A Bough Loaded with Various Leaves: An Emic Comparison of Nongak (Farmers' Band Music/Dance) in Honam Jwado Region

Abstract

A few years ago, an American ethnomusicologist, Nathan Hesselink (1999), put forward a "provocative idea" that farmers' band music/dance, called nongak, of left (jwado) and right (udo) areas in the Honam (southwestern) region ultimately came from a common source as if it were the "two sides of a similar coin." Hesselink's argument conflicts with a general belief (Hong H.S., et al 1967; Kang 1971; Yi B.H., et al 1980; Yi B.H. 1982; Jeong and Yi 1982; Kim 1.D., et al l994a, 1994b) of the division into two traditions - jwado and udo - in Honam regional nongak. The differences of the two traditions are related to the geographical and economic conditions of the area: the jwado tradition of eastern mountainous counties while the udo tradition of western plain counties.1 Hesselink's hypothesis of a common origin of the two traditions is an etic view in order to find the general feature of Honam nongak. On the contrary, I will present an emic comparison of various village nongak traditions to light upon the diverse aspects of Honam jwado nongak.

호남 농악이 한국 농악이라는 거대한 뿌리의 한 갈래이고, 여기에서 좌도/우도라는 가지가 뻗어져 나왔다. 다시 좌도와 우도는 각각 마을마다 다른 형태의 농악으로 발전해서 오늘날과 같이 마을마다 판이하게 다른 모습을 갖게 된 것이다. 이 글은 호남 좌도농악이라는 큰 틀에서 내관적 비교를 통해 개체(individual) 농악의 특수성을 찾으려는 것이 그 목적이다.