MUDANG

WHAT IS A MUDANG?

• A priestess who employs magic in Korean religion
• A shaman, usually female, who performs ceremonies in the village
• They are daughters of shamans or have been trained as one
• Also known as sessamu, kangshimu, myongdu, or shimbang
• Pronounced moo-(T)ang

WHAT DO THEY DO?

• Perform rituals (gut) in villages to bring luck, harvest, and health
• Communicate with ancestral spirits, nature spirits, and gods
• In death, they help souls to find the path to heaven
• Seek to resolve human problems through the spirit world
• Able to go into a trance and traverse realms as her soul

WHAT DO THEY BELIEVE?

• Part of the traditional Korean shamanism Muism
• Based on a holistic model of an inner and outer world
• The soul is the place of life breath and human essence
• Any physical illness is inextricably linked to illness of the soul
• Mental illness is rooted in soul loss, possession, or intrusion

Types of Mudang

Sessûmu: have inherited the role and the right to perform rites- mostly found in South Korea

Kangshimu: initiated through a ceremony- mostly found in North Korea

Both undergo the process of self-loss (shinbyeong), possession by a god that causes physical illness and psychosis.

"In their midst the shaman caught up in the ecstatic throes of her dance, spinning weightless in her swirling mantle, pure spirit freed of flesh and bone"
-Kim Tongi "The Shaman Painting"

HISTORY OF MUDANGS

• At its peak during the Silla and Goryea eras
• Driven underground by 20th century Christianity
• Confined to the slave caste despite their power
• Muism predated Buddhism and Confucianism
• Included institutional worship in temples of originating gods

MODERN MUDANGS

• Often advertise their services on social media
• Many maintain blogs
• Recently re-emerging as a cultural force in Korea
• The worship of kinship gods and their shrines are nearly obliterated
• Some villiages are reactivating traditional rites and rebuilding

Discussion Questions

What is the significance of the shinbyeong (self-loss) that shamans go through? Is it necessary?

Discuss the symbolism relating to the Muism view of the soul and it's importance to the body