Korea; Hwanghae province; shamans; spirit paintings; hwan—s?ngsu; personalization of ritual; agency of material culture
摘要
Korean shamans (manshin or mudang) practicing in the tradition of Hwanghae province possess numerous paintings of spirits of deceased shamans (s?ngsu) who assist them in their activities. Attention has been paid to such paintings (hwan) mainly in the context of shamanism as a part of Korean national heritage, and the role they play in the lives of individual shamans has been neglected. If one looks beyond the surface of these hwan, which often seem to be almost identical, it turns out that shamans have very personal elationships with the figures depicted, who may have been professional as well as genealogical ancestors. In some cases, the paintings also represent the spiritual essence of a living person (including the shaman her-/himself). A detailed investigation of the very personal meaning that hwan have for individual shamans helps to understand the dynamics of rituals. Taking into account the very personal nature of the shamanic experience involved also strengthens the claim of the Korean manshin to be called shamans according to a general definition of shamanism formulated by Roberte Hamayon.
