Korean Shamanism (Muism)

The native religion of Korea, where shamans called mudang hold rituals to heal and to honour the dead.

ancient → · Korea · East Asian

Korean shamanism is one of the oldest layers of Korean religion. Mudang, mostly women, perform gut rituals with music and dance to call spirits, heal illness and guide the dead. It has blended with Buddhism and Confucianism and remains active in modern Korea.

Key figures

• Hwanin and Dangun, the founders
• The mudang, shamans
• Mountain spirits (sansin)

Texts

• Oral tradition
• Ritual songs (muga)

Beliefs

• Spirits of nature and ancestors affect daily life
• The mudang mediates with them through trance
• Mountains are sacred

Rituals

• Gut, the shaman’s ritual
• Offerings to mountain spirits
• Rites for the dead

Grew from

• Animism & Shamanism

Connections in the atlas

• Dokkaebi
• Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital
• Choe Je-u
• Tomoe (swirling commas)
• The Tripitaka Koreana
• Rice paddies
• The Koreans
• The swan maiden
• Ecstatic trance and spirit possession (ritual)
• Buddhism to Korea and Japan
• Gumiho
• Bagua (eight trigrams)