ABSTRACT
Korean shamans (mansin) deploy many theatrical forms to make the gods and ancestors an active and sometimes playful, sometimes angry, sometimes tearful presence. By so doing, they satisfy these otherwise unseen entities and win their benevolent regard. They use voice, gestures and dance, facial affect, music, and a variety of performing objects, from theatrical weapons to the improvisational utilization of quotidian things, such as household bowls and whiskey bottles. Most of this material works as props but some—straw dolls, gourds, shaking branches, clothing—become presences in ways that could be considered puppetry. For the purposes of this discussion, I follow a body of contemporary writing where “puppet” is broadly construed as an object intended to convey, sometimes in uncanny ways, a sense of animate life beyond its innate material potential. The results of this exploration are not uniform and suggest places where puppet-like activities are more and less significant in the realization of a shamanic encounter. In both instances, they shed light on how the ritual is meant to work.
