USC Pacific Asia Museum

1. Allan Roman Reyes
Object Fact Sheet
Korean Gallery
Object Description:
Shaman Mirror
If a man asked, “What must I do among other men in this everyday world?”
Confucianism supplied the answer: “Rely on the wisdom of the past, correctly
interpreted.” The role of the Confucian gentleman was that of the responsible
citizen, aware of his duties to his civilization and of his relationship to the eternal
powers that both threatened and preserved him. This relationship was dramatized
by the state religion and elucidated by the Confucian arts of philology and history.
If a man asked, “What is my place in nature?” Taoism supplied the answer: “You are
part of it, and must understand its subtle ways to your own advantage.” From this
understanding came technology and natural science, a sense of the relativity of
human values in the great scheme of things, an awareness of the idleness of
ambition, and a vision of eternity anticipated in wild places, in gardens, in painting
and in poetry.
If a man asked, “What can I hope for beyond this world?” Buddhism supplied the
answer: “Search the holy scriptures for the truth about the illusions of appearances
and the goading of your passions.” It was possible to understand the very nature of
existence itself, and to base a morality on that understanding; a Buddhist could
contemplate the character of the mind and the possibility of real knowledge and find
faith and hope beyond transient human codification.

2. If a man was asked, “What about the unknown on this world?” Shamanism supplied
the answer, and supplied a new question, “What can I know about this world?” The
shaman acts as an intermediary between the unknown and the known, the spiritual
and the secular, the intuitive and the logical. They also mediate crossings in the
world of man: from childhood, to adolescence, to adulthood, the three periods are
reflected in states that the shaman passes through, and becomes a sensory
crystallization of the times. The shaman uses different means to alter his mind
chemically to enable him to attain extra-sensory solutions.
Many shamans wear traditional costume and one of the most noticeable features is
the metal discs which are tied onto it. These discs are the shaman’s mirrors which
are generally made of bronze and sometimes thousands of years old. Shaman
mirrors have always held a magical as well as a practical purpose. They are used to
ward off and reflect evil, and they have played an important part in traditional Feng
Shui, where they are used both to reflect negative influences, and alter the shapes of
things to increase positive influences.
Bibliography: http://www.3worlds.co.uk/Articles/Shamans-Mirrors.pdf
Script:
Hi, my name is Allan and I am a docent here at the USC Pacific Asia Museum. Today I
am also your flight attendant  We’ve landed in Korea. Does anyone know where in
the world Korea is? Is anyone Korean or know about Korean traditions?
In Korea, there are different beliefs like there is here in America such as Catholicism
and Buddhism. What the USC Pacific Asia Museum does is allow you to see some of
these in objects representing them. Today in front of us we have an object that shows
us one of Korea’s traditional beliefs called Shamanism.
Shamans are like priests but instead of prayer they use different techniques (such as
chanting) to ask spirits for help. Shamans sometimes go into trances in order to be
able to bring messages from the spirit world. Shamans contact many different spirits
in many different ways; these spirits sometimes are nature spirits or spirits of dead
ancestors. The shaman uses his power to heal, communicate, and tell people about the
future. The shaman uses tools like this object to help him with his work. Can anyone
tell me what they think this is and how it was used?