Pali Kongju : The Rejected Princess; The Seventh Princess

Shamans, magicians, and hoodoo doctors brag about being the seventh son. Pali Kongju is the seventh daughter. She is Korea’s primal shaman. All others are her spiritual children. Variations on her myth exist depending on location and who’s telling the story. The consistent part is her identity as the rejected magical, royal seventh daughter.

An ancient emperor had six daughters but no sons. When his wife conceived again, he was sure this child would be the long-awaited boy. He was devastated by the birth of another daughter. Pali Kongju is lucky number seven, but her father didn’t see it that way. He was so enraged at the birth of yet another girl that he had her sealed inside a stone box and thrown into a pond. Luckily the Dragon King rescued her and brought her to his court where she grew up.

What happens next differs, but Pali Kongju mercifully returned to rescue her family.

• Her father became deathly ill (possibly as a consequence of his mistreatment of her).

• Alternatively an eighth child, the long-awaited boy, died in infancy.

Pali Kongju’s mother heard that the fabled Water of Life could heal or revive. The six older princesses refused to search for the water. Pali Kong ju, age fourteen (twice seven), felt her mother’s anguish and vowed to bring her the Water of Life.

She learned that the water was kept in the Western Sky. After a harrowing journey, she arrived only to discover that the well-keeper (or gate-keeper, depending on the version) expected to be paid for the water (or admittance). Pali Kongju didn’t have a dime. She labored for nine years to earn the water, yet this was still insufficient. She married the gate- or well-keeper and bore seven sons before being permitted to leave with the water. In the interim, her father and mother had both died, but the Water of Life resurrected and rejuvenated them. (Alternatively she brought her baby brother back from the realm of death and revived him.)

Pali Kongju is venerated by Korean shamans. She banishes ghosts, soothes restless spirits, and may be invoked to transmit and receive messages from those on the Other Side. She is petitioned to rescue souls stuck in hell dimensions. She leads souls back and forth over the thresholds of life and death.

ORIGIN:

Korea

FAVOURED PEOPLE:

Shamans

Number:

7

SEE ALSO:

• Dragon Kings of the Sea
• Ma Zu
• Miao Shan
• Toyotama-hime
• Korean Mythology

SOURCE:

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses– Written by :Judika Illes Copyright © 2009 by Judika Illes.