The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-08-02

I
 or the worship of tutelar spirits, is ir
 reality the dominant influence, the only
 religion of the Korean people. When the proposition for the cree tion Of some house or building is made
 we find the Spirit of the Site" must 1 De propitiated, which involves also in- vocation for the goodwin of the Spirits of the Ridge Pole,'' as well as
 the Spirits of the goods and furniture and even of the kitchen.
 The Spirits are thought to be shining lights circunafulgent and requisite tc
 every sphere of life. Should it be that some one is seized with a, malady, the Spirit to whose malignant influence
 the sickness is due has to be besought
 to leave the afflicted person.
 Take man desiring to attain high degreef Of bravery, there are Spirits whose aid may be obtained, and even in the case of a woman being child
 less Cthere is no greater misfortune
 which can befall a, Korean, than to be denied a son). the coveted blessing may be relied upon if the help of the good Mountain Spirits be obtained
 There are spirits of high and low rank, outcast spirits, spirits benevolent and malevolent, spirits of the heavens, Of the earth. of the dragons, of the Great Bear, of trees and so on ad in fnitun; all have their influence upon
 
 THE FUNCTIONS OF A MUDANG.
 To invoke the blessing of those spir- its which are good and ward off all oth- CTS the aid of a .sMudang'' (sorceress or witch) is employed. She is the me diura of communication between men and spirits. The office of sorceress is
 the very lowest in the social grade.' They are cunning, shrewd observers of mankind and consuTnmate actresses. The 11e nd perstitiousness of those with w1a om they come in contact form important factors in the dramas in which they are the chief performers. That witch may herself be as credulous and SUI perstitious as any of those on whose behalf she acts is probable and in some cases certain.
 A sorceress' services may take any of three forms, the ceremonial observ- ed being dependent upon the length of her employers purse. If the person de- siring her services be poor, the cere- mony will take place at his house; for those who will pay somewhat higher rates, the witch's house is available, and in the case of the more wealthy the ceremonies can be carried out at Tang or Shrine. In every instance food has to be provided, and on ac- count of this it is cheaper for the poor to prepare it for themselves, as the cost of doing it at the sorceress' house or at the Shrine amounts to high fig re
 When a soreeress. is requisitioned. she must first prepare herself by a the coming ceremony, the period of preparation varying from three days to a. month, according to the rank of the spirit to be evoked
 When employed to drive out some spirit causing sickness, she must walk I..1 val there she dresses in fantastic at tire, often that of man. Taking wa ter in which ashes have been steeped, sprin1zIing it in front of her, she march es round the house. This is done to gain the good will Of the Spirit of the Ridge Pole, the chief of the spirits ex- ercising influence over the home. She then enters the house and arranges the sacrffciaI food in order. This done, | assistants who have accompanied her beat drums, gongs and scymbals in or der to summon the spirit she is about to invoke.
 The sorceress now commences to dance, to caper about and to 1tap into the air; the while she calls aloud for | the spirit to come Little by little she | arrives at a state of uncon trollab1e ex- eitement amounting to frenzy, where upon the spectators conclude that the spirit has entered into her and that | her utterances are those of that spirit
 Screaming out she mentions the name of the spirit who now possesses her, | gives directions to the treatment | of the sick man and states what fur 5her sum of money must be paid to affect a cure.
 After receiving the thanks of the patient and being assured of the addf- ,ionaI payment, she resumes her fran .ic Ieapings to allow the spirit leaving ler. Quite suddenly she becomes quies- cent, not even troubling herself to pre- end exhaustion or otherwise show signs of her late s'visitation.''
 The whole thing is a pa1pab1e per 'ormance, but the Korean is too gross Y superstitious to see through it. This procedure concludes with the consump- ion of the food by the sorceress and he members of the household.
 THE SMALLPOX SPIRIT.
 There is one disease which is very lreaded by them. namely, small pox- Like every other malady, it is sup posed to be caused by demoniacal session, but stands alone in having peciaI spirit whose oversight it enjoys This spirit is the one that is feared nore than any other. When called lpon to deal with this imperious per onage, the sorceress dons a soldiers lat and carries bells in her hands; the ceremony Of dancing is enacted and numerous regulations are laid down or the guidance of the household and -lso for the neighbors.
 No individual in the house may o1nb his or her hair, wear new clothes, weep the house, nor bring any goods nto 1t. If any one in the immediate uses axe or a ham ner each blow will leave an extra +ock-mark. If any sewing is done in he house, the patient will have to uffer the more. Other than the food 1 nered to the Spirit of Smallpox, no acriffce may be arranged for, since 1t s better to starve the spirits of the 1 ncestors than that they should catch i he disease while visiting their former l omes.
 Black beans may not be eaten by ], , v.aov31a rf tho 1,o11se with their rice 1