Laurel Kendall, Shamans, Housewives, and Other Restless Spirits: Women in Korean Ritual Life.
(Academic review here (http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/asie_0766-1177_1991_num_6_1_993)
It's an account of anthropological research (cough cough) done in the 70s in one village north of Seoul. The shamans are all women; there are some male shamans in Korea but post-Confucian values thought it undignified, at the very least, for men to be possessed by rowdy spirits demanding money and jumping up and down (literally) in ecstatic dance while going through many changes of costume. (Then again, she points out that Confucian values didn't become entrenched in Korea until a few centuries ago, which was something I didn't know.)
So shamanism is a very female type of world, social as much as supernatural, and a normal part of everyday life. Village women will consult the shaman about sickness and bad fortune, but also go see the doctor, the Buddhist priest, and the geomancer. Shaman have a circle of 'regulars' and other shamans who help with the long and tiring rituals of possession. They tend to be older women whose children are grown, or widows: there's prejudice against the profession both from the Confucian and Christian sides, so the less interference from the husband's side the better.
no subject
(Academic review here (http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/asie_0766-1177_1991_num_6_1_993)
It's an account of anthropological research (cough cough) done in the 70s in one village north of Seoul. The shamans are all women; there are some male shamans in Korea but post-Confucian values thought it undignified, at the very least, for men to be possessed by rowdy spirits demanding money and jumping up and down (literally) in ecstatic dance while going through many changes of costume. (Then again, she points out that Confucian values didn't become entrenched in Korea until a few centuries ago, which was something I didn't know.)
So shamanism is a very female type of world, social as much as supernatural, and a normal part of everyday life. Village women will consult the shaman about sickness and bad fortune, but also go see the doctor, the Buddhist priest, and the geomancer. Shaman have a circle of 'regulars' and other shamans who help with the long and tiring rituals of possession. They tend to be older women whose children are grown, or widows: there's prejudice against the profession both from the Confucian and Christian sides, so the less interference from the husband's side the better.
Fascinating reading, in any case.