according to the Dang-p,,i, Wus somatic suffering had something to

do with the problem involving him, his wife, and his mother (his
foster f~the~s first wife), and that he was advised to worship his deceased
mother as the solution to his problem.
When his wife was pregnant and nearing her delivery date, Wu
became very apprehensive about his wifes fate. In the face of such
a situation, and coincidentally at the time the old Dang-gi died and

the elders were looking for a new candidate, Wu experienced the

episode of falling into a trance. As a consequence, he was elected
as a ~7~n~-~a candidate. Thus, by becoming a Dang-gi himself, he

would be available at all times to solve all the problems that might
confront his wife. Otherwise, he might have difficulty finding a Dang -gi
to rescue his wife, the exact misfortune that had ended the life of
his mother before. Besides, by succeeding the particular old Dang-gi
who had refused to serve his mother, Wu was, in a way, avenging
his mothers death; he was now as great and omnipotent as the old
cruel Dang-gi.
Shamanism has attracted psychiatrists attention because ofthe similar-
ity between hysterical dissociation and the shamans trance. In both
conditions, the individuals experience a personality change and trend
to claim amnesia for the dissociated episode; neither holds himself
responsible for behavior occurring during the episode. The premorbid
personality of both the hysteric and the shaman have been considered
to be theatrical, suggestible, immature, and suspicious. Nevertheless,
there is a major difference between the shaman and the hysterical
patient in that the hysterical reaction occurs in response to the patients
personal problem, while the shaman is capable of controlling the trance
and can enter and leave at will. Although, as the case history illustrates,
the shamans trance may serve personal needs, important religion-social
functions for the community are served as well. In other words, a
shaman may be emotionally sick or may be susceptible to emotional
breakdown; however the shaman is not a &dquo;psychiatric patient&dquo; when
he is properly functioning as a shaman within his sociocultural environ-
ment.

ANALYTISCH-PSYCHOLOGISCHE STUDIE ÜBER DIE

KULTISCHE BEHANDLUNG DER TOTENGEISTER IM
KOREANISCHEN SCHAMANISMUS (Analytical Psychological
Study Regarding the Treatment of the Spirits of the Dead in Korean
Shamanistic Cults) by BOU-YONG RHI. The New Medical Journal
13, no. 1 (1970): 79-94. (In Korean.)
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 In this paper the author, a Korean analyst of the Jungian school, com-
pares the therapeutic process of Jungian analytic psychology with that
of shamanistic healing in Korea. There are many similarities, but a
major difference between the two procedures is the fact that shamans
fail to recognize the psychological significance and symbolic meanings
of bad spirits (the autonomic complexes of Jungs unconscious). The
author describes a shamanistic ceremony called Zinoki to illustrate
the therapeutic process underlying shamanistic healing and concludes
that the human unconscious has universal meanings and needs beyond
and above the cultural, social, or religious overlays.
The Zinoki ceremony is a ritual to appease the spirits of the dead
which, according to Korean belief, hold a grudge against or bear a
resentment at the living and, therefore, are a common cause of misfor-
tune and disease. The spirits of the dead constantly desire to be com-
forted. The two objectives of the ceremony are: (i) to cure the afflicted
person by removal of the bad ancestral spirits which possess him, and
(2) to prevent their return with their misfortune and disease-producing
effects.
The Zinoki ceremony has been practiced among shamanistic
believers in and around Seoul. Analogous to psychotherapy it consists
of three processes: (a) presentation of symptoms, (b) diagnosis by means
of deity-inspired divination, and (c) treatment,. As stated before, the
treatment is aimed at appeasing the spirits of the dead. Curative ele-
ments in the ceremony are suggestion, &dquo;spiritual talks,&dquo; persuasion
by illustrative stories, olering sacrifices, et cetera.
The spirits of the dead are usually those of ancestors who died of
sudden illness or accident, in childbirth, or as virgins,
The ceremony proceeds as follows. To begin with, the shaman
(Mudang) cleanses the ceremonial ground and offers a feast to various
demons. During the divination the shaman is endowed with super-
natural powers. The spirit of the dead is then invoked and welcomed.
Next &dquo;soul talks&dquo; take place during which, in a state of possession
by the ancestral spirit, the shaman, or members of the patients family,
impersonate the spirit of the dead. Songs are performed and there
is dancing and a good deal of weeping. An encounter is construed
and experienced between the spirit of the dead and the living person
icted by the spirit. Through the mouth of the shaman the deceased
ancestor then recounts the incident or the illness which led to his
or her death. Dramatically, for instance, the shaman may reenact the

ancestors d~~~ni~~. subsequently, the possessions of the dead person

which were not used in his lifetime are spread out by his family and

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are used, as it were, to complete his life and to assuage his rancor.
Often the whole family passes into a trance. As stated before, therapeu-
tic use is made of illustrative stories, such as the story about Pari
Kongju, the first shamaness who acquired shaman status through long
suffering and mental strain, This story briefly is as follows:
Pari Kongju was born as the seventh princess to a noble king and queen as prophesied.
The king became enraged with her because the queen had not borne a son and threw
the princess into the sea. She was rescued by Buddha and entrusted to an old childless
couple. She returned to her sick parents, but left home again and traveled through
hell (active stiffering) to get the secret herb which could give everlasting life to the
elderly king and queen. She ascended to heaven to meet a noble master whom she
married, and then returned to her parents kingdom, where she revived her dead
king and queen. Then she became the true shaman.
The author postulates that Pari Kongju represents the anima conflict in women in
a traditionally male-centered
society. She is the persona of the complex which could
be resolved by understanding the hidden symbols in the collective unconscious.

Finally, farewell is bid to the spirits, and sacrifices are offered.

The shaman spreads four separate long pieces of cloth symbolically
bridging heaven and earth. Heceremonially cuts them withaknife, final-
izing the separation of the dead from the living. The participants burn
some of the spirits belongings or a doll who symbolically represents

the dead person.

The philosophy underlying the ceremony is that the unhappy spirit
of the ancestor who departed prematurely is wandering around between
heaven and earth harassing members of his family because of the per-
sons sense of frustration, vengeance, or grudge. The disease is believed
to be due to the harassment by the spirit. Curing of the disease can
be accomplished by appeasing the spirits of the dead and by sending
them to heaven.
As previously stated, Rhi correlates the Zinoki ceremony with the
Jungian therapeutic process. Its first stage is equivalent to making
the unconscious conscious, and the second stage to the reexperience of
the archetypal complex for conflictual resolution. The third concluding
stage is sending the purified product of the archetype once again to
the collective unconscious.
In so-called primitive cultures, Rhi argues, mental illness has been
regarded as a mythical phenomenon and to treat it people devised
remedies in accordance with their culture. The parallel between native
healer-patient relationship in the primordial culture and the
psychiatrist-mental patient relationship in modern society has been
widely accepted. The contemporary psych otherapeutic process with
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 its psycho-socio dynamics is comparable to primitive procedures to
resolve hidden emotional conflicts by means of appeasement of bad
spirits.
The &dquo;healing powers,&dquo; whether practiced by psychiatrist or shaman,
are derived from his status and role in that particular society and
his function as mediator-healer. Accordingly Boyer (1964) defined a
shaman as &dquo;an individual who is considered to possess supernatural
power which supports and is supported by the common values of the
culture.&dquo; The status of a shaman in a given society is well controlled
by its culture and values. Shamans accept modern medicine but only
to some extent. They believe that modern medical treatment deals
superficially with symptoms only and leaves the underlying spiritual
disease untouched.
The abstractor suggests further exploration of healing ceremonies
as regards frequency, popularity, and success rate.

H. A. Kim

REFERENCE

BOYER, L. B. 1964. Further remarks concerning shamans and shamanism. Israel Ann.
Psychiat. and Rel. Disc. 2, no. 2: 235-57.

GRENADE-AMOK: MODERN VIOLENCE IN LAOS by JOSEPH

WESTERMEYER. Paper presented at the 5th World Congress of
Psychiatry, Mexico City, November 1971. Mimeograph, 16 pp.
Amok, a syndrome described in several southeast Asian countries,

is also well known in Laos. In the last ten years it has appeared there
in a new form: the sudden wholesale killing and maiming of unsuspect-
ing victims with hand grenades. It may or may not be followed by
the suicide of the amok person.,
In this paper the social and psychological factors behind grenade-
amok are examined. The results are based on extensive studies of
eighteen cases, including interviews with surviving amok persons and
their families and with key informants in the community.
All the amok persons were young men, either soldiers or militiamen,
and all had easy access to hand grenades. These men were sons of
peasants who had drifted into larger towns, and they di~e~ed from
their fathers in both occupation and education. None had gross psychiat-
ric pathology prior to the amok incident, though many evidenced traits
of immaturity and ir~pulsavity. The precipitating event was some kind
of loss, whether of wife, girl friend, money, or prestige. Amok usually

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