Friday, June 14, 2013

Wine, Prayer and Music - Jongmyo Jerye


In the next stages, three wine offerings are made, with prayers and music happening at distinct times. This was followed by four deep, ceremonial bows made by the officiants. The next stage is called Cheolbyeondu - at which time the ceremonial vessels were collected an moved slightly from their original place on the altar. At this time, the music of Heunganjak was performed by the Upper Terrace Orchestra. The Songsinye -the bidding farewell to the spirits - was the closing part, in which all the officiants offered four more deep, ceremonious farewell bows to the mortuary tablets. The tablets would then be carried back to their original locations in the shrine chambers, at which time the Lower Terrace Orchestra performed the Heunganjak. Finally, the gifts and written prayers used in earlier stages of the ritual would be burned and buried. In the original ceremony, the royal procession would return to the palace, where a post-ritual ceremony would be held to congratulate the king on the successful completion of the rite. 

No comments: