Seongju, master of the house in the ridge beam
By Ralf Ittermann · last reviewed on
Seongju is a god of Korean tradition.
The supreme household god, overseer of all Gasin, residing in the ridge beam.
Seongju is the supreme of the Korean household gods, the Gasin: the protector of the building itself and overseer of all other household gods. His seat is the central load-bearing ridge beam of the house.
He watches over the family’s fortune and wellbeing and is associated with the eldest male family member, in the position of grandfather. When a house is built or moved into, he is invoked and installed through the shamanic ritual Seongju-gut; in Seoul shamanism he is regarded as the emperor of the house.
Type: Supreme household god, protector of the building and overseer of the Gasin
Origin: Korean folk belief, primarily handed down orally in shaman songs
Texts: The narrative song Seongju-puri, Walraven’s studies, Korean folklore
Period: ancient folk belief, remnants persisting to this day
Appearance: folded white paper or a rice pot at the ridge beam
Textual history
Period of the Texts
Ancient Korean folk belief; the name and the origin narrative have primarily been handed down orally in shaman songs.
Area of Diffusion
All of Korea, with marked regional differences between Jeolla, Andong, Jeju and Gyeonggi.
Sources
Well documented: Walraven’s study of the ritual songs of the mudang, as well as Korean folklore studies.
Name and variants
Korean: Seongju means master of the house. The characters are uncertain: the widespread interpretation is lord of the estate, alternatively to erect. The name has primarily been handed down orally in shaman songs.
Form and effect
Appearance
Seongju is not a statue. His seat is the ridge beam, often embodied by a folded white paper with a coin placed inside, most commonly by the Seongju-danji, a cloth-covered rice pot on a shelf, filled with barley in spring and rice in autumn and renewed each year at harvest. In Jeollabuk-do there is also a purely mental form of worship without any object.
Effect
Seongju is the supreme protective god of the house and its head: he protects the building, oversees all other household gods, and watches over the family’s fortune and wellbeing. He is associated with the eldest male family member, in the position of grandfather.
Profile: Seongju
The key aspects of the supreme household god at a glance.
Supreme of the Gasin in Korean folk belief; in Seoul shamanism Seongju is regarded as the emperor of the house.
The building and the head of the household: Seongju protects the house, oversees the other household gods, and watches over the family’s fortune and wellbeing.
Folded white paper with a coin placed inside at the ridge beam, or the Seongju-danji, a cloth-covered rice pot, renewed each year at harvest.
Supreme protective god of the house, associated with the eldest male family member; the anchor of his cult is the raising of the ridge beam.
The Seongju-gut, the shamanic ritual performed when a house is built or moved into; rice and makgeolli are offered.
The god-carpenter and the first house
The name Seongju means master of the house; the characters are uncertain, the widespread interpretation being lord of the estate, alternatively to erect. The figure has primarily been handed down orally in shaman songs. The narrative song Seongju-puri tells how Seongju builds the first house of humanity and becomes the god-carpenter; the story varies greatly by region.
The cult, too, shows marked regional differences between Jeolla, Andong, Jeju and Gyeonggi. In Seoul shamanism Seongju is regarded as the emperor of the house, and the anchor of his worship is the raising of the ridge beam: with the load-bearing beam, the god moves into the building.
Reception and classification
Seongju appears in popular culture, for instance as a character in the series Along with the Gods; remnants of his worship still persist.
In religious studies, Seongju is the supreme, benevolent household god. Important clarifications: there is no single standard myth, the origin narrative is strongly regional. Seongju is conceived as male, as master of the house, not neutral or female. And he is not to be confused with the village guardian god Seonangsin, whom he only resembles in name.
The Seongju-gut: bringing the god into the house
The Seongju-gut is the shamanic ritual by which Seongju is invoked and installed when a house is built or moved into. Its anchor is the raising of the ridge beam, the god’s future seat. Rice and makgeolli serve as offerings. Afterwards, Seongju remains present in the house: as folded white paper with a coin at the beam, or as the Seongju-danji, the rice pot filled with barley in spring and rice in autumn and renewed each year at harvest.
Ridge beams, house blessings and household gods elsewhere
The Japanese Jotoshiki, the ridge-beam ceremony with the Munafuda tablet and Gohei paper streamers, is a very close counterpart involving a ridge beam, paper talisman and building blessing; functionally the Roman Lares stand alongside it. Within the Gasin, Seongju is the highest, above Jowang and Eopsin; comparable as a fortune-bringing household resident is also the Japanese Zashiki-warashi.
Frequently asked questions about Seongju
What is Seongju?
The highest of the Korean house gods, protector of the building and overseer of the other Gasin, residing in the ridge beam.
How is he brought into the house?
Through the shamanic Seongju-gut performed during house construction or moving in; the anchor of the ritual is the raising of the ridge beam.
Is Seongju male or female?
He is conceived as male, as head of household in the position of family patriarch and grandfather.
Further links
Further reading:
- Korea – all beings of Korean belief
- Jowang, Eopsin – the other major Gasin
- Zashiki-warashi – Japan’s fortune-bringing household resident
- Salt, Amulet, Smoke cleansing – traditional protective means
- Protection Compass – an overview of protective means
Literature (selection)
Further standard works in the bibliography.
As Korea’s house god and god of the ridge beam, Seongju embodies a simple basic idea of household belief: the building itself has a lord, and whoever dedicates the load-bearing beam to him places the house under protection.
