Before the influence of Confucianism and Buddhism, Korea was adhering to a religion that likened it's neighbors in Siberia and Mongolia, and it's prophets were the Shamans. They are called Mudang in the native tongue, and they perform similar rites to the shamans around the world, by speaking to spirits, ancestors, Gods and performing divination and excorcism, relating to the spirits they were in touch with.
And like the Shamans of the neighboring peoples, the Mudang of Korea were overwhelmingly compromised of women.
The shaman would be a person that would be chosen from the day he/she was born, and such a person would usually have relatives that were also shamans themselves. For a person to become a shaman, the person would have to be touched by spirits in some way, mostly negative ways in order to compel him/her to choose the way of a mudang, and would see visions of ancestors who would compel him/her to become a mudang.
Those who refuse to do so are struck by other negative experiences such as delirium, or life threatening experiences, and only by becoming a shaman they can escape this fate.
Being a shaman is a full-time occupation. A shaman leaves behind her old life, work, duties and anything, and only works in service of the spirits and Gods. In return, they are compensated by the community, and taken care of.
I have here a video of a mudang initiation ritual(called kut or gut in korean, a generic name for shamanic rites), enjoy:
And like the Shamans of the neighboring peoples, the Mudang of Korea were overwhelmingly compromised of women.
The shaman would be a person that would be chosen from the day he/she was born, and such a person would usually have relatives that were also shamans themselves. For a person to become a shaman, the person would have to be touched by spirits in some way, mostly negative ways in order to compel him/her to choose the way of a mudang, and would see visions of ancestors who would compel him/her to become a mudang.
Those who refuse to do so are struck by other negative experiences such as delirium, or life threatening experiences, and only by becoming a shaman they can escape this fate.
Being a shaman is a full-time occupation. A shaman leaves behind her old life, work, duties and anything, and only works in service of the spirits and Gods. In return, they are compensated by the community, and taken care of.
I have here a video of a mudang initiation ritual(called kut or gut in korean, a generic name for shamanic rites), enjoy:
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