UCLA Center for the Study of Women

In this article, Stiller focuses on one of the female mountain spirits in Korea, the Holy Mother of Chiri Mountain. Thus far, Korean ethnologists such as Son Chin-'ae and Yi Yong-bŏm have focused primarily on studying the Holy Mother’s role as the only protective deity of Chiri Mountain. Stiller believes that one needs to look beyond the veneration of a singular male or female deity. Stiller's argument is that Chiri Mountain is occupied by several mountain spirits, among which the female spirit has the highest rank. Furthermore, the Holy Mother shrine needs to be seen as part of a popular pilgrimage route that commoners and literati travelled along.