Ochre

The Female Principle in the Magoist Cosmogony

Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

Music As Primordial Creativity

The Magoist cosmogony is distinguished not only for its description of cosmic music as primordial creativity but also for its perception of primordial creativity as female. According to the Budoji, the great beginning of the universe originates from PalYoe (Eight Female Musical Pitches):

In the epoch of the Former Heaven, the Great Citadel of Mago was located above the Citadel of SilDal (Real Land) and next to the Citadel of HeoDal (Ideal Land). In the beginning, there was nothing that could be seen but warm sunshine. Only was there to be heard the Music of PalYoe (Eight Female Musical Pitches) from heaven. The Cities of SilDal (Real Land) and HeoDal (Ideal Land) all came from this music, so did the Great Citadel of Mago and Mago. This epoch is called JimSe (One's World). (20) 20. Budoji, Chapter 2, 26-27.

Like many non-monotheistic origin myths of the world, the Magoist origin story does not describe creation ex nihilo (from nothing) by a transcendental monotheistic god. The account that there was warm sunshine in the beginning of the Former Heaven presupposes the existence of the sun in the beginning. Then, amidst the primordial universe, the music of PalYoe arose from heaven. Everything–including Mago, the Citadel of Mago, and primeval materials–was born from PalYoe. PalYoe literally means the eight-pitched female music (pal means "eight" and yoe "female-toned music"). It appears that the number eight indicates the eight cardinal directions of the universe in this context. A theological discussion of PalYoe as ultimate creative force requires a complicated explication, which goes beyond the purpose of this essay. In Korean folk traditions, eight female immortals and eight mudangs (shamans) are well-known. (21) 21. Such fairy tales as the Seonnyoe (Female Immortal) and Woodcutter tell of eight female immortals. Also, eight mudangs (shamans) were dispatched into eight provinces of Korea by aristocratic women during the early period of the Choson Dynasty (1392-1919 CE). See Hangukhak Daebaekgwa Sajeon [Encyclopedia of Korean Studies, vol. 1] (1972; repr; Seoul: Eulyu Munhwasa, 1991), 468-9. I will return to the discussion of the female specificity of PalYoe shortly.

While PalYoe is referred to as ultimate creativity during the epoch of the Former Heaven, YulYoe (Male and Female Musical Pitches), the sex/gender balanced cosmic music, is employed to describe creativity in general. YulYoe (yul means male-toned music and yoe female-toned music) symbolizes the fundamental dyad of two sexes/genders. IlBu Kim (1826-1898 CE), Korean philosopher, notes that the term should be transposed to YoeYul from YulYoe because he claims Korean traditional thought is primarily female-principled. (22) 22. See JiHa Kim, YulYoe-ran Muetshinga? [What is YulYoe?] (Seoul: Hanmunhwa, 1999), 30-67. Following IlBu Kim, JiHa Kim, Korean poet and philosopher, not only affirms the sex/gender-ridden nature of YulYoe but addresses the problem of its patriarchal implications. For more information, see Hwang, Seeking Mago, Chapter 4, 131. The dyad of Yoe/Yul representing two primary sexes/genders needs to be examined in relation to Yin/Yang of the Chinese cosmology. (23) 23. The thought of Yin/Yang deserves a new investigation as to whether it is exclusively attributed to the Chinese in its origin Within the context of Magoism that reconfigures pre-Chinese East Asian civilizations later defended by ancient Korean states, some notions as well as cultural symbolisms that are previously known as the hallmark of Chinese or Japanese are redefined as those of pan-East Asian, that is Magoist, or ancient Korean.

The Budoji describes the emergence/bifurcation of sexes/genders, as follows:

Prior to JimSe, when YulYoe rose repeatedly, stars emerged. When JimSe completed its cycles for a long time, Mago bore two daughters, GungHee (Vault Woman) and SoHee (Nest Woman), and had them to take care of OemChilJo (Five Pitches and Seven Tunes). . . . GungHee and SoHee bore four women and four men . . . and assigned the former to manage Yoe and the latter Yul. (24) 24. Budoji, Chapter 2, 26-27.

In the above account that informs the sex/gender dynamic of cosmic music, the sequence is noteworthy. The music of Yul appears only with the emergence of the male for the first time in the third generation of Mago’s lineage. That Mago assigns four women to Yoe and four men to Yul for management offers an etymological foundation for the notions of Yul and Yoe—Yoe represents the female identification of music and Yul, the male counterpart. In Magoist cosmogony, the notion of YulYoe reflects the sex/gender bifurcation of beings. Unlike Yoe as it is in PalYoe (eight female-toned music), however, Yul alone does not have an autonomous standing. In other words, it functions only as a form of YulYoe, the sex/gender harmonized music, and there is no separate Yul, male music that stands alone; there is no such entity as PalYul. In other words, the male principle is deemed as dependent and subsidiary in the Magoist cosmogony.

The statement, "Prior to JimSe, when YulYoe arose repeatedly, stars emerged" requires a close examination. This means that YulYoe, the sex/gender harmonized music, is the creatrix by which stars were born during the Former Heaven, prior to JimSe, the intermediary cosmic epoch. However, this contradicts the previously quoted account that PalYoe, the female-specific music, was the primordial music of the universe during the time of Former Heaven. According to this previous account, the male had not made an entry until the time of JimSe. In other words, the mention of YulYoe in the above account is likely an anachronistic error on the part of the author or scribe. According to the preceding origin narrative of the Budoji, Yul does not come into existence/consciousness until the birth of sons by Mago's two daughters.

Having said that, it is useful to note the comment of Hyoen Bak, contemporary exponent of the Budoji. He states that YulYoe (the male-female-toned music) is mistakenly placed and that it must be corrected to PalYoe (the female-toned music). (25) 25. Such an inconsistency may have been added by a scribe considering the long historical process that the text has apparently endured to its present form. This means that the pertinent account should be corrected to "Prior to JimSe, when PalYoe arose repeatedly, stars emerged." Bak’s assertion is congruent with my interpretation of the female principle of the Magoist cosmogony. In the context of the Magoist origin myth, YulYoe is—although not meant as inferior to PalYoe—the subsequent gender-equilibrated creatrix. (26) 26. Hyoen Bak stated this in his lecture of November 2002, one of the lecture series addressed to Korean Buddhists at the Jogyoe Temple in Seoul. His authority as an exponent of the Budoji is likely derived from the claim that he is a contemporary descendent of JaeSang Bak, the alleged early-fifth-century author of the Budoji. Keum Bak, familial predecessor of Hyoen Bak and the modern scribe of the Budoji, admits that there might be some minor mistakes in his work of retrieving the text from his memory of translation and childhood recitation. See Hwang, Seeking Mago, Chapter 3.

In the first passage, the Female principle of PalYoe (Eight Female Musical Pitches) takes precedence over YulYoe (Male and Female Musical Pitches) in the origin account of the Budoji. PalYoe is the primal creatrix from which both female and male are derived. To be more precise, the Female in PalYoe precedes the demarcation of sex/gender dualism, male and female. Note that I capitalized the Female. The Female transcends and embodies at once both female and male. Nonetheless, we must not perceive PalYoe and YulYoe in conflicting terms. The text itself does not suggest the dynamic of domination or suppression. According to the continued story of the Budoji, PalYoe is succeeded by YulYoe without a rupture, as Mago continues to procreate and create. The Budoji highlights the female principle of PalYoe during the Former Heaven, while underscoring YulYoe, the sex/gender harmonized music, for the successive epochs, JimSe and the Latter Heaven.

The Magoist genesis may likely be perceived as a great musical procreation of the universe rather than a great explosion (the Big Bang). Creation spontaneously and simultaneously takes place, as the cosmic music reaches its climax. Such musical forces as PalYoe, YulYoe, and OEmChilJo (Five Notes and Seven Tunes) are engendered, as primordial entities move in equilibrium. Vibration/sound is invoked by movement/dance, and vice versa. In fact, music and movement are not two independent entities. Cosmic music and primeval creative movements refer to the two interconnected aspects of the primordial reality.

JungPyoeng Noh, expert on Korean Shamanism, suggests a Magoist exegesis of Korean traditional music. His explanation of PalYoe (Eightfold Female Cosmic Music) and OEmChilJo (Five Notes and Seven Tunes), is both poetic and scientific, and it illumines the interdependence of music and movement. He writes:

The universe was created by PalYoe. The music of PalYoe is a vibration, which is generated by the movement of the gravity axis, and goes out into eight directions. . . . OEm (Five Notes) is a sound that comes inward from the center of the gravity axis. It cycles crescendos and diminuendos. ChilJo (Seven Tunes) functions to transfer the direction of sound outward, when an incoming sound reaches the zenith. GungHee and SoHee manage the task [of OemChilJo]. (27) 27. Noh, GoChoson-ui Jonggyo Hyoekmyoeng [The Religious Revolution of Old Choson] (Seoul: Daehan, 2003), 41.

For Noh, PalYoe is the vibration/music that arises from the self-equilibrating movement /dance of stars. It can be equated with "the Music of the Spheres" described in ancient European cosmology, which I wrote in my dissertation. (28) 28. See Hwang, Seeking Mago, Chapter 4, 140-143. The primordial vibration/music is induced, while the “gravity-axis” of the stars spins and rotates for balance. To put it another way, the planetary movements of the Earth [self-rotations and revolutions around the sun] are generated according to the vibrations/musicology of the cosmos. Noh’s interpretation is no mere euphemism or poetic fancy. Rather, it is a Magoist effort to re-discover and reinterpret Korean traditional music. (29) 29. The principle of YulYoe appears pivotal in archaic Korean culture. However, much of its discourse seems to be lost except for the Budoji and other fragmented sources. The Budoji itself states that the Law of Invoking YulYoe was enacted upon the foundation of Silla. See Budoji, Chapter 29, 102. See, also, the Samguk Sagi [History of Three Kingdoms], translated and annotated by ByoengSu Lee (Seoul: Elyu Munhwasa, 1977), 503, 507. It lists the names of musical instruments: SamJuk Jeok (three bamboo flutes) and SamHyoen (three string instruments), and also states that the music of three bamboo flutes has seven tunes. While such information is too terse to draw any substantial inference, it is worth noting that the numerical symbols of three and seven recur as a central motif in the history and culture of Magoism.

In ancient Chinese texts, a wealth of literature which treats music as a central theme, is available. Among many, the following works are relevant: Jao Tsung-i, "Foreword: Speaking of ‘Sages’: The Bronze of San-hsing-tui" in Sages and Filial Sons: Mythology and Archaeology in Ancient China, ed. Julia Ching and R.W.L. Guisso, xv-xvi (Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, 1991); Kenneth J. DeWoskin, A Song for One or Two: Music and the Concept of Art in Early China (Ann Arbor, MI: Center for Chinese Studies, The University of Michigan, 1982); Walter Kaufmann, Musical References in the Chinese Classics (Detroit: Information Coordinators, 1976); and Chao-Mei-Pa, The Yellow Bell: A Brief Sketch of the History of Chinese Music (Baldwin, MD: Barberry Hill, 1934). These authors, albeit to different degrees, establish not only that ancient Chinese intellectuals knew a sophisticated system of musicology but also that music was understood as primordial creativity. His explanation of the theory of Korean music springs from the Budoji's explanation of the Magoist cosmogony. His view is integral to this essay; however it remains to be discussed elsewhere due to its complexity.