강신무

Korean

Etymology

Sino-Korean word from 降神 (“spirit-conjuring”) + 巫 (“shaman”).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈka̠(ː)ŋɕʰinmu]
• Phonetic hangul: [강(ː)신무]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	gangsinmu
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	gangsinmu
McCune–Reischauer?	kangsinmu
Yale Romanization?	kāngsinmu

Noun

강신무 • (gangsinmu) (hanja 降神巫)

1. (shamanism, academic) a type of shaman or priest in Korean shamanism (Korea's indigenous religion) traditionally found in northern Korea, who are personally directly selected by the gods to serve as their oracles in sessions of trance possession, in contrast to hereditary priests of the south who merely inherit their position and do not have any personal contact with the divine; today the dominant stream of shamanism even in South Korea

   Synonym: 만신(萬神) (mansin)

   Hypernyms: 무속인(巫俗人) (musogin), 무당(巫堂) (mudang); see also Thesaurus:무속인

   Coordinate term: 세습무(世襲巫) (seseummu, “hereditary priest”)