ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses ways in which violence functions at the core of Chinese and Korean shamanic ritual worlds. Rites ward off multiple forms of destructive violence: physical, psychological, cultural, social, and spirit-initiated. To do so, they employ multiple forms of pragmatic constructive violence: symbolic, cathartic, creative, transformative, celebratory. Focusing on various facets of the violence involved in shamanic and para-shamanic rites, the chapter seeks to shed light on the dynamics of the rites and the vital nature of the worlds they embody. It presents rites namely, Oroqen hunting rite, Naxi sacrificial rite to worship heaven, Yi sacrificial rite for family well-being, Seoul initiation rite, Seoul family rite, Jeju Island's family rite and Korean death rite. The Oroqen rite raises the hunt's violence to the centre of a world of ecological spirit-harmony. The Naxi rites use sacrificial violence and dance battle to maintain harmony with ancestors and transform the socio-spirit violence of love-suicide into an artistically pleasing celebration.
