Week 2: Mind, Body, and Spirit

Week 2: Spirit Healers
ASA 189B
Franchesca Flores

Photo by Breast Cancer Yoga Blog, "Mind, Body, Spirit, Balance," by Breast Cancer Authority Staff

Before reading and learning what a shaman is, I would identify them similarly to a priest, just in another culture and practice. It was refreshing to learn about this topic first hand, from someone who is one and practices it themselves. In the reading, Korean Shamanism, by Chongho Kim, they explain their argument of the fine line between a shaman’s work and the field of health care. Kim begins by explaining their original hypothesis that shamanism was informally apart of the health-care system because people that would seek them would describe their illnesses to shamans, and in some cases, they would be healed. 

Humbly, they composed the essay, Korean Shamanism, and debunked their original hypothesis by defining the difference between the two. Kim states that shamanism is not a health-care practice, since they are not healed by biomedicine or herbal medicine. In fact, shamans are healers and travelers, that assist people through their misfortune and ill-luck that they may be facing from lineage. 

Prior to this quarter, I took a class called Decolonizing Spirit (CHI148), where we would discuss about different ways of healing through specific topics, some through ceremony, and other through herbal treatment. Similarly, Houa Lor was describing the altar for the ceremony where there are specific tools and supplies used and placed. In the Chi class, we also had an altar provided for offerings to our ancestors and the universe, in addition to the main elements. So the question I would pose is, “Are there offerings provided to the altar from the people receiving the healing other than the tools and supplies used?”