The Notion of Death and Caring Behaviors in one Community

Ko, Sung Hee; Lee, Young Hee

Abstract

This study was to find out the perception of toward death and caring behavior of lay parsons in one community : One Island in Pusan County, Chonbuk. The methodology of this study was ethnography. For this study, The fieldwork was conducted from October 1997 to July 1998. Data collected by in-depth interview and participant observations. The participants consisted of were 17 persons of both sexes. The key informants were four specific people. The result of this study is as follows; The people perceived two different kinds of death. Normal death, which means death from old age. The person was respected as an ancestor God and was believed to exist forever with their offspring. Abnormal death was regarded as negative, many had fears toward this king of death. The causes of abnormal death were supernatural phenomena and had absolute holy meanings. Whether death was good or bad, The death was not personal, but collective events as family or community affairs and was interpreted as death and birth for their offsprings. Funeral rites were family-centered and/or community-centered. The did normal procedures for normal deaths for abnormal deaths, there were many protective ceremonies(BuJungmagi : the prevention of the taboo of uncleanliness) for the remaining people. These ceremonies combined confucism and shamanism. Caring behavior for dying persons was ruled as community-centered, reciprocal and reality-centered principles.