This is the final report of the two-year research project, "Asian Culture and Goddess Myths: Myth and Female Identity." The research area are Korea, China, Japan and India. In the first year, we examined how the identities of goddesses as subordinate ...
This is the final report of the two-year research project, "Asian Culture and Goddess Myths: Myth and Female Identity." The research area are Korea, China, Japan and India. In the first year, we examined how the identities of goddesses as subordinate or independent, powerful beings are found in written and oral texts. In the second year research, we examined what roles the goddesses played for the formation of female identity in each particular cultural context. The results of the research were read at a symposium in Ehwa Women’s University (May 2007). 1) For Korean case, we examined the goddesses of Jeju Island. In Jeju, there are still found abundant goddess myths, many of whom are regarded as independent, powerful goddesses. But the research showed Jeju people do not worship goddesses not because they are ‘goddesses’ but merely because they are ‘powerful deities.’ This tells the powerful, responsible goddesses in myths have little influence on the formation of female the identity in Jeju. 2) For China, we examined the Temple Fair for the Ancestors of the Chinese in Huaiyang County and Xihua County, Henan Province. The Fair is dedicated to Fuxi and Nüwa, in which evidences of the ancient worship for goddesses and procreation. Most participants, however, did not know the names of Fuxi or Nüwa. Even the women who practiced performances for giving pleasure to deities did so not for any specific reasons but just for their own amusement. Most people participated in the Fair not because Nüwa is a ‘goddess’ but because she is a powerful deity. Nüwa in their belief lost her function as an independent creator goddess but was playing only the role of a guardian deity. Such a trait has little things to do with the identity of the women participants. 3) The case of Japan is not different from other cases. Gonohananosakuyahime, the guardian deity of Fujiy Mountain, is a goddess. She is the main deity in Sengenjinja, the center of Fuji belief. For a long time, however, women were prohibited to approaching Fuji since the 14th century. Though the situation was changed after Fujiko came to flourish, few recognized the prohibition of women as sexist. In Japan, the principle of motherhood has camouflaged the principle of patriarchy. This is an ideological alibi. The female principle has coexisted with male principle and concealed the violence of the latter. Such a distorted female principle has been symbolized as Fuji Mountain goddess and has become the basis of the prohibiting women. Most Japanese women do not know Gonohananosakuyahime is the hostess of Fuji fire feast. As so, powerful goddesses are not directly related to the independent identity of Japanese women. 4) Durga and Kali in India are regarded as independent, powerful goddesses in casual belief. As they are said to eradicate devils, they are surely powerful goddesses. In India, however, the concept of motherhood is not confined to femaleness but embraces the duality of maleness and femaleness, This is the very reason why the worship in goddesses are not directly related to the status of women. People visit the temples for Kali or Durga not because they are ‘goddesses’ but because they are deities who accomplish the human needs and solve the problems of life. As we have seen, though there are diverse worships for independent, powerful goddesses in Asia, they are worshiped not because they are goddesses but just because they are guardian deities regardless of their gender. As the result, we have reached the conclusion that the feminist strategy of relating independent goddesses to the identity of women in reality cannot be adapted to the cases of Asian goddesses. We have found that women in reality flexibly adopt goddess myths for their diverse needs of life. This requires to sublate the simple idea to regard goddess myths merely as a measure of patriarchy or as a source of the liberation of women.