Korean shamanism
Korean shamanism, also known as Musok, is a religion from Korea. Scholars of religion classify it as a folk religion and sometimes regard it as one facet of a broader Korean vernacular religion distinct from Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism. There is no central authority in control of Musok, with much diversity of belief and practice evident among practitioners.
A polytheistic religion, Musok revolves around deities and ancestral spirits. Central to the tradition are ritual specialists, the majority of them female, called . In English they have sometimes been called "shamans", although the accuracy of this term is debated among anthropologists. The serve as mediators between paying clients and the supernatural world, employing divination to determine the cause of their clients' misfortune. They also perform rituals, during which they offer food and drink to the gods and spirits or entertain them with storytelling, song, and dance. may take place in a private home or in a shrine, often located on a mountain. The divide into regional sub-types, the largest being the or, historically dominant in Korea's northern regions, whose rituals involve them being personally possessed by deities or ancestral spirits. Another type is the of eastern and southern regions, whose rituals entail spirit mediumship but not possession.
The origins of Musok are unclear but the earliest historical references to date to the 12th century. During the Joseon period, Confucian elites suppressed the with taxation and legal restrictions, deeming their rites to be improper. From the late 19th century, modernisers – many of them Christian – characterised Musok as and supported its suppression. During the Japanese occupation of the early 20th century, nationalistically oriented folklorists began promoting the idea that Musok represented Korea's ancient religion and a manifestation of its national culture; an idea later heavily promoted by themselves. In the mid-20th century, persecution of continued in North Korea and through the New Community Movement in South Korea. More positive appraisal of the occurred in South Korea from the late 1970s onward, especially as practitioners were associated with the pro-democracy movement and came to be regarded as a source of Korean cultural identity.
Musok is primarily found in South Korea, where there are over 200,000, although practitioners are also found abroad. While Korean attitudes to religion have historically been fairly inclusive, allowing for syncretism between Musok and Buddhism, the have nevertheless long been marginalised. Disapproval of, often regarded as charlatans, remains widespread in South Korea, especially among Christians.
Definition
The anthropologist Chongho Kim noted that defining Korean shamanism was "really problematic". He characterised "Korean shamanism" as a largely "residual" category into which all Korean religious practices that were not Buddhist, Confucian, or Christian were placed. Scholars like Griffin Dix, Kil-sŏng Ch'oe and Don Baker have conversely presented Korean shamanism as just one facet of "Korean folk religion", the latter sometimes called in Korean.Korean shamanism has varyingly been labelled a vernacular religion, a folk religion, a popular religion, and an indigenous religion. It is a non-institutionalized tradition, rather than being an organized religion akin to Buddhism or Christianity. It has no doctrine, nor any overarching hierarchy, and is orally transmitted. It displays considerable regional variation, as well as variation according to the choices of individual practitioners. Over time, the tradition has displayed both continuity and change.
One term commonly used for this tradition is , coined by the folklorist Yi Nŭnghwa. Although developed during the Japanese colonial period, when it was employed with derogatory connotations, the term has since become popular with the Korean population and with scholars; the Korean studies scholar Antonetta L. Bruno for instance capitalised it as to serve as a name for the religion. Alternative terms include,, and. In Korea, the term is sometimes used for this religion, but is also applied to other religious and cultural practices like pungsu geomancy. While carries negative connotations in Korean culture, some use it to describe what they do.
Since the late 19th century, English language studies have referred to the as "shamans" and their practices as "Korean shamanism", a label rendered into Korean as. Introduced to English from the Tungusic languages at the end of the 17th century, the term "shamanism" has never received a commonly agreed definition and has been used in at least four distinct ways. A common definition uses "shamanism" to describe traditions involving visionary flights to perform rituals in a spirit realm, a practice not found in Korean traditional religion. Many scholars avoid the term "shaman" as a cross-cultural category altogether. Its application to Korean religion is controversial, with Chongho Kim deeming it "often unhelpful", and Korean studies scholar Richard McBride labelling it "a legacy of the colonial period". The scholar Suk-Jay Yim proposed mu-ism as a more appropriate label than "Korean shamanism", while Dix thought "spirit mediumship" more suitable than "shamanism".
Prior to Christianity's arrival in the 17th and 18th centuries, Korean religion was rarely exclusivist, with many Koreans practising Daoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Musok simultaneously. Despite shared underlying beliefs, these traditions undertook what Dix called a "division of ritual and cosmological responsibility" between each other. Confucian rituals were for example primarily concerned with ancestor veneration and tended to be simpler and more regular, whereas the were consulted for rarer and more complex ritual tasks. Korea has seen particular syncretism between Musok and Buddhism; often identify as Buddhists, may use incantations from Buddhist sutras, and commonly worship Buddhist deities. Some Korean Buddhist temples, similarly, venerate deities traditionally associated with Musok. In contemporary South Korea, it remains possible for followers of most religions to involve themselves in Musok with little censure from their fellow religionists. Meanwhile, based in Europe have merged the tradition with New Age elements.
Terms and types of practitioners
Central to Musok are those whom the anthropologist Kyoim Yun called "ritual specialists who mediate between their clients and the invisible" forces of the supernatural. The most common Korean term for these specialists is mudang. Although commonly used, the term carries derogatory connotations in Korean culture and thus some practitioners avoid it.An alternative term for these individuals is, the latter synonymous with the Chinese word wu, also used for ritual specialists. Several modern advocacy groups have adopted the term, meaning "people who do ". While the term can apply to a man or woman, specific terms for male Musok specialists include, or, more commonly used in the past,. Modern advocacy groups have also described Musok's supporters as or .
Subtypes
are often divided into two broad types: the, or "god-descended", and the or "hereditary". The former engage in rituals in which they describe being possessed by supernatural entities; the latter's rituals involve interaction with these entities but not possession. The former was historically more common in northern and central parts of the Korean peninsula, the latter in southern parts below the Han River. The tradition later spread and by the late 20th century was dominant across South Korea, with its ritual costumes and paraphernalia being widely adopted.Lines between the and are nevertheless blurred. Although the are typically presented as inheriting the role in a hereditary fashion, not all do so, while some continue the role of a family member as if maintaining a hereditary tradition. Yun commented that dividing the into distinct typologies "cannot explain complex reality".
Certain regional terms are also used for the. The are often called in Jeolla Province, and on Jeju Island. The latter term was first recorded in the 15th century, used for on the Korean mainland, but by the early 19th century was exclusively used for practitioners on Jeju. An alternative term for the is, a term meaning "ten thousand spirits/gods", and which has less derogatory connotations than the label.
Other terms sometimes used for may elsewhere be restricted to different types of Korean ritual specialist. The term, describing a spirit medium, is sometimes used synonymously with but at other times describes a distinct group of practitioners. Another term some adopt for themselves is , originally a Korean term for a Buddhist bodhisattva, and which is favored more by female than male practitioners. Conversely, some maintain that the term should be reserved for diviners who are possessed by child spirits but who do not perform the rituals that are central to practice.
Beliefs
Theology
Musok is polytheistic. Supernatural beings are called, or. The divide these beings into two main groups: the gods and the ancestral spirits. The are deemed volatile; if humans do well by them, they can receive good fortune, but offending these entities can bring suffering. Devotees of these entities believe that they can engage, converse, and bargain with them. These deities bestow upon the, enabling the latter to have visions and intuition that allows them to perform their ritual tasks.Each has their own personal pantheon of, one that may differ from the pantheon of the they trained under. This individual pantheon is the, and a may add new deities to it during their career. Certain supernatural beings will be considered guardian deities, each referred to as a. A will also claim a personal spiritual guardian, known as the . The of male are usually female; those of female are typically male.