better.
