Snowdon - 4/26/22 - The Dual Role of Spiritual Leaders in Traditional Societies

 4/26/22


My research paper revolved around a comparative evaluation of traditional Hmong and Korean shamanism. One interesting aspect of these cultural folk religions which I came across over the course of my research was the dual-role of the shamans, as community and spiritual leaders. This is not exactly a unique point, as we might point to many modern religious institutions in the same light: church daycares, mosque-affiliated after-school programs, etc. When reading about the various rituals and ceremonies which the shamans presided over, however, it was interesting to see which of these involved the whole community, and often had the shaman alongside the local elders, and which were for a certain individual, and were often more involved on the part of the shaman.


A good example of this could be seen in New Year’s observances. In the Hmong tradition, the New Year’s celebration involved a gathering of the entire community, where the shaman would direct the people in going about their ritual, to ensure that everyone was where they ought to be at the right time, and orchestrated each step of the way, with sacrifices, prayers, and blessings in turn. Of course, this is, itself, a spiritual role, but it is clear that the shaman’s primary function is as a community figure alongside the elders, and this culminates in a feast with the shaman sitting alongside said elders.


Of course, the presence of multiple members of the community is not what differentiates the social and spiritual side of things; the Korean shaman will conduct rituals which involve entering into an ecstatic trance before a group of onlookers. Even this, however, shows the shaman in a more elevated station, performing duties which only they have the right to, in addition to more secular duties like that detailed before. A Hmong example offers a more stark contrast, highlighting the station of healer, where the shaman will enter into a trance state with their eyes veiled for up to two hours, searching the spiritual plane for whatever the solution to the present ailment may be.

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