"Mudang" is used mostly, but not exclusively, for female shamans. Male shamans are called by a variety of names, including "sana mudang" (literally "male "mudang"") in the Seoul area, or "baksu mudang", also shortened "baksu" ("doctor", "healer"), in the Pyongyang area. According to some scholars, "baksu" is an ancient authentic designation of male shamans, and locutions like "sana mudang" or "baksu mudang" are recent coinages due to the prevalence of female shamans in recent centuries. "Baksu" may be a Korean adaptation of terms loaned from Siberian languages, such as "baksi", "balsi" or "bahsih".