The Musical Faces of South Korea’s East Coast Shaman Tradition: An Exploration into Personal Style Formation and Expression

Abstract

The hereditary shamans of South Korea’s East Coast region foster a style of ritual that is well noted for its complex, often highly virtuosic, percussion music. Looking beyond the shared norms that hold this tradition together, this study valorises the varied contributions of individual ritualists. It pinpoints the defining characteristics of their performance ‘faces’—the constellation of resemblances and deviations that mark them out as distinctive—and sheds light on the various learning experiences, socio-musical loyalties and rivalries, and personalities that are registered in those faces. Focusing on three generations of ritualists from a single troupe, music analysis and the ritualists’ own testimonies, this study reveals some markedly contrasting takes on tradition. While insights drawn from niche theory help to clarify how competition has encouraged diversification, this enquiry’s most significant contribution is to probe deeper and demonstrate how the musicians’ innermost ways of thinking are registered in their musical choices. Extrapolating from case-study findings, a broadly applicable model of personal style formation and expression is also outlined.