Mu-Ga: The Ritual Songs of the Korean Mudangs

by Sok-Chae Im (Editor), Alan C. Heyman (Editor)

This work is mainly comprised of a translation into English of four complete large-scale Korean Shaman ritual songs transcribed from tape recordings, which, until the present time, have remained either entirely untranslated, or, if otherwise, are only quoted in the form of brief excerpts in a few short articles. The song contents cover a broad regional spectrum which contain invaluablematerials related to Korean folklore, mythology, literature, history, and religion, and offer deep insight into a facet of Korean culture that has remained largely overlooked and unexplored.

Paperback

First published October 1, 2003

Reviews

[Chris Feldman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the occasionally bizarre translation (sorry, but "doth goeth" is not proper English in any century), this is a fascinating collection of interest not only to Korean scholars but also and perhaps especially to researchers on shamanism and folk religion around the world.