This article is an attempt to reconstruct the change process of Sandae-Nori
(산대놀이), the traditional Mask dance, by exploring the status of mask remains
and aspect of character's change. A set of masks comprises the complete
members of the characters for the performance. Sometimes two more
characters share the same mask in the transition of the dramatic development.
These aspects of the completion or the multiple use of masks give important
clues of the history of mask dances.
‘Wanbo’(완보) and ‘Maltoogi’(말뚝이) are the essential characters of
Sandae-Nori . ‘Wanbo’ is the leader of the eight monks who broke the rule
of Buddhist ascetics, while ‘Maltoogi’ is the servant of the old noble. Even
though they belong to different classes and situations, they have similar faces,
the same character as a joker, and the role of the intervener leading the
dramatic affairs. The original character of ‘Maltoogi’, ridiculing and insulting
his master, which was constructed on the mask dance in folk culture, circulated all over the nation and became a symbol of class struggles. The
actors and patrons of Sandae-Nori also received the character tuning the
aggressiveness, and let it share the mask of ‘Wanbo’ on the basis of the
similarity between the character and the actor's ability for multiple
performance.
The independent mask of ‘Maltoogi’ was recreated, modeling the mask of
‘Wanbo’, in reflection of popularity. ‘Maltoogi’, the dream character for
commoners, rose up as a hero overwhelming almost entire acts of the mask
dance. The core of Sandae-Nori was shifted from the play of monks to that
of nobles. It can be said that the social view of the class struggles was spread
out beyond the individual view of religious abstinence.