Mengdu

Three mengdu of the sun and moon

The mengdu (Jeju and Korean: 멩두, romanized: mengdu), also called the three mengdu (삼멩두, sam-mengdu) and the three mengdu of the sun and moon (일월삼멩두, irwol sam-mengdu),^[1] are a set of three kinds of brass ritual devices—a pair of knives, a bell, and divination implements—which are the symbols of shamanic priesthood in the Korean shamanism of southern Jeju Island. Although similar ritual devices are found in mainland Korea, the religious reverence accorded to the mengdu is unique to Jeju.

The origin myth of the mengdu is found in the Chogong bon-puri, a major shamanic narrative in Jeju religion. According to this narrative, the original mengdu were possessed by the eponymous Mengdu triplets, the three deities who were the first to practice shamanic ritual on earth. The stylistic features of mengdu refer back to important events in the miraculous conception and lives of these gods. The implements play a critical role in ritual; both the knives and the divination implements are used to divine the will of the gods, and the bell is used to invite them into the ritual ground.

Every set of mengdu is believed to incarnate the spirits both of the heroes of the Chogong bon-puri, and of the historical human shamans who previously owned the particular set. These spirits are called the "mengdu ancestors", and are thought to intervene during rituals to help the current holder accurately ascertain the will of the gods. The mengdu are conventionally passed down from one generation to another, with the previous holder becoming the newest mengdu ancestor. The implements and the ancestors that embody them are the objects of regular worship and also feature prominently in the initiation rituals of Jeju shamanism.

Traditional Jeju religion is nowadays in decline, and there is currently a glut of mengdu sets within the traditional priesthood. At the same time, many ritual practitioners who are not trained and initiated in the traditional manner are now making their own mengdu.