Midwife Misan & Shaman Cheon ah
Author’s Note: This story is based on historical facts; however, all locations and names have been reconstructed as fiction for the sake of the narrative.
I deeply miss my mother, who used to tell me stories of her childhood while lost in old memories. I dedicate this work to her.
On the night Mi-hee was born, the young shaman Cheong-ah was tied to a tree in the freezing depths of Mount Guman.
Naked and abandoned to the winter cold, she was left to become prey for wild beasts—all by the command of the Great Master Go’s wife, who had sentenced her to Asuhyeong: the punishment of the Starving Beast.
Cheong-ah had been plagued by "spirit sickness" since the age of five, a sign of her divine calling. Her mother, unable to cope, gave her to a Baksu-mudang (a male shaman), who raised her until she caught the eye of Lady Go.
From the age of ten, Cheong-ah became the Lady’s personal shaman, a girl renowned for her uncanny spiritual prowess. In those days, it was common for Joseon aristocrats to keep a personal shaman; a "child-deity" shaman like Cheong-ah, possessed by a god at such a tender age, was considered a priceless asset.
The male shaman had sold ten-year-old Cheong-ah to the Great Master’s household for 150 won.
Lady Go suffered from severe bipolar disorder, making her moods so volatile that most people avoided her in fear. Yet, she kept Cheong-ah by her side like a daughter, consulting her on every matter. The Lady believed every word that fell from the girl’s lips. In truth, Cheong-ah manipulated Lady Go with the ease of the Buddha toyed with the Monkey King in the palm of his hand.
It was no wonder; Cheong-ah possessed the power to pierce through the past, present, and future. she could unravel grudges and curses that no one else could touch. Whenever she warned, "Keep your distance from this person," her prophecy invariably came true.
But predicting the birth of a son to carry on the lineage, only for a daughter to be born, was a fatal mistake—one that could not be forgiven.
Misan, the midwife who had just fled the bloody, battlefield-like delivery room, packed her bags. It was a time of escalating brutality under Japanese occupation; the air was thick with the tension of economic control and the looting of resources.
She could no longer remain under Great Master Go, a pro-Japanese collaborator who funneled military rations to the occupiers.
Mrs. Misan was a childless widow and a former servant. She had learned the trade from her mother, a midwife herself, and had been saving money since her youth. Since her mother’s passing, she had become a famous midwife, summoned for every significant birth in Wonsan. Because she had never given birth herself, people called her Misan-buin (the Woman Who Has Not Given Birth).
Disguising herself in men's clothing, Mrs. Misan trekked into the mountains. She reached the spot where Cheong-ah was tied, cut her loose, and wrapped her in layer upon layer of quilted cotton clothes. Mount Guman was buried under the snow that had fallen since the previous night. It was a bitter night, well below ten degrees Celsius.
Cheong-ah, who had been on the verge of freezing to death, slowly regained her strength. Though only thirteen, the girl carried the expression and speech of an old soul. Her body ached from the beating she had endured before being tied to the tree.
"Are any of your bones broken?" Mrs. Misan asked.
"I don't think so..." Cheong-ah stood up, barely steadying herself.
Using a small trowel she had brought, Mrs. Misan began to dig through the snow and into the earth. She led Cheong-ah down into the deep hollow and laid her down.
"Let’s sleep here for the night. There’s no wind, and the earth is still warm from the day’s sun. We can’t light a fire; the palace would see it." Mrs. Misan pulled Cheong-ah close, sharing her warmth.
"So what if they're aristocrats? Those damned Yangban bastards are all going to hell! They handed the country to Japan, stole all the rice to feed the Japanese soldiers... But Cheong-ah, how did a sharp-eyed girl like you fail to tell a son from a daughter?"
As the warmth returned to her body, Cheong-ah replied, "When a woman’s spirit is too fierce, her Yin energy is so strong that it consumes the Yang, making the divination appear as a male. Such women are destined for greater things than men. But in truth, three months ago, the Grandmother Spirit of Birth appeared in my dream and told me Haruka was carrying a daughter. She also told me that Haruka’s daughter must be saved at all costs."
"So you knew it would be a girl?"
"Yes... And the next day, the Spirit of the Seven Stars (The Big Dipper) appeared.
He told me to carve seven faces into wood from a jujube tree struck by lightning and carry them with me. He said they would save me from seven brushes with death. And he said that Haruka herself must be the one to carve those Childosang (the Seven Images)..."
"Wait... then Haruka knew too?"
"Yes... The cloth pouch containing the seven faces she carved for me must be lying near where I was tied. Could you go and find it for me?"
It was a clear night, the moonlight illuminating the trees like stage lights. Mrs. Misan retraced her steps along the snowy path, searching the area around the tree. Right beneath it lay a red cloth pouch. After confirming no one was near, she took the pouch containing the small wooden carvings back down into their burrow.
"Here it is. How did you manage to keep this with you?"
"I always kept it inside my clothes, as the Seven Stars commanded. It was Mr. Song who stripped and tied me. I told him my final wish was to die holding that pouch in my hand, so he let me have it."
"Ah... Mr. Song? The one who was always following you around?"
"Yes... He told me he’d tie the knots loosely so I could escape. He even hung a small jar of pig’s blood on a nearby branch, telling me to pour it out so it would look like the beasts had eaten me."
"I see... I suppose one oppressed soul understands another. What a wretched world..."
Cheong-ah looked at Mrs. Misan with a scoffing grin.
"Mrs. Misan, are you still naive enough to think Mr. Song helped me out of 'understanding'?"
With a cold, aged expression, Cheong-ah continued,
"I spent at least half an hour on his cock, and gave him a go at me, too. He tore my clothes and hit me while he shoved himself into my mouth, so I did everything he wanted. Haven't you learned yet? Nothing in this world is free."
The thirteen-year-old said this as if it were nothing, then spat on the ground. Mrs. Misan stared at her for a long time, looking as if she had been struck in the head.
"You little thing... have you even had your period yet?"
"Not yet."
"So that wasn't the first time a man touched you?"
Cheong-ah looked at her thoughtfully. "I’ve been sharing a bed with the male shaman for as long as I’ve had memories."
Mrs. Misan sighed deeply.
"God, those dogs... In the next life, I want to be born as a man." She continued, "Lately, I’ve been following the Catholics around and heard some stories... They say a man named Jesus said that if you have a good heart and help each other, both men and women can go to Heaven. In Heaven, they say there are no nobles or commoners, and no difference between man and woman."
Her mind now clear and her body warm, Cheong-ah listened intently. She, too, had been curious about the Catholics. She had heard they followed the words of Jesus, rather than the Korean nobles or the Japanese Empire.
"Is this Jesus a man? Or a woman?"
Cheong-ah asked, a smirk playing on her lips.
"Jesus was a man..."
Cheong-ah giggled, suppressing a laugh. "And you actually believe the word of a man, Mrs. Misan?"
Mrs. Misan began to giggle too. "You’re right, you’re right. You can’t trust a man’s word."
Leaning against each other, the two fell asleep.