Everyone was sent out of the building. Then five women aged from 30 to 71, all shamans, drove out any spirits or ‘impurity’ with drums, gongs and knives. They called the family back in. One of the officiants, dressed in ceremonial clothes danced and played the cymbals, while the deceased’s mother and grandmother prostrated themselves before the altar where offerings were laid out. The hours ticked by.

This ceremony to appease the spirit of a dead woman, described by ethnologist Alexandre Guillemoz. took place in a village 20km from South Korea’s capital Seoul in 1982. It went on for more than 12 hours, from 7.25pm on 10 August to 8.40am the next day. That’s typical of shamanism (musok), a body of beliefs and rituals seeking to establish a connection with the spirit world, which is an ancient and powerful tradition in Korea and, far from being consigned to folklore, is still alive and well.

‘These days, people consult a shaman for all sorts of reasons, linked to different life stages,’ says anthropologist Florence Galmiche. ‘So if your son is divorced and wants to remarry, you go to the shaman to find out if the new marriage will work. If you’ve got anxiety or depression, you can see a psychotherapist of course but if you have multiple health issues, the women in the family sometimes feel it’s better to go to a shaman.’ Musok has clients at the highest levels of the state: throughout his term in office (2022-25) and before the attempted coup that resulted in his imprisonment. former president Yoon Suk-yeol was known to seek the help of ‘spiritual advisors’ in making certain decisions.

The persistence of rituals

From divination to complex ceremonies (gut) lasting several days, Korean shamanic practices cover a very broad spectrum of activities. But they have one consistent feature: they are relatively unaffected by social and political change. Researchers are trying to explain South Korean (…)

Full article: 1 890 words.

(1) Alexandre Guillemoz, ‘La dernière rencontre: un rituel chamanique coréen pour une jeune morte’, Transe, chamanisme, possession: De la fête à l’extase, actes des deuxièmes rencontres internationales sur la fête et la communication, 24-28 avril 1985, Éditions Serre-Nice Animation, Nice, 1985.

(3) Mudang for women, baksu for men.

(4) Kim Chongho, Korean Shamanism: The Cultural Paradox, Routledge, New York, 2003.