Shamanism

INTERESTING FACTS:

Did you know? Korean Shamanism was one of the most believed religions in the past.

Korean Shamanism is widely names as Muism or Sinism*. This religion contains a variety of indigenous religious beliefs and practices of the Korean people.

Shamanism has its roots in ancient, land-based cultures, dating at least as far back as 40,000 years, known as "magician, medicine man, mystic and poet". When people believe in shamanism, they believe in the existence of spiritual life forms and gods. Commoners often seek help from a mudang (무당, 巫堂) or Tangol (당골), also known as the Shaman. The role of the mudang, usually a woman, is to act as intermediary between a spirit entity, spirits or gods and human beings.

Shamans hold gut, or services, in order to gain good fortune for clients, cure illnesses by exorcising negative or 'bad' spirits that cling to people, or propitiate local or village gods. Such services are also held to guide the spirit of a deceased person to higher realms.

The shaman provided healing on many levels; physical, psychological and spiritual. The shaman usually performs rituals and goes into trance states, in order to have travel to other realms and seek help from spirits. The rites themselves have gone through a number of changes through the Silla and Goryeo periods. Even during the Joseon Dynasty, which was heavily Confucian, shamanistic rites persisted. In the past such shamanic rites included agricultural rites, such as prayers for abundant harvest.

With a shift away from agriculture in modern Korea this has largely been lost, and modern-day mudang are more focused on the fulfillment of the spiritual or mundane needs of urban people.

Some other interesting facts:

The government has discouraged belief in shamanism as superstition and for many years minimized its persistence in Korean life. However, it has been recognized as an important aspect of Korean culture. Shamanic exorcism is still used during certain special events and its valuable cultural properties are preserved and passed on to future generations.

In North Korea, all mudang descendants were labelled as members of the 'hostile class' and are considered to have 'bad songbun', i.e. "tainted blood."

There are many types of Mudang (Shaman) and a lot of different rituals that were performed in the past. You can read about all these other information online!

* Muism originates from the word ‘Mugyo’, which means the religion of Mu (witchcraft). Sinism originates from the word ‘Shingyo’, which means the religion of the Gods.

Comments:

Have you seen any Korean Shamanic rituals or practices (in movies or drama, etc)?

Do you know of any other interesting religion that the Korean people have in the past?