Namsadang
The namsadang is a Korean itinerant troupe which consists of male performers who present various performing arts such as acrobatics, singing, dancing and playing like a circus.
It is said that namsadang was spontaneously formed before 1900 during the Joseon period
and used to wander about marketplaces and villages. The troupe was considered the lowest class in society along with cheonmin or baekjeong, so that very few historical documents remain on them. However, since a record that a puppet show was performed during the Silla period has been found, it is assumed that similar types of itinerant companies appeared in Korean history a long time ago.
During the late Joseon Dynasty, there were several namsadang, but the one whose base was set in Cheongryongsa temple in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province was the most famous. They became called namsadang because the troupe were composed of only men and "nam" means a male in Korean. Later, a few female members were accepted to join in the group.
The six performances which the troupe performs are collectively called Namsadang nori, literally meaning nori performed by namsadang. Nori refers to play, game or performance in Korean. The namsadang nori includes pungmul nori, beona nori, salpan, eoreum, deotboegi, and deolmi. All six nori are associated with each other and integrate various activities such as music, feat, acrobatics, stunt, play, dance, and mask dance. Originally there were ten performances on Namsadang-nori but only six have been brought down until now.
On December 7, 1964, the South Korean government designated deolmi as the third Important Intangible Cultural Property. On August 1, 1988, all six performances of Namsadang nori were included as Important Intangible Cultural Properties as well.
Troupe organization
Namsadang usually consisted of 40 – 50 members of all ages. The head of the group is called kkokdusoe and the second-in-command is called golbaengisoe. Underneath there were tteunsoe, gayeol, ppiri, jeoseungpae, and deungjimkkun. Tteunsoe is the head of the each performance or senior performer and gayeol is a performer. Ppiri is an apprentice. In addition, jeoseungpae refers to elderly members and deungjimkkun is porters.The troupe was well-organized and strictly disciplined by rules. Because entertainers like singers or actors were often despised in that age, the troupe recruited its members among the orphans, poor farmers` children and sometimes even through kidnapping. They were not well-paid. Very often they were offered only meals and beds and a small amount of money. They had tough lives.
The troupe may have functioned as a homosexual community, with each member taking the role of Sutdongmo, "butch", or Yodongmo, "queen".
Namsadang nori
Namsadang's yeonhui or performances were held on the ground instead of theaters. When namsadang found a village, they had to get a permission from the leader of the village in order to present their talents. Members of namsadang performed the six nori in the biggest yard of the village. The sequence of six nori is as follows.Pungmul nori
Pungmul nori is the first performance of namsadang nori, combined with music, dance, sangmo nori and various other activities. Pungmul instruments comprise four percussion instruments such as jing, kkwaenggwari, buk, janggu and several sogo and nallari/Taepyeongso, which make unique melodies and rhythms. The music played by the four instruments of pungmul is called samul nori.Beona-nori
Beaona nori is a performance with beona. This can be a dish, a basin, or a sieve frame. Performers spin and toss the beona into the air by using a tobacco pipe or a long wooden stick while exchanging witty talks with a clown called maehossi or sorikkun.Salpan
The word salpan comes from the saying that "if you do well, you will be alive, and if you don't, you will be dead". It is also called ttangjaeju, literally meaning talents held on the ground. The performer executes various acrobatic feats called "gondu" while exchanging humorous banter with a maehossi.Eoreum
Eoreum or jultagi is tightrope dancing. It is called "eoreum" because the nori is as hard and cautious as walking on thin ice. The performer or eoreum-sani dances, sings songs, and does aerial stunts on the rope which is tightly fastened 3 meters off the ground. The performer also exchanges witty talks with a maehossi on the ground and all his performance is accompanied with special rhythm made by a drum.Deotboegi
Deotboegi means "See with the mask on". Generally, this performance has good humor and tendency to tickle the fancy of the public. Deotboegi gains high popularity among audience. However it also contains keen satire on the society and yangban or the noble class of Joseon Dynasty.Deolmi
Deolmi or puppet play is played last. It is also known as "kkokdugaksi noreum", which comprises the three words: kkokdu, gaksi and noreum. In addition, the puppetry is called "bakcheomji noreum" and "hongdongji nori", all of which are named after the main characters in the play. In Korea, puppet plays appeared first in the early age of the Silla period. All the other puppet plays disappeared later, but deolmi survives and has been brought down through generations. Its main story is about the resistance against the dominant aristocratic class and satirizes corrupt Buddhist priests. So the play appealed to the commoners and the poor public, which perhaps explains its popularity, and ultimately why it has survived so many years. It was designated as Important Intangible Cultural Property before the other parts of the namsadang nori.Generally performers use about 40 puppets and around 10 hand props.