Jongmyo Revisited: Daejae

I posted earlier about the Daejae ceremony that happens on the first sunday of May at the Jongmyo Shrine.

To recap, the Daejae is divided into three parts-- Greeting the Ancestral Spirits, Entertaining the Ancestral Spirits, and finally, Sending off the Ancestral Spirits. These rites are divided among the two halls of Jongmyo.

930-1130am: Ceremony at Yeongnyeongjeon
1-3pm: Ceremony at Jeongjeon (main hall)

The Daejae is only held once a year, and the actual family descended from the last emperor still facilitates over the ceremony. There are many things that cater to tourists in Korea, and in particular Seoul. Many rites/traditions and the like are "reenacted" for the sake of the foreigners here.

Jongmyo's Daejae is not one of those things.

It is a living testament to Korea's past. A reminder of its history and tradition in the wake of the modern world. It's unlike anything else in the entire world. It is not a reenactment. It's the real deal.

And in it's complexity, but also in it's striking simpleness, it's beautiful in ways that are so different from today's world--like the woman wearing a traditional hanbok, while strolling down a cement sidewalk.

on the left side were people standing and doing elaborate motions. In the middle were the musical performers playing traditional instruments. There was also someone chanting & in the background the offering was being made to the ancestors.

The women in the blue and white hanbok kindly remind you not to step on the sacred pathway.