함흥본 <바리데기>의 죽음의 이해

We have a shaman narrative known as <Baridegi> in the Hamheung, Hamkyeong province, northern part of Korea, which is performed in Mangmook-Gut, a shaman ritual for the dead to be lead to the other world. It has a funny ending compared to other versions in other parts of the Korean peninsula. All the characters die including the hero Bari and her mother who was resurrected from death. It is so curious that an explanation should be rendered and this explanation is offered in the light of literary and ritualistic meaning.
To wrap it up, we have three points. First, I took the note of narrative feature. One of the characteristics of Hamheung <Baridegi> is the elimination of masculinity. Even the father of Bari was somewhat comic and showed no sign of the patriarchy of the Joseon Dynasty. It is the result of the expansion of femininity in <Bari> narrative. It shows us the problem of excessive femininity in a society. They sent Bari, the 7th daughter, out of the nation to find the solution. She met other people and learned lessons from the dangers in the way of the other world. She grew and gained wisdom. She stole the flower of life from her husband which shows her independence, unlike her mother who did not lead her own life. Bari who denied excessive femininity returned and revived her dead mother back into life.
Second, Hamheung <Baridegi> is very different from other versions of the rest region in the way that everybody died. What is the point of her and her mother's deaths? Bari was to be the ancestor of shamans and her mother was to live again as the other versions of <Bari>. They are proof of filial loyalty in traditional society. In Hamheung <Bari> we feel the denial of the tradition. The filial loyalty was so useless that her mother died after all. The epic made a caricature of filial loyalty in the scene of the death of the mother; she fell over a 3-year-old barley stubble and died, finding a temple which did not exist.
Third, <Baridegi> is not part of literature itself, but for shaman ritual, 'gut' in Korean. Usually Bari becomes a god who is to lead the dead to the other world, but the function of Hamheung <Bari> is different from other versions. The purpose of Hamheung Bari's gut is not to lead the dead but to take away the disorder(탈) of life of the participants of the gut. The disorder of life is related to the past and present life and the only way to get out of it is to die and be reborn, so that all the characters of Hamheung <Bari> are to die.
I also note that it is interesting that we can recognize the reinterpretation of the traditional society and history of the Joseon dynasty by the gut performers of Hamheung <Baridegi>.