Cameron Highlands Tea Plantation, Malaysia

Monday, March 4, 2013

Our World - Dol Hareubang of Jeju Island

Anyone who has been to Jeju Island would noticed these large mushroom-like statues.   They are absolutely everywhere and hard to miss. These 'dol hareubang' also known as the 'grandfather statues' are considered to be gods offering both protection and fertility and are often placed at entryways. Dol means "stone" while hareubang being a Jeju dialect of 'grandfather'.

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They are made out of volcanic rock as Jeju is a volcanic island, and most of the rocks there are porous basalt or rocks made from limestone. Some of their distinctive features such as mushroom-shaped hats and large, bulging eyes are attention grabbers.


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Our tour guide told us that many couples would touch or rub the nose of the statues and they would be blessed with a son. Such superstitious beliefs are still widespread even today. I guess these 'grandfathers' must have gotten used to tourists rubbing on them.


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Here is another view of 'grandfather' sitting in silence as we passed by. Amazing how nature take its course.


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Replicas of these statues are widely available here and I thought that this pair of miniature fridge magnets were the most fitting souvenir to bring home.

Our World

17 comments:

  1. Oh oh must have been distracted by the oranges and not touching or rubbing the nose of Dol Hareubang while we were there.

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  2. Although my daughters did not rub my nose, they produced 4 grandsons. Thanks for shooting and sharing these unusual figures. Good choice of souvenirs.

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  3. they're cute and reminds me of gnomes.

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  4. What an interesting post!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  5. These are very interesting because there are different kinds of statures in Japan. That's good to know something new.

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  6. Cool statues, thanks for sharing their story. Have a happy week!

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  7. How interesting!! Cute little buggers aren't they!! Delightful post for the day, as always!! Hope you have a great week!

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  8. Amazing post! Really interesting statues and good pictures. And this is a place I knew nothing about --- definitely my one new thing to learn for the day (I'm going to google for more information!)

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  9. They look adorable even though they are inanimate! Enjoy the rest of the week.

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  10. Great statues and wonderfully informative post.

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  11. Very cool statues! They do seem like grandfatherly figures...
    They remind me of the Rapa Nui on Easter island!
    http://floridacreate.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-statues-of-easter-island-rapa-nui.html
    Thanks for sharing!

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  12. I love these photos, Life Ramblings. I haven't been in Jeju but I have seen them in other photos before. These are lovely.

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  13. What cute little characters! I love fridge magnets and would also have jumped on the opportunity to buy some.

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