Sosamshin () is a Gashin, or

household deity A household deity is a deity or spirit that protects the home, looking after the entire household or certain key members. It has been a common belief in paganism as well as in folklore across many parts of the world. Household deities fit int ...

, in

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 ...

. As her name reveals, she is the goddess of the birth of cattle, just as Samshin is the goddess of human birth.

Etymology

In the

Korean language Korean is the first language, native language for about 81 million people, mostly of Koreans, Korean descent. It is the national language of both South Korea and North Korea. In the south, the language is known as () and in the north, it is kn ...

,
So
' refers to

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

.'Samshin' is the birth goddess for the humans. 'Sosamshin' is a

joining Join may refer to: * Join (law), to include additional counts or additional defendants on an indictment *In mathematics: ** Join (mathematics), a least upper bound of sets orders in lattice theory ** Join (topology), an operation combining two topo ...

of these two words.

Worship

Mostly, Sosamshin was worshipped as ''Gungeong''. The term ''Gungeong'' refers to the worship of a deity without a particular ritual, venerating them only in the mind. Sosamshin was properly worshipped in only the four days before and after the birth of a

. If a cow was pregnant, the family held a feast to Sosamshin in the

stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

, asking the deity to aid the cow in her delivery. Clear water was sacrificed to Sosamshin. When a cow was having delivery, the family sacrificed steamed rice, other dishes, and dirty water to Sosamshin. The sacrifice was then fed to the cow. After the delivery, ropes were knotted leftwards. Paper were hung on the ropes, and the ropes were stretched across the door or the stable. For four days after the delivery, people who had entered a house where someone had recently died, seen something dead, or had said something bad about the newborn cattle were forbidden to enter the house, as it was believed that if such a person came into the house, the mother would not nurse the young cattle. If the newborn cattle acted strangely, a

shaman Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...

read out an

incantation An incantation, spell, charm, enchantment, or bewitchery is a magical formula intended to trigger a magical effect on a person or objects. The formula can be spoken, sung, or chanted. An incantation can also be performed during ceremonial ri ...

. Im Gangwon region, 'San' or 'Guneung' is god of cattle. San and Guneung is similar to Sosamsin. Most of San and Guneung are in front of the stables where the cattle are located, and when the cattle is sick or trying to give birth to a baby, house owner pray in front of San and Guneung.

References

{{Korean mythology Korean mythology Cattle deities Korean goddesses Household deities