ABSTRACT
The importance of ritual experts known in the ethnographic literature as shamans is well-known for the Aus-tronesian-speaking groups in Taiwan, parts of New Guinea and South-East Asia, and many other areas of the world. These experts, female or male, play leading roles as healers, diviners, and mediators in processes of conflict and the establishment of political power in local contexts. The terms shaman and shamanism are general descriptive or classificatory words that have been extracted originally from particular contexts. Siberia is a classic original area for the study of shamanic practices. Often, it is pointed out that in this area shamanism has to do with hunting. Korea is famous for its shamanic traditions, not confined to hunting contexts, but with a long continuity in both agricultural and urban conditions. Korean shamanism is deeply connected with healing practices, and also with highly aesthetic elaborations of performance, including ritual chants, which can produce interesting comparisons with materials from New Guinea.
