Dongti (), also known as Dongto () or Shinbeol (; literally ''Punishment of the Gods'') is the term for

Divine punishment Divine retribution is supernatural punishment of a person, a group of people, or everyone by a deity in response to some action. Many cultures have a story about how a deity imposed punishment on previous inhabitants of their land, causing th ...

Korean mythology Korean mythology () is the group of myths told by historical and modern Koreans. There are two types: the written, literary mythology in traditional histories, mostly about the founding monarchs of List of monarchs of Korea, various historical k ...

Causes

Dongti are said to be caused by shamanistic deities, including village patrons. For example, in one myth, a man used

Jangseung A () or village guardian is a Korean totem pole usually made of wood. were traditionally placed at the edges of villages to mark village boundaries and frighten away demons. They were also worshipped as village tutelary deities. In the sout ...

, or totem poles, for fuel, foolishly believing that the

would not avenge him. Because the man received the rage of the

, or Dongti, he quickly died from an assortment of deadly diseases. Similar myths tell of how people who toppled the village altars, the

Seonangdang The (), also known as the () are stone cairns or trees that are considered holy and are dedicated to the deity Seonangshin, the patron of villages. The are common in mountainous settlements of the Korean Peninsula. History The origins o ...

, suddenly fell sick and died due to Dongti caused by the village patrons, the Seonangshin. There are also myths about the holy trees, the Shinmok or Dangsu Namu, causing fatal disease. The

Gashin Gasin faith () refers to belief and rituals surrounding gods of the household in Korean shamanism. These deities, called ''gasin'', are believed to protect the various objects (such as ''jangdok'') and rooms of the house. Joryeong faith The f ...

, or household deities, can also cause Dongti. When the objects the

embody (such as the Seongju Hangari of the Seongjushin, Cheollyung Hangari of the Cheollyungshin, Jowang Geurut of the Jowangshin, Jeseok Ogari and Mom Ogari of the ancestor gods) are shattered, when the animals (generally toads, weasels, or rat snakes) that the goddess Eobshin embodies are killed, or when someone digs on the earth that Teojushin embodies without an appeasing ritual, the person who is

blasphemous Blasphemy refers to an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of Reverence (emotion), reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred, or something considered Sanctity of life, inviolable. Some religions, especially Abrahamic o ...

gets Dongti, mostly by disease and/or great misfortune. The goddess of the pit toilet,

Cheukshin Cheuksin () is the toilet god, toilet goddess of Korean mythology. Unlike better-known Household deity, household deities such as Jowangshin, god of the hearth, her worship forms a minor part of the Gasin cult. She is believed to reside in the o ...

, is one of the best-known causers of Dongti; when her long hair touches a human who has not coughed thrice before entering the Outhouse, the human gets an incurable sickness and dies. This is a reference to many pathogens spreading via feces. Gwishin, or evil spirits, are also said to cause Dongti when the protection of the village or household patrons falter. Most of the disease described as Dongti were probably just normal disease strengthened by the

Nocebo A nocebo effect is said to occur when a patient's expectations for a treatment cause the treatment to have a worse effect than it otherwise would have. For example, when a patient anticipates a side effect of a medication, they can experience that ...

effect.

Prevention and cure

To prevent Dongti, Koreans used

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

to avoid encountering Dongti-causing Gwishin while making a grave or logging; the location of the Gwishin was able to be predicted because they followed the stars in a daily pattern. In important events, such as making a grave, Koreans held rites for the Sanshin, the mountain spirits (as the graves are set in mountains) and Teojushin, the earth deity (as the coffin and the body are set under the earth), as to prevent their anger, likely to result in Dongti. To this day, in important events, many Koreans pray to the Obang Shinjang (directional deities), in part to avoid Dongti. Once a Dongti occurs and has been identified by a shaman as such, there were two solutions, differing on whether the causer was an evil entity (such as Gwishin) or powerful deity (such as Jowangshin or Seonangshin). In the latter, Koreans held large Gut to appease the deity who caused the Dongti. The

Placebo effect A placebo ( ) can be roughly defined as a sham medical treatment. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. Placebos are used in randomized clinical trials ...

caused by the Gut may have had some influence on the condition of the patient, but there were many times when the patient died. Shamans explained this through the image of vengeful deities, such as

. In the former, a blind shaman recited the ''Dongtogyeong'', a spell which was said to kill or drive away the Gwishin. In the ''Dongtogyeong'', Gwishin that cause Dongti are called 'Dongtoshin', meaning 'God of Dongti'; further information is nonexistent.

References

* Sky-Colored Korean Mythology, Yi Kyeong Deok
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{{Reflist Korean mythology Judgment in religion