Chugŭm ŭl nŏmŏsŏ: sun’gyoja Yi Suni ŭi okchung p’yŏnji by 정병설 Chŏng Pyŏngsŏl (review)

Abstract

ful and led to interest from art dealers, but has not yet resulted in the inclusion of the paintings in regular art museums or their official recognition as a form of Korean tangible heritage. The combined efforts of these three scholars have produced a nicely illustrated book that combines theoretical sophistication with fascinating ethnographic detail and makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the material aspects of religion. It may also be a spur to systematically extend a similar approach to other objects used in Korean shamanic ritual, such as musical instruments (e.g. drums, hand bells, cymbals), or the razor-sharp straw-cutters on which the shamans stand when the shamans possessed by a deity deliver their oracles. The latter will be honed before the ritual by an assistant, but as powerful numinous objects should not be touched by an outsider. All these objects are also supposed to possess potential power, over both humans and the spirit world.