Revisited the characteristics and values of Samhwasa Suryukjae

The Suryukjae(the Buddhist ritual for the lonely spirits of thedeceased of water and land) have been designated as an ImportantIntangible Cultural Heritage. It means that Suryukjae enters thefield of public opinion that can make more extensive discussion. Atthe same time, it also would say that a new phase of recognition ofHistorical Intangible Cultural Heritage which is restored on thebasis of past data is going on. On the basis of the acquired twomeanings in the Suryukjae designated Important Intangible CulturalHeritage, I review the existing study on the characteristics andvalues of Samhwasa Suryukjae. The characteristics and values ofSamhwasa Suryukjae which were mentioned in previous studiessummarize such as the ‘rigorous implementation of orthodoxSuryukjae text’, ‘succession of Gukhaeng Suryukjae(the nationalBuddhist ritual for the lonely spirits of the deceased of water andland)tradition’, ‘close association with local cultural tradition’, andthen review them.As a result, the characteristics and values of SamhwasaSuryukjae which were mentioned in previous studies were presentin a contradictory or conflicting with each other. Aspects of suchcontradictions and conflicts should be reconsidered thecharacteristics and values of Samhwasa Suryukjae which werementioned in previous studies. The characteristics and values of Samhwasa Suryukjae that have been claim in previous studies arenot the products of performance and transmission of SamhwasaSuryukjae from past to present, but the orientations of theconstruct-subjects of Samhwasa Suryukjae which are inclined frompresent to future. Those are the orientations of the subjects whichbeen expressed in the process of ‘construct’ of the SamhwasaSuryukjae since the year 2000. Those orientations neither unity norconsistency. Currently, those orientations may cause a crash. Thecontradictions and conflicts of characteristics and values resultfrom difference of orientation which is expressed in the process ofconstruct of Samhwasa Suryukjae. In the end, the Contradictionsand conflicts that appear in the characteristics and values ofSamhwasa Suryukjae mean that Samhwasa suryukjae is during theconfiguration process.