ISALC, Lewis and Clark College

Jae-sa: Ceremony for the Deceased by Jae Hyuk Choi

Jae-Sa is a Korean ancestral rite, which is a Memorial Day for the deceased. In Jae-sa, people have to set up many kinds of food correctly and do some traditional processes. Jae-sa comes from the warning about nature in ancient times. A long time ago, people thought nature, which includes objects like the sun, moon, and mountains, affected them. So they wanted to make sure of their safety with nature through a celebration of it, especially for their ancestors. It was a kind of insurance for them. They thought that their ancestors had power, which could keep them from many troubles. So for them, Jae-sa had a meaning of supplication. Jae-sa was organized well, and developed during the Jo-Sun dynasty, which had very strict moral customs and social structure.

Jae-sa is held annually one day before the anniversary of someone's death. On that day, people in the same family dress up in traditional white clothes. It starts at noon because Koreans think that noon is the easiest time at which a soul can move. The place of the food on the table in Jae-sa and the processes of Jae-sa are very important and have been followed for hundreds of years.

Before the starting of the Jae-sa, first the table needs setting. Arranging the setting, the rule of placement of the food, is the most interesting part of the Jae-sa. It is very complicated and hard to remember. But it has to be done correctly. On the table, there are five lines. The first line is the space for the fruit, the second line is for dried meat and greens, the third is for soup, the fourth for fried meat or seafood and the fifth lines has rice and hot spicy soup. This is the basic rule, but there are more details. Before explaining about details, there is one important rule, direction of west and east. The left side of the table is the west, and the other side is the east. In Jae-sa, red fruits go to the east and white ones go to the west. Especially we have four special kinds of fruit for the Jae-sa. They are jujube, chestnut, gam, and a pear, and they are lined from the east to the west, respectively. In addition, the east has kimchi and the west has other greens. And fish and meat are in the east. The hardest thing is the placement of the fish. The fish have to be placed in order. head to the east and tail to the west.

After the ending of the setting of the food, Jae-sa still is complicated. The setting is only the first step. In Jae-sa the order of the process is very important and hard to remember. First, people make a line. Usually the oldest son stands in the first line, and other men stand behind him. Women cannot be in the line. After making the line, the men bow twice. This represents the first greeting for the ancestor and waiting for the coming of the ancestor. After a little while, the son pours some traditional alcohol into a glass and bows twice with the other men. After this step, the son reads a form of invocation, which usually includes the names of family members, which is a greeting for the ancestors, and a seeking of good luck. While the son reads the form, the other men kneel and have to be quiet. After the reading is finished, the son, or the other people, can pour the alcohol and bow twice. It can be longer or shorter depending on the number of participants. This represents the greeting for the ancestor and private meeting with him or her. Koreans believe that they can get good luck and security from their ancestors through these traditional activities. After finishing the time of pouring drinks, we put a spoon into rice, and put chopsticks on the top of the other food. All wait quietly because this is supposed to be the time when the ancestors are arriving and eating. After a little while, we bring water and put the chopsticks and spoon into the water. This represents the ending of the Jae-sa and the end of the eating. The next step is the leave-taking of the ancestors. The men who stay in line have to bow twice. The last step of the Jae-sa is for the friends of nature. The son takes some food from the table, and throws it on the roof and on the ground. Finally, the family can eat the food!

The process of the Jae-sa is certainly hard to remember and old fashioned. And in these days many people just skip it and ignore the rule of the Jae-sa. But I think that celebrating it is very nice for us because it gives us the opportunity to the meet the whole family. It is very important because we are often lonely in modern life, and the Jae-sa gives us some feelings of family and tradition, which we must keep forever.

Created by: krauss@lclark.edu
Updated: 10/28/99