Usa- Korean SpiritSpirit"Master of Rain"
Also known as: 우사 and 雨師
Titles & Epithets
Domains
Description
Master of Rain who descended from heaven with Hwanung to govern the skies over Mount Taebaek. Alongside Pungbaek the Wind Lord and Unsa the Cloud Master, Usa controlled the fall of rain, the single force an agrarian world could least afford to lose.
Mythology & Lore
The Rain Master
Usa descended from Cheonsang to Mount Taebaek with Hwanung, one of three weather ministers granted by Hwanin, Lord of Heaven, for the civilizing mission below. Pungbaek carried the wind. Unsa shaped the clouds. Usa released the rain. The Samguk Yusa counts them among the highest of the three thousand followers who accompanied Hwanung's descent.
Together the three ministers regulated the conditions that made agriculture possible. Under Hwanung's direction they governed the 360-odd affairs of human existence, but rain was the affair that mattered most. When drought cracked the fields, Korean communities performed rain prayers (giuje), the most urgent ritual a village could undertake. The prayers went upward. In the mythological order Hwanung had established on Mount Taebaek, Usa stood at the receiving end.
Relationships
- Serves