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Goddesses of Korea Alyeong Aryong Jong A Goddess of water. Solmundae Halmang The cosmogonic goddess Solmundae Halmang (Grandmother) is the creator of the islands, mountains, valleys, hills, and rivers on Cheju Island, Korea. Physically she is a giantess: the highest mountain on Cheju Island (Hanla Mountain - over 6,000 feet in elevation) reaches below her elbow, and the deepest river reaches near her ankle. Her diarrhea turned into 360 heights and her urine created the channel. She is the land itself, and her presence is marked over the entire Island. The Grandmother used to boast about her gigantic height. She tested whether there was any water on Cheju deep enough to cover her height. The water in Yongso was said to be quite deep but it barely reached around her ankles and the lake in Hongli reached her knee. At last, when she tried to test the depth of Mulchangoli she was drowned because the water in Mulchangoli was bottomless and so she sank down into the ocean. Yondung Halmoni An ancient Korean wind goddess, she is celebrated in shamanic rituals where she is fed rice cakes. Yuhwa Mother of Chumong and eldest daughter of the water god Habaek. She was abducted by the sun god Haemosu, but was returned after her father protested. An official marriage ceremony was held, but Yuhwa escaped Haemosu's chariot before they could ascend to heaven. Enraged at her for bringing disgrace to his house, Habaek had his daughter's lips stretched out and he put her in the middle of a stream. She was later found by the king's fishermen and brought into the king's household. There Haemosu impregnated her through a ray of sunlight. |