First Seoul International Consultation:
Christianity and Shamanism

(1)

A brief explanation of the
Origin and History of Korean Shamanism

From the evidence provided by the ancient cultural relics of Korea, it is estimated that Shamanism has existed in the Korean peninsula from before 1,000 BC. Society of that time was based on Iron Age agriculture, and already involved imperial governments that united politics, or political organization, with religion, Shamanism.

Religious festival celebrations known as Young-go,¹ Tong-meng,² Mu-chun,³ were held in kingdoms such as Pu-yo,⁴ Ko-ku-ryo,⁵ Ye,⁶ according to the written sources known as Sam Kuk Jee and Dong Ee Jun.⁷ Most of these festivals were celebrated at the time of harvests, to express wishes or thanksgiving of an agricultural character, and they became the original style of the religion of the Korean people. Researchers describe these ceremonies as heavenly feasts, whose celebrants were called mudang; and research indicates that this kind of tradition is still known into the present day, practiced today as the local kut.⁸

Such religious traditions began to change as Buddhism and Confuciansim, which were foreign religions, penetrated into the peninsula after the dynasties of Three Kingdoms. The traditional religion struggled with Buddhism; however, as far as we know, Buddhism involves some types of Indian Shamanism, so that a natural mixture was possible and even proper, particularly as the ancestors allowed a multi-religious culture. Taoism was introduced earlier and was easily embraced by Korean Shamanism.

At the beginning of the Koryo era, the dynastic rituals were known as Pal Kwoan Hoi and Yun Deung Hoi.⁹ These appeared to be Buddhist festivals externally, but the internal context remained that of the festival tradition of Shamanism, descended from older times.

The treatment of the traditional religion of Korea changed rapidly during the Cho-Sun Dynasty. From the beginning of that dynasty, the practice of the kut diminished, and the mudang was treated as low class, together with the Buddhist monk and the butcher. The main reason for this was that the new dynasty attempted to eliminate the old traditional practices. Influenced by a dualistic anti-world view,¹⁰ they treated Confucianism as the only acceptable religion and rejected any others. The rites of shamanism declined to a yet lower status and began to mingle even more actively with Buddhism, which was also rejected. Buddhism was likewise assimilating elements of Shamanism increasingly into itself.

During the Japanese Colonization, severe persecution occurred. The Japanese understood the origins of the characteristics of the mental structure of the Korean people, and understood the sources of the bonds between the local people, all of which derived from the local kut inherited from the ancestors. Therefore, the Japanese oppressed this, to attempt to break the Korean people. At the same time, the Japanese colonists came to persecute Christianity, which had been introduced into the nation by then.

Traditional culture and the national beliefs were suppressed furthermore by the New Town Movement¹¹ as the Modernization of the Nation began. Modernization, Westernization, became the means of the nation's administration and became the administration's belief. Even though the mudang and Shamanism were studied as academic subjects during the twentieth century, the spirit-world of the mudang was seen as a superstition from the viewpoint of the new values of the world.

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(2)

The Spirit-World of Korean Shamanism

The spirit-world of Korean Shamanism is supernatural with spirits and gods of differing kinds and characters. For the most part, they are considered to be personalized in character: talking with man, helping the weak, punishing the bad, and also directing people along the right way.

The spirit-world of Korean Shamanism includes spirits of nature and spirits of ancestors, as well as spirits guiding regions and spirits guiding individuals. There is also a type that is possessed of particular enterprises or activities, such as the Talented Chanter who is talented as a singer, and such as General Choi who was an historical figure who defended the down-trodden and saddened. At times, spirits were created during events of national tragedy.

This description has been meant to introduce something of the intimate relationships and the life of the people of Korea, with their traditional rites and customs that would be seen or heard and learned from childhood. The great depth in time of these national traditions has been indicated. Now, it is the purpose of this paper to describe some customs in particular, and then to suggest how the Christian may correctly understand and may rightfully accept Shamanism.

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(2.a)

Customs surrounding Birth

Let us proceed to describe some rites and customs in particular. It is believed in Korea that Grandmother Samsin¹² predicts the birth of a child. The conception of a child is foretold when Grandmother Samsin appears in a dream; and prayers are then offered to her for the child. In olden times, a mother gave birth to a child at home. When the child was born, some special meals such as kuk-pop-juk and mi-yok-kuk-pop¹³ were offered to the mother, after she gave thanks to Grandmother Samsin.

A house where a child was born had its door tied by a string with charcoal and red-hot peppers if the child was male, and with charcoal only if female. The string announced the birth of the child to the neighbors; and, at the same time, it served as a border-line prohibiting anyone unclean from entering the house. The unclean were those who had eaten pig or dog or the meat of any animal that had been strangled; or anyone who had visited funeral homes, or who had a recently deceased family member, or who was in menstruation. It is said that the string, indeed this border-line, would prevent any evil that might otherwise be brought by an unclean person, and would protect the child from any disease during times of old when there were not many medical means to prevent diseases from spreading through the village.

A male child was preferred because men ruled society in this agricultural nation; so numerous customs were practiced to attempt to assure the birth of a male child. The people of the village of Palangri, for instance, used to say that a woman who could not give birth to a male child should steal either the undergarments or the household axe of any woman who had given birth to boys.

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(2.b)

Rites of Wishing and Thanksgiving

From these examples of the customs surrounding birth, let us proceed to a few examples of various rites of wishing and of thanksgiving among the rural folk of the agricultural regions. We shall begin with some rites of wishing.

Community rites of wishing

(i)

On a hill at the village of Palangri, there is a small temple where the villagers perform a ritual of the type known as che.¹⁴ In this instance, the che consists of the pouring of a libation of wine, and an offering of foods prepared with care and effort. They perform this ritual all together twice a year, spring and autumn, to wish for a fruitful harvest without any misfortunes.

(ii)

At the full moon during the first week of the New Year week, a colorful playful festivity known as Han-ma-dang-noree¹⁵ is celebrated with processions through the village and dances in the fields. This is done as one of many expressions of wishes for a good harvest in the year.

(iii)

A che¹⁶ for the weather is performed when it rains either too much or too little. This che is done to influence the dragon-god that lives in a pool of water. The people believed that when the pool is contaminated, the rains do not fall; so, for instance, they would throw a dead dog into the water whenever the rains continued to fall in excess.

Personal rites of wishing

(i)

A che, a rite, to wish for the fulfillment of personal needs was addressed to Grandfather Dae-gam¹⁷ who was believed to reside in the household as a protecting god of the home. The first fruits of the harvest were offered to him before any were eaten by the family members, which was a custom that was kept in the households of Palangri until 1975.

(ii)

In springtime, a ritual known as Tuk-ko-sa¹⁸ would be performed by a person placing the palms of his or her hands together and holding the clasped hands upright over a jar that contained a special kind of rice-cake¹⁹ which had been carefully prepared: this was done so that no unclean person would enter the house.

Other rites and customs of wishing and of thanksgiving

(i)

Other rites of wishing or thanksgiving involved the mudang (shaman) and the kut²⁰ of the mudang,, which are considered to be part of the people's practices from ancient times in Korea. According to the ancient beliefs of Korean Shamanism, an illness that afflicts a person or a misfortune that befalls a household is thought to have been caused by the spirit of a deceased family member who has been killed unjustly or caused by an unclean spirit intent on revenge and residing in the house. The kut of the mudang is meant to heal the illness or dissolve the misfortune by consoling the restless spirit or placating the vengeful spirit and by assisting such a spirit on its way to the other world. While there are many types of mudang and kut, it is generally known among the people that much money and careful preparation are needed for the performance of a kut by a mudang.

(ii)

Another sort of rite was meant to catch a thief. A live cat would be placed in boiling water. As its body twisted and writhed, so at the same time the body of any thief would twist and writhe likewise, and the thief would be exposed, or so it was said. This can be understood as a kind of legend, meant to teach that secret deeds could be revealed, and to make anyone who might be contemplating a theft think twice about it.

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(2.c)

Funeral and Memorial Rites and Customs

Numerous customs and rites existed and do exist about death, funerals and memorials also.

(i)

It is useful to understand the meaning of a particular, ancient Korean funeral rite in order to comprehend the perceptions of the after-life among the Korean people. The coffin that carries the body of the deceased is called sang-yo,²¹ and those who carry it on their shoulders with funeral songs are called sang-du-kun.²² The sang-yo²³ is decorated with many bright colors, and many different flowers, and it is sometimes also called kok-ga-ma.²⁴ The latter term, kok-ga-ma, is the same one that is applied to a carriage that takes a bride to the bridegroom's house, her new home. The analogy is evident, as the deceased is being carried towards another world. Korean people believe traditionally in two worlds, this world and that world, and in the eternal duration of the spirit in the other world. Let us listen to one of the funeral songs that is sung by the sang-yo-kun²⁵ during the funeral procession. Its poetry will be rendered here for clarity of meaning in translation.

Go, go, I am going,
going to Puk-mang-sanchun.²⁶
Going, I know not when I shall return:
So, let me see my friend again.

With these verses, the procession comes to a house of a friend or relative of the deceased. The song then continues.

How can I leave,
how can I leave for Puk-mang-sanchun?
I'm unable, I'm unable:
Without money, without fare.

With these verses, the procession stops at the door of the house, so that the household members may make prostrations and give some money. Receiving the gifts, the procession moves on and the song continues.

On the way to that world,
with money, support:
I go, I go, the way to that world.

The funeral procession moves with this song from house to house through the village. This funeral song contains a dialog between the living and the dead, and a request by the deceased to the remaining family members and friends. It reflects a belief among the Korean people that Yumla-dae-woang,²⁷ the master of Hades, takes the spirits to that world which is the death. Soldiers of the dead surround Yumla-dae-woang, they guard that world, and they lead the dead into it according to the actions of the person in this world. The spirit of the person goes to that world; while the death remains here in the depths of the earth and in decay. Therefore as the funeral finishes, and the ritual for the dead ends, the rites for the spirit continue.

It was believed that half of the spirit returned to the home after the funeral; therefore, even today, in a main part of the house or of a room of the deceased, a ritual table is arranged with a box to accommodate the half spirit during its stay for three years. The family members prepare food every morning and evening for the half spirit for three years until the mourning period finishes; and, at times, the mourning relatives or friends come to pay respects to the deceased. In other words, we may say that death is death, but the spirit is spirit. The spirit is considered to be somehow still alive to receive the respect of the remaining family and friends.

(ii)

Three days, three months, and three years are the usual intervals for the memorials. Recently the one-hundredth day is also observed as a normal memorial day. Furthermore, there are four annual memorial services on one's own day of Ki-jesas,²⁸ one's spouse's day of Ki-jesas, New Year's Day and Thanksgiving Day, the latter known as Chusuk.²⁹

Memorial services have been observed in Korea from antiquity, and the memorials for departed parents are especially widely observed in Korea. The procedure and meaning of a typical traditional memorial will be described briefly. Special food is prepared with devotions, and the name of the deceased is written on paper that is placed on a table. Kneeling in front of the memorial table, the relatives burn incense and perform ritual gestures to be ready to receive the spirit of the deceased. The master of ceremonies offers wine to the master of the household, and the latter receives it and pours the wine into a special bowl, the mo-sa,³⁰ three times as an invitation to the spirit. The master of ceremonies takes the cup of wine back and puts it in its place. He then makes two prostrations; and then he and the master of the household together make two prostrations. This is a ritual act of greeting to the spirit. The master of ceremonies puts the cup of wine between a special memorial food of rice known as me³¹ and a soup bowl. At this time, words of greeting are read. After reading this, the master of ceremonies makes two prostrations and a second cup of wine is offered with two more prostrations; then a third cup of wine is offered with a prostration. A spoon is placed in the memorial food of rice, the me,³² and chop-sticks are put in position. At this time, all the participants leave the house to wait outside for three or four minutes, so that the spirit of the departed may come to eat the food. They show respect by not looking (it would be impolite to watch). Returning in due time, they take the bowl from the table, and they put drinking water and three spoonfuls of the specially prepared rice, the me,³³ into the bowl. They bow forward deeply. Completing their prostration, they place the lid on the bowl. As a gesture of farewell to the spirit, all the people make two prostrations. The writing³⁴ that carries the name of the deceased is burned. The spoons are withdrawn. The table is taken away. The people believe that the leftover food is blessed, and they share the remaining food with relatives, friends, and neighbors.

Most Korean people believe that the spirits of ancestors come back to eat at the time of memorials and then return to that world, and all receive happiness with prosperity if the spirit has been treated well at the memorials.

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(3)

Conclusions

These examples of traditional life with its rituals and customs transmitted from antiquity should indicate the influence of Shamanism in Korea, and they provide an opportunity to express some conclusions. Considerable elements of Shamanism are found in the traditional rites and customs that have shaped the social environment, the ways of living and the ways of thinking, throughout the history of Korea. From the Christian point of view, rituals such as the kut,³⁵ the rituals of wishing, and the memorial ritual ceremonials are not necessarily problematic in-and-of-themselves. Christianity does not deny the traditional rites and customs of Korea by demeaning all aspects of Shamanism as superstition. However, Christianity cannot accept some concepts in shamanistic acts such as the worship of spirit-gods or the rites possessing knowledge of some types of spirits.

It is a wonderful Christian practice when the people in Korea show their deepest respect and devotion towards their deceased ancestors through the Korean traditional rites and customs by offering prayers for their well-being. Orthodox Christians believe that we fulfill our duties as offspring by comforting our resting parents and remembering them through the prayers of the Orthodox memorial service. Saint Paul the Apostle taught Christians to respect and look after their parents, and that not doing so is like losing the Faith.

The memorial rites of Korean Shamanism, however, sometimes involve the propitiation of ancestors as if they were spirit-gods. This also sometimes involves obedience to an establishment of a kingly authority that derived from the imposition of Confucianism. Therefore, all of the elements of the traditional memorial cannot be accepted by Christianity.

Nevertheless, the respect for ancestors and parents is good. People here take good care of the graves of their ancestor and parents by decorating the sites with beautiful flowers. The respect given to ancestors and parents in memorial rites³⁶ is acceptable: and this is the main concept. Respecting ancestors and parents is good and honorable. Making them into gods is the aspect that must be corrected according to Christianity. This is the point. Reason exists for it.

The reason can be explained from the Christian viewpoint. From the time of our separation from the True God (that is, from the time of the Fall), people have been searching for God whom they lost. The efforts to find God are real; but in a fallen world, these real efforts tend to go astray, resulting in (for instance) the making of Grandmother Samsin and Grandfather Dae-gam into gods. We can not accept a belief such as the belief that Grandmother Samsin controls the birth of a child or solves the painful dilemma of infertility; because we have learned that the All Mighty, All Wise, Loving and Merciful God looks after us in our difficulties. We speak with God directly now in our prayers, and we should not forget that God hears us and helps us directly through all sorts of miracles.

Other problems that also require correction, such as the costs which are incurred for the abundant memorial foods and drinks and which could be used instead to assist the needy, are a universal perennial sort of problem in the field of Christian ethics for the further cultivation of charity and selflessness.

Discrimination against women and the inferiority of women is reflected in some rites and customs. This problem has persisted in our society; and its correction is an imperative, major social task. The inferiority of women must be eliminated since Christianity has come with the direction that men and women are equal in the sight of God.

Shamanism can not be excluded totally as superstition, instead we must study it and use the proper means according to the teachings of Christianity to assist in redirecting and correcting any elements that need to be redirected and corrected, while we respect all that is respectable, as we know that the ancient expressions which were directed towards the spirit-gods were attempts to find God All Mighty and Loving.

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Endnotes:
 
Korean Letters

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