10) NAMSADANG

The namsadang is a Korean itinerant troupe which consists of male performers who present various performing arts such as acrobatics, singing, dancing and playing like a circus. It is said that namsadang was spontaneously formed before 1900 during the Josean Dynasty and used to wander about marketplaces and villages.^[1] The troupe was considered the lowest class in society along with cheonmin (vulgar commoners) or baekjeong (butchers), so that very few historical documents remain on them. However, since a record that a puppet show was performed during the Silla period has been found, it is assumed that similar types of itinerant companies appeared in Korean history a long time ago.

During the late Joseon Dynasty, there were several namsadang, but the one whose base was set in Cheongryongsa temple in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province was the most famous. They became called namsadang because the troupe were composed of only men and "nam" means a male in Korean. Later, a few female members were accepted to join in the group though.

TROUPE ORGANIZATION

Namsadang usually consisted of 40 ~ 50 members of all ages. The head of the group is called kkokdusoe and the second-in-command is called golbaengisoe (골뱅이쇠 [kolbɛŋiːsʰwe]). Underneath there were tteunsoe, gayeol, ppiri, jeoseungpae, and deungjimkkun. Tteunsoe is the head of the each performance or senior performer and gayeol is a performer. Ppiri is an apprentice. In addition, jeoseungpae refers to elderly members and deungjimkkun is porters.

The troupe was well-organized and strictly disciplined by rules. Because entertainers like singers or actors were often despised in that age, the troupe recruited its members among the orphans, poor farmers` children and sometimes even through kidnapping. They were not well-paid. Very often they were offered only meals and beds and a small amount of money. They had tough lives.

The troupe may have functioned as a homosexual community, with each member taking the role of Sutdongmo, "butch", or Yodongmo, "queen".

CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

The significance of namsadang nori can be found in its common touch. This came into existence spontaneously and performed for the poor farmers, folks, traders, and other middle-class and low-class people. It functioned as consolation for the public and gained high popularity among the general populace. And though it is not so refined as other Korean musical styles and dances. Kummu for the noble class, it may be seen as performance meant to convey and have most powerful appeal to emotion.

Anseong Namsadang Baudeogi Eoreum(Tightrope Dancing)