This study aims at analyzing the process where the ritual meaning is given to shamanism food, which holds religious implications, based on the stages of food ingredient choice and preparation. It also intends to analyze how shamanism belief system has been represented in food while the food is consumed in the ritual.
In shamanism, food not only serves as a symbol in the ritual. It is also recognized as one of the most important ceremonial foods, which represent both the faithfulness contained in the process from selecting food ingredients to producing food and the holiness revealed on the altar. The food must be shared at the end of the ritual. The holiness in that process lies in the taboo. The taboo itself symbolizes that the religious meaning has already been given to the process.
Food sources to be used at the shamanistic rituals would be selected based on the characteristics of the god. In other words, the shamanism belief system is reflected at the phase of choosing food ingredients. The production of food has been seen as an important religious practice through which believers can show their faithfulness to the god to receive the god’s blessings. Furthermore, in the context that the ceremonial foods are divine when compared with daily foods, there are some limits in the production of the ceremonial foods in terms of timing, space, attitude and prohibition of tasting and use of certain tools. In the process of producing the food, some could experience mysterious phenomenon.
When the altar is set out in the holy place for the consumption of food, the dishes are arranged according to the shamanistic value system and served based on the characteristics of the god during the ritual. With the placement of Jangeomgu, Gut-Chung (a temporary shrine of exorcism) is seen as a holy place where the religious ceremony is held. In most cases, with the food set out on the altar, the holiness of the shrine becomes more evident. It is understood that the food, set out in the sacred place where religious rituals take place, reveals the hierarchy of the gods and visualizes the shamanism belief system. Among the foods served for the gods invited to the ritual, it is the rice cake and sacrifice that reveals the ritualistic symbol in the most remarkable way. The rice cake set out on the altar is identified as the symbol of the god in question, and becomes subject to Eumbok (partaking of sacrificial food and drink) at the end of the ritual. The sacrifice(犧牲) is favored by general gods or the god of Excellency. The enshrinement of sacrifice can be considered one of the key rituals for a playing god(娛神) in the shamanistic rituals.
Food used in the shamanistic rituals also represents the viewpoints of god in shamanism. There are a wide range of gods in shamanism, and those gods are classified based on their favorite foods, such as the Sosin(소신, gods of purity) who do not favor the liquor and meat and the Yuksin (육신, meat-eating gods) who do favor the wine and meat. Furthermore, food is viewed as the important medium for communication between the god and people, thereby reflecting the shamanism belief system. In other words, the gods in shamanism are believed to recognize human beings show sincerity to the gods through the visible materials such as food. In the shamanistic rituals, when served by people, the gods provide food for those people in return. This food is a symbol that means the gods answer the prayers of the people. It can be said that the gods and human beings have maintained the mutually reciprocal relationship through the mutual exchange of food.
In shamanism, the ceremonial foods set out on the altar should not be simply perceived as the object to be partaken at the end of the ritual. The shamanistic ritual is the community ceremony to dedicate food to the gods. In that perspective, divinity is already granted to the food when it is prepared. Various taboos exist and the physical and mental attitudes of those who prepare food are important. As a result, the food prepared for the ritual is already seen as a divine symbol and called the ceremonial foods by believers. Partaking of such ceremonial foods at the end of ceremony is regarded as sharing parts of the sacred body of the god, and it is believed that the gods will grant the wishes of believers who shared the holy body of the god. In that perspective, partaking of ceremonial foods is considered a symbolic act to strengthen the bond between the god and people.