Dano (단오), Part One
Would you believe that it's already time for another 명절 - an important traditional event - in Korea? Thursday of this week, 28 May, is the fifth day of the fifth month in the lunar calender (음력), which is called Dano (단오). The origins of this day go back to the Warring States period of Chinese history, 476-221BCE, before cultural transmission saw it appear as an annual event within the Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese calenders. However, a quick search online suggests that the modern equivalents in each of these cultures look nothing alike.
My guess is that it's safe to say that the most famous representation of Dano within Korean culture is the image featured above - "Scenery on Dano day" (단오풍정 端午風情) - by the painter Shin Yun Bok (신윤복; pen name Hyewon; 혜원). If the name sounds familiar it's because several of his works are featured in the Gansong Art Museum that I visited last fall.
In the lower left of the painting a group of women are washing themselves in a stream, which may hint at changpotang (창포탕). Changpo is the common name (in Korean) for Acorus calamus, which you might know as sweet flag or calamus in English. Calamus is a sedge that is dug up and boiled in water during Dano, with the resulting liquid used by women to wash or rinse their hair. When Acorus calamus undergoes steam distillation it produces the ether asarone, a fragrant oil used in perfumes. Calamus is even used as a vermifuge in India - effective at removing fleas. According to Choe Sang-su's Annual Customs of Korea, the roots are carved into hair pins for women (창포비녀) that include the words longevity (長壽) or luck (幸運) and are painted vermilion (주홍) in order to chase away bad spirits.
For those looking to try it out for themselves The Face Shop offers changpo shampoos and conditioners, and you can read a review of their products via Ask Me Whats .
New clothes, called Dano-bim (단오빔) were also worn on this day - usually reds and blues - and the Gangneung Danoje Festival (강릉단오제) held in Gangwon-do apparently featured a fashion show on Sunday as a part of their celebrations. On the topic of the Gangneung Danoje Festival, in 1963 it was declared National Immaterial Cultural Heritage No. 13, while in 2005 UNESCO designated it one of the world's "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity".
In tomorrow's installment: swings!
Image from ch45