Some of the customers busily checking out animals in the cattle market in Yeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do are from Sunheung-myeon. They are looking for a male calf to sacrifice to the village guardian god during the upcoming festival. Ideally, the calf should be in solid coat colors.

Before loading the calf into the truck, the villagers wash their face and hands and adjust their attire, then bow to the animal. The calf is treated with the utmost respect and is almost revered as though a deity until the day of the ritual when it is sacrificed.

Some villagers even refer to the calf as “yangban,” meaning 'nobleman' or 'lord.' Since the calf is now a nobleman, one must address it in polite language as well. Better yet, people pay respect to the animal every morning and evening to inquire after its wellbeing.

How on earth did a calf come to be treated as a nobleman?

In early Joseon, when King Danjong was deposed and exiled to Yeongwol, Prince Geumseong-daegun attempted to restore him to power and suffered an unjust death in the process. To comfort the soul of the deceased prince, the people of Yeongwol sacrificed an ox. Thinking that the soul of the prince had migrated into the body of the ox, they referred to the animal as the "yangban."

Early in the morning, on the day of the rite, the villagers head to Bibongsan Mountain, laden with sacrificial offerings.

The village guardian god's festival of Sunheung takes place over two days and combines the village ritual and a rite honoring the memories of Prince Geumseong-daegun.

Water is sprinkled around the shrine where the ritual is held, with the help of a pine branch; which is an act of purification.

The shrine houses the tablets of four gods guarding the village and a spirit rock they call "Sul-halmasi," meaning literally 'Grandmother Wine.' A local legend has it that this rock thwarted an invading force to protect the village.

The villagers dress the gods by placing a conically-shaped paper hat on top of each of the spirit tablets and winding thread around it.

A sacrificial meal is served in front of each tablet on four separate tables, something not seen in similar rituals held elsewhere in the country.

When they descend the mountain after the ritual, the villagers make a bonfire outside their gate and warm their feet before entering the house. This is to prevent any evil spirits that may have followed them from entering the house. After a good night’s rest, they return to the mountain on the following morning, this time, to perform a rite for Prince Geumseong-daegun.

At the dawn of the following day, they pay their respect to Nobleman, the calf that will be sacrificed that day, by bowing toward the stable, then load it into a truck.

When the villagers leave home in the early hour of a cold January morning, their wives look on while repeatedly bowing and wishing them a safe return home.

Before heading to Duretgol where the shrine of Prince Geumseong-daegun is located, the villagers stop by at a place known as "Jilmak" to cleanse their body. They break the ice sheet covering the frozen pond to bathe in its water. Their devotion is such that the villagers can brave even the most excruciating cold.

Once at the shrine of Prince Geumseong-daegun, they tie the calf to a tree and start preparing for the ritual. When they slaughter the calf, they use the euphemism of "erasing Yangban" to refer to this act, thus remaining respectful to the animal till the end.

As though sensing its own impending death, the calf attempts to dodge the hand of its slaughterer.

When the calf is killed, its organs and intestine are the first parts that are offered at the altar.

The meat offered at the altar is afterward weighed and divided into seven equal portions and distributed among those that attended the rite.

All parts of the calf, except some inedible organs, are cooked and offered at the altar.

At noon, they start cooking the rice, which they call "saeang rice." Four villagers cook rice each in a separate pot. They hit the pot with a water-soaked pine branch from time to time and keep a watchful eye so that the rice does not boil over. Rice is prepared three times to serve freshly-cooked rice to the altar throughout the day. Some of the rice is eaten by the villagers as well.

At the fourteenth hour, the participants adjust their attire as the rite is to begin shortly. The saeang rice and meat are placed on the altar, along with other offerings. The order of proceedings is similar to that in a regular ancestral memorial.

At the fourteenth hour, the participants adjust their attire as the rite is to begin shortly. The saeang rice and meat are placed on the altar, along with other offerings. The order of proceedings is similar to that in a regular ancestral memorial. The final part of this ceremony is soji, the ritualistic burning of prayer sheets performed to ensure their prayer for the peace and prosperity of the community and personal prayers are heard and granted. This is the part of the ritual that is considered the most important by its participants.

When the ceremony comes to its conclusion, all participants descend the mountain immediately, as they believe that by staying on at the site, they will draw the ire of gods.

When the day breaks, they receive visits by other villagers who did not attend the rite and who therefore wish to thank them for their effort. They sit down together to feast on sacrificial food, discussing the affairs of the village and verifying the details of expenses incurred for the rituals, whose costs are shared among all residents.

The village guardian god’s festival of Sunheung has a strongly spiritual and devotional side to it. Some of its elements put the moral fortitude and physical endurance of the participants to severe test. This aspect of the ritualistic practices of Sunheung might have something to do with its geography and history.

Sunheung is a village located at the point where the Taebaek Range, the main ridge that transverses the Korean peninsula north to south, intersects with the Sobaek Range. Situated at the mid-point of one of the most rugged mountain ranges of Korea, Sungheung and its environs have been long regarded as a sacred area. In historical times, the placentas of many Joseon rulers were buried here for this same reason.

Human beings tend to take on the character of the natural environment of the place where they live. People of Sunheung are hardy and spiritual like the mountainous environment surrounding their village, and this temperament is also certainly reflected in their faith-based practices and ritualistic customs.