A Shaman is a member of a tribal society who acts as a medium between the visible world and an invisible spirit world and who practices magic or sorcery for purposes of healing, divination, and control over natural events.

    Shamanism is the oldest folk belief of the Korean people in which every natural object in the world has a soul. In order to connect with the power of the supernatural the Shaman is taken over by a spirit by liberating their mind from natural limitation. This process is achieved through the use of drugs such as tobacco or soma, spinning or dancing, drumming, or singing of deep tones (Haines Brown). Early Shamanistic clans mainly served two different purposes, to invoke supernatural spirits and to carry out priestly and military leadership functions. “Korean Shamanism regarded three gods with special reverence and importance: the Mountain God, Sanshin (who is usually depicted as an old man with a tiger at his feet), the Toksong, or recluse, and Ch'ilsong (the god of the seven stars, the Big Dipper)” (Buddhapia). These roles began to branch out early in the second millennium B.C. Some of these clans began branching out into confederations headed by Shaman kings early in the first millennium A.D.

     As more and more religions began to arise such as Buddhism and Tonghak, many Koreans continued practicing the traditional ways of Shamanism. More recently one of the emphasized characteristics of Shamanism is the belief that the souls of the dead are always present. “Only the spirits of ancestors and people who died harboring grudges and deep resentment and those who died untimely deaths are honored in worship, however”, explains Kim Yol-kyu. Ones who have died young or who were murdered are believed to be able to cause great misfortune to the living or even cause diseases. The way to get rid of these diseases or misfortunes is by performing a ritual known as a gut in Korean. A Shaman who performs these ceremonies is often referred to as a mudang and must be a highly talented performer in order to conduct the ceremonies properly. Some ceremonies such as the ogwigut consist of 12 scenes and can take up to 3 days to complete. Currently the gut ceremonies are still one of the most important and significant parts of Shamanistic culture (Kim Yol-kyu). For more information on Shamanism check the links at the top of the page.

By: Tony Bates
Email: tony_alk3@hotmail.com
Last Updated: November 20, 2003

Sources:
Brown, Haines. Korean Shamanism. 30 July 1997. 28 Nov. 2003.
     (http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/55a/092.html)

Buddhapia. 2002-03. 28 Nov. 2003.
     (http://www.buddhapia.com/eng/extensive/2-a1.html)

Yol-Kyu, Kim. The Spice in Korean Culture. 2000-01. 28 Nov. 2003.
     (http://www.korea.net/koreanculture/artguide/shamanism.html)