10-1 Senri Expo Park, Suita, Osaka 565-8511, Japan
Tel: +81-(0)6-6876-2151
Gutpan
- KR 0130
- Hwanghae-do
Gutpan is a place of gut, a ritual controlled by a Korean shaman known as a mudang. The plates show the figures of gods the mudang is devoted to. These gods are not omnipotent, but supposedly govern different situations and elements related to human life in this world. For instance, for longevity, you should pray to the seven-star god, to the sakro devanam indrah for wealth and welfare, and for successful fishing and safe navigation, to the dragon god.
 From Shamanic Beliefs to ShamanismIt is supposed that an ethnic united kingdom was established in the Korean Peninsula as early as the 5th century B.C. Shamanistic beliefs formed the basis of spiritual understanding in this kingdom, from its foundation in the 5th century B.C. until the arrival of “ready-made” religions from China in the late 4th century A.D. The kanji character meaning “shaman” comprises an upper horizontal line, representing heaven and the gods; a bottom line, symbolizing the land and people; a vertical line that connects the two horizontal lines; and the symbol for “human” on both sides of the vertical line, representing dancing people. This kanji structure is said to signify the unification of heaven and earth, and gods and humans, through singing and dancing. Today’s shamanism has been formed by mixing Buddhist and Taoist elements with the ancient shamanistic beliefs mentioned above.
Photo: Instruments for farmer’s dance
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