Sanyeombul
Unknown (Hwanghae Oral Tradition)
Region
Hwanghae Province
Genre
Usage
Seodo Folk Song
Recreational Song
Sanyeombul is the representative folk song of Hwanghae Province, named for its refrain ending "…amitabul-iroda" ("…it is Amitabha Buddha"). Though the name suggests Buddhist chant, its words and music have little to do with Buddhism; it is a folk song about the lives and feelings of the people of the northwest. This record is archive material collected to organize and preserve the representative lyrics and the transmission context of Sanyeombul.
Commentary & Notes
Amitabul-iroda: "It is Amitabha Buddha." Although it names the Buddha of the Western Paradise, here it works as a refrain that carries rhythm and mood rather than meaning.
Sanok (山玉): "Mountain jade," read as wordplay: jade dug from the mountain, with a name that also sounds like a girl's name.
The refrain differs by tradition: the Pyongyang style sings "ehe eheya amitabul-iroda," while the Gaeseong style sings "nina nunayo nanunansillayo ninanunansil san-iroda."
Cultural Background
In songbooks and recordings published before 1945, the lead verses of Sanyeombul were short and simple, but over time they grew longer, closer to the form of sijo poetry, as they are sung today. The verses change with each singer, and the song is handed down, alongside Nanbongga and Monggeumpo Taryeong, as one of the signature songs of Hwanghae.
Lyrics
산에 올라 옥을 캐니
이름이 좋아 산옥이라
에헤 에헤야
아미타불이로다
I climbed the mountain and dug up jade,
and its fine name is "mountain jade"
Ehe, eheya,
it is Amitabha Buddha
