Kut in Korea VS Zar in Egypt (굿과 자르)

 

Today I wanted to share the similarity between the Kut ritual of Korea and the Zar ritual of Egypt. Both aim to get rid of bad luck and protect people from evil spirits. Zar usually takes place in a big room; participants will often rent a house for the purpose. Similarly, Kut takes place in a Shaman's shrine or the possessed/case's home. A Zar altar (a round tray placed on a tall bench in the center of the room covered with white cloth and laden with piles of nuts and dried fruits) is important. The leader of the ritual is usually a female who has inherited the skills from her mother. She is titled "Kodia" and plays a vital role in the ritual performance and the contacting of Jinn. Men can contribute to the ritual by playing music, just like in Kut.

The possessed woman/case in Zar wears a white jalabiya – and this may be a point of difference, as I don't know whether in Kut the subject  should wear white or not.

The musical instruments used during Zar are the Tabla, Def, Tambourine, Req and Cymbals.

The Kodia is a trained singer. She is supposed to know the songs and rhythms of each spirit. The Kodia keeps monitoring the whole process in order to spot the reactions of the subject and distinguish the specific possessing spirit. While the subject moves in circles around the altar with eyes half closed, forgetting about their surroundings. The movement increases in intensity with the drumming. Then the subject may free her soul and body. Once she falls down, losing consciousness, the Kodia gets the blood of a sacrificial animal - mainly chickens - and covers the subjects head with blood. Other times, they slaughter the animals above the head, to make a deal with the spirits to quit the body. I hate the animal scrafice - that's why I cut it from the videos I posted.