It is told in Korea, when someone gets pregnant, either they themselves or
someone close to her will have a dream encountering the child before they
come to the world. In these dreams, subjected children come in many forms
but a human child. Some, a tiger, a dragon, a jewel or a peach. They fall on
their mother’s lap or lure her with their sweet tangy scent.
In my great-grand mother's dream, I hide away, as a ginseng.
Beneath her, only dirt.
She then kneels and digs with her bare hands as simmanis do, until her
toughened finger tips reveals me from the soil. She dusts and hold me
tightly to her chest. There’s sudden light and everything feels all too
bright and loud. But thanks to her, I got to know embrace before birth.
Ginseng, a root plant widely popular for its medicinal characteristics in
east Asia, are know to grow slow and away from your sight. a professional
simmanis
existed for centuries and they follow rigorous set of rules. For a month
before the ‘hunting’ they are banned from killing or witnessing a killing,
sexual intercourse, partying or mourning and on the day of, from bidding a
farewell before the journey. Since ginsengs are believed to be godly, they
pray to mountain gods upon entering the mountain before hunters take a nap
near the shrine so to allow their dreams to reveal the location of the
plant.
Shape inspired by mani-cha, a Tibetan buddhism prayer wheel that prays on
behalf of the ones who turn them. These empty barrels patiently waits their
turn until you walk by with your arms stretched out. And as your palm
brushes through their mantra shaped grooves, they shout their prayers for a
while until they can stand still and wait again.
