Spirit work
Gut, the Korean shaman rite
The day-long ritual of a mudang, who calls gods and ancestors with music, dance, offerings and costume.
Presented by ClearTrust Customs described as customs, free to read.
A gut is the main ritual of Korean shamanism, led by a mudang, a shaman who is most often a woman. Over hours, with drums and gongs, the mudang dances, changes costume for each deity and speaks for gods and the dead in turn. A gut may be held for a family's luck, for a sick relative, to bless a new business, or to send a dead person on their way.
This is an outline of a custom, said as belief and practice. It is not instruction, it does not say that the rite works, and it is not medical advice.
What goes into it
- Offering tableOfferingFruit, rice cakes and food for the gods.
- CostumesObjectRobes in a colour for each deity.
- Drum (janggu) and gongsToolKeep the rhythm of the rite.
- Fans and bellsToolHeld in the dance to call the spirits.
- GongsuWordThe words spoken in the voice of a god or an ancestor.
- Home or shrine hallSpaceThe place of the rite.
- Offering
- Object
- Tool
- Word
- Space
Each part has an equal wedge. The ring shows what goes into the rite, not how much. Colour is the part's role.
The steps, drawn
Each drawing shows the kind of act in that step. Details differ from place to place, family to family and practitioner to practitioner.
Step 1: Gather The family sets out the offering table and invites the guests. Step 2: Speak The mudang opens the rite and invites the gods one by one. Step 3: Circle She dances and changes costume for each deity. Step 4: Read The god speaks, giving counsel and blessing through the mudang. Step 5: Offer Food and money are offered at the table. Step 6: Close The spirits are sent back and the food is shared.
How a mudang is made
Many mudang, known as kangshinmu, are believed to have been chosen by the gods after a sickness called shinbyeong, which is cured only by accepting the vocation and undergoing an initiation gut, the naerim-gut. Others, called seseummu, inherit the role through the family, which is more common in the south and on Jeju. The mudang's costumes and tables of offerings carry rich colour, and some rites include the daring dance on blades.
Standing in society
In the Joseon dynasty the mudang were looked down on by Confucian officials and in the 1970s the state's New Community Movement campaigned against shamanism as superstition. Christian groups still oppose it, while the state now lists some guts as intangible cultural heritage. Many Koreans consult a mudang for fortune, and critics warn that fees for a gut can be very high, so people should take care.
What it is for
- Seek luck and health for a family
- Console and send off the dead
- Initiate a new shaman
Who does it
Related entries
Also part of it, and being written: Mudang (The specialist.), Shinbyeong (The calling sickness.).
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Sources and further reading
Original text and drawings by the EveryJaadu desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Closed or sacred detail is left out. If we have something wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Korean shamanism: Steve46814, CC BY-SA 4.0, source