Beginning with a brief religious history of Korea, this paper seeks to explore the spiritual world of Korean housewives, specifically examining their part in the traditional Korean possession cult led by the mansin (female shaman). Korean Shamanism

From very early on in the history of Korea, shamanism (in Korea, this is a possession cult characterized by a belief in a pantheon of gods that must be pleased in order to maintain health and prosperity) has been a way of life. Historians suggest that the roots of current Korean shamanism began when Tangun, Korea's mythological founder was born of a bear who became a human, and Heaven's son. This myth shows the beginning of a relationship between human and divine, spirit and physical (Lee, J. 17). Other views of the history of Korean shamanism point to a possible movement down from Siberia, as the Korean possession cult bears some resemblance to those present in Siberia (Lee, J. 19). Whatever the earliest origins, a practice of spirit possession under the leadership of shamans (mudang or mansin) began. These shamans would consult a pantheon of gods to determine causes of illness and other ill effects. They sought "a resolution for the conflicts caused by physical and social disorders or cosmic disharmony (Lee, J.Y. 11)." The Shamanistic worldview held by the people of Korea is a "non-dualistic worldview"--a worldview in which, although the distinction between the spirit world and the physical world is acknowledged, each is intricately connected with the other (Lee, J.Y. 11-12).

The constant cultural and economic presence of the Chinese in Korea over time brought the introduction of Chinese religions to Korea. The first of these was Buddhism in 372 A.D. Some initial conflict existed between those who promoted Buddhism and the shamans, but it did not take long for a comfortable coexistence to be reached, in which the Buddhism practiced elements of shamanism (pleasing Buddha by offering rice cakes and wine), and shamanism absorbed several Buddhism monks into its pantheon (Lee, J. 32-37). Following Buddhism, came the philosophy of Confucianism which emphasizes right relationships and veneration of ancestors. The Chinese empire attempted a top down enforcement of this ideology in the 15th century, resulting in a gradual acceptance of the Confucian practice of ancestor veneration by those who were in the upper spheres of society--mainly the more educated, and men (Kendall, 26). Confucian practices used Chinese characters and required some official education (Lee, J.Y. 69). The common people, in more rural areas, and women--who took care of the household, incorporated the Confucian emphasis on ancestors into the spirit world already existing in the shamanistic world-view (Lee, J.Y. 16). The coming of Confucian ideals to Korea at the time of the Yi dynasty brought increased social stratification to the gender roles of Korea, limiting women to the sphere of the household. Seven commandments regarding women's behavior included such rules as "be obedient to your husband's family, especially to the elders; bear your husband sons (daughters were not considered as posterity); do not be jealous of your husband's concubines; and do not catch malignant diseases (Palmer 1979, 40 in Lee, J. 40)." It appears that around this time, perhaps as a response to the extreme oppression toward women and their limitation to the sphere of the household, shamanism began to arise as a woman's profession. As men carried out ritual acts in the more official sphere, women took responsibility for the concerns of their households, consulting mansins (female shamans) to maintain harmony for them in the spirit world.

This paper seeks to explore the world of the Korean housewife, as she seeks to meet her felt needs to maintain the health and stability of her household through interaction with the mansin, or shaman.

The World of the Housewife

Thetraditional Korean woman's role is caring for her family within the home. Inheritance is patrilineal, going to the oldest son, and residence patterns are patrilocal. The wife moves to live with her mother-in-law's family, taking over the duties as guardian of the household when her mother-in-law passes away (Kendall 20, 110). The Korean wife and mother has been said by some more modern Koreans to be "backward" in her continued belief in the spirit world and the power of the mansin (34). Generally, however, when a man becomes ill or undergoes bad luck, he counts on his wife to consult the mansin to appease the spirits (23).

The sphere of the Korean housewife is the household. Spatially, the household is important in defining the cosmological view that Korean women hold. The household Gods reside in specific places throughout the house. The inner room of the Korean house is the woman's room, where conception, gestation, and childbirth take place. The Birth Grandmother goddess resides here. It is the woman's stronghold. Moving out from this room, other household gods live in different parts of the house, in its structure--its beams, the tubs of rice and hot sauce, the courtyard. These household gods are the following: the House Lord, the Birth Grandmother, the House Site Official, the Mountain God, the Seven Stars, the Kitchen God, the Toilet Maiden, the Foundation God, and the Door Guard (113). The senior woman of the house (the wife or her mother-in-law) acts as the ones who give offerings to these gods (121). This offering is called kosa--"a prayer for the continuing prosperity of the household (124)." It takes the form of rice cakes and wine, offered with a brief bow to the different locations throughout the house where each god resides (122). These offerings are not meals, as they include no steamed rice (and if you have not eaten steamed rice in Asia, you have not eaten). Rather they can be equated with bribes--to gain the favor of these gods.

In addition to these gods, are other gods who do not reside specifically in the household: the princess, the general, special messenger, the warrior, the clown, the grain god, and the Buddhist sage (184). Also in the spirit world are ancestors, who although venerated by the man of the house, still require occasional appeasement, and ghosts--souls who have not become ancestors because of no male heir, or early and violent death (144-145, 99). Although ghosts can dwell inside the gates of the house, the world outside the gates is full of them, and so anyone who has been traveling for a time is thought to bring back ghosts with him or her (101). Ghosts are always hungry, requiring food and money, and ancestors as well can carry "han"--unrequited resentment that must be appeased (99).

The resentment and discontent of gods, ancestors, and ghosts manifests itself in illness, bad luck, and ill feelings, and when these arise, the housewife does a series of several things. In the case of an illness, she may consult a pharmacist, hospital, or herbalist. In accordance with the pragmatic nature of folk religions, the mansin and the housewife both acknowledge that all illness is not caused by the world of the spirits (92). If these do not work, often by the third day, the housewife may consult the mansin to find out if there is a spiritual cause to this illness, and then she herself may perform an exorcism. This is consists leaving a dipper of cooked millet by the ill person's pillow for three days, then whirling the dipper over the person's head, pressing it against his chest, and saying "I implore you, take George's pain away." Following this, she pelts George with food, and places a piece of George's clothing away from him so that the maligning spirit follows it and leaves George alone (87).

The Mansin

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