도당(都堂) refers to the altar used to make sacrifices to a village's guardian deity (수호신), and 제 (祭) is the same 제 in 제사 (祭祀), which translates as religious service or sacrificial rites.
The folktale told in the video below supposedly happened long ago in a place that is now part of the Guro District (구로구) of Seoul.
“개봉동 느티나무 설화”
The Tale of the Gaebong-dong Zelkova Tree
옛날 옛적 개웅산 아래에 개웅마을에서 신랑 신부가 혼례를 올리게 되었어요. 혼례를 마친 후 신랑은 말을 신부는 가마를 타고 신방(新房)으로 향했답니다. Once upon a time beneath Mount Gaeung in the Village of Gaeung, a groom and bride were married. After finishing the wedding ceremony, it is said that the groom mounted a horse, and the bride a palanquin, and headed in the direction of their bridal room.
마을 어귀에는 느티나무 앞을 지날 때이었어요. 갑자기 신랑이 탄 말의 다리가 땅에 붙어 꼼짝은 못하게 되었어요. 신랑 신부는 이 느티나무에게 인사를 올리고 나서야 무사히 지나갈 수 있었답니다.
At the entrance to the village, while passing a zelkova tree, the legs of the horse the groom was riding suddenly froze in place and would not budge. It is said that only after the groom and bride had bowed to the zelkova tree that they were able to pass safely.
이후 마을에서는 이 신비로운 느티나무에 도당제(都堂祭)를 지내면서 마을의 안녕을 기원했답니다.
It is said that afterwards the villagers, while performing sacrificial rites, would pray to the mysterious zelkova tree for peace and well-being.
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