The packing of the actual wedding chest is the most interesting part of Ottinger's documentary, and the only ritual that is explained.
Every item in the chest has a place. Nothing is left to chance. Brought together, the bride and groom form a third entity, we are told, and because of this, only uneven numbers of items will be added to the wooden chest. All items are to be kept by the bride, and eventually used.
There are five pouches of seeds, each with a specific spot in the chest, a specific colour, and specific contents bearing particular symbolism. Cotton seeds will ensure happiness for the family and their descendants. Millet promises a fragrant future, and sticky rice promises harmony. Red beans will drive away the evil spirits. A yellow pouch, filled with yellow beans and placed at the centre of the chest, will ensure the bride's gentle character.
Traditional garments and fabrics, the marriage proposal, and the groom's family tree are added to the chest, which is then wrapped in blue and red silk – blue for masculinity, red for femininity – and sealed.
The lot is elaborately packaged, and a sling is added to form "rider's reins." A messenger then picks up the chest, backpack-style, and proceeds – on foot, through rain or snow – to carry and deliver it to the bride's parents.
Snapshots
The Korean wedding chest is an intriguing ritual, but what does it mean to the people involved?
Nothing is explained. No details are revealed. All we see is a series of vignettes, moments captured on film, showing us disjointed bits and pieces of life in Korea, on the eve of a wedding.
There are streets filled with bridal boutiques showing traditional and modern dresses. Tea vendors peddling medicinal herbs. Smiling couples attaching padlocks – adorned with photos of themselves – to yards of chain link fence.
On the wedding day, attendants sporting pillbox hats and ceremonial swords fuss around the bride, the groom, and their parents to dab away tears, adjust ties, and blow horns full of confetti before a seemingly endless photo session.
In the Pe-Baek ceremony, the bride, groom, and their aunts gather to partake in the "Nine Dishes." Handfuls of chestnuts and dates are thrown in the air for the bride and groom to catch in a ceremonial cloth. "Dates for sons," we are told, "chestnuts for daughters." The groom is instructed to pluck a red date from his bride's teeth, to the delight of the photographers who snap away for posterity.
Memories
The importance of photographs is clear: every moment is captured on film, re-enacted again and again until the perfect picture has been snapped, the perfect memory created.
However, the importance of the rituals themselves is lost in translation. Ottinger does not give voice to her subjects, nor does she attempt to explain any of the wedding ceremonies. For the bride, the groom, and their families, the events are bathed in meaning but unfortunately, through Ottinger's lens, they have been reduced to carefully orchestrated, insignificant images without rhyme or reason.
Source
For more information visit HotDocs online, or go to Ulrike Ottinger's official website.
 |
 |
 |
