The fifth day of the fifth moon: 3 holidays warding off evil
A Korean street scene in the late 19th or early 20th century / Robert Neff Collection
In the first week of June 1889, Korea was awash with festive preparations as three nationalities marked different holidays on the third day of the month (the fifth day of the fifth moon on the lunar calendar). The Chinese observed "Duanwu," honoring the patriotic statesman Qu Yuan, who drowned himself in despair over the corruption surrounding him. The Japanese celebrated "Tango no Sekku," a festival for boys meant to ward off evil spirits and promote strength and good health. Koreans observed "Dano," a day to appease and drive away malevolent spirits.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any firsthand accounts of the 1889 celebrations, but we can imagine the streets filled with colors — red being the most prominent. All across the city, crude ghostly faces with red mouths and tongues were drawn and pasted to walls to frighten off evil. In the Japanese districts of Seoul, Jemulpo (modern Incheon), Fusan (modern Busan) and Wonsan, bright banners shaped like carp fluttered over the homes of Japanese families with young sons.
There were many similarities in these three celebrations. The Japanese bathed in water infused with lilies, believing it to purify the bather and guard against illness and misfortune. Korean women washed their hair with calamus root to ward off evil spirits and prevent premature graying. As an additional act of protection, they wore ornamental hairpins painted vermillion.
Korean children play on a swing in the early 20th century / Robert Neff Collection
To protect their homes from evil influences, the Chinese hung mugwort and calamus in their doorways, wove five-colored threads into bracelets for their children and sewed fragrant herb sachets into their clothing. Japanese boys probably carried miniature swords, and displayed armor and other military trappings in hopes of instilling strength and courage.
One popular way for Korean men and boys to demonstrate their strength and manliness was through ssireum (Korean wrestling). Bets were frequently made on the outcome of the matches and at the larger events, the champion was sometimes awarded an ox.
While the boys were wrestling, the girls were playing on swings. Actually, that is not quite true — men and boys also participated. According to Horace N. Allen, an American missionary who arrived in Korea in late summer 1884, strong swings were suspended from sturdy trees, or if trees were not available, massive frames were built and topped with boughs. Often, several men would swing at once, reaching astonishing heights.
A large swing in northern Korea in 1940 / Robert Neff Collection
Because of social norms of the time, Allen likely did not witness many girls on the swings. However, the daughter of a gold miner recalled the swinging day (Dano) as one of her fondest memories of Korea:
“On that day the young girl put on her gayest raiment and went with her playmates and the women to the hillsides where for this occasion swings were hung from the branches of the pine trees. The hills behind Puk-Chin village seemed a garden with little maids in bright hued garments, rose-red jackets and cornflower-blue skirts, dresses white as the opium poppy, or yellow as lilies. Green frocks fluttered like leaves tossed in the wind. Black eyes sparkling, these little recluses in their long-roped swings flew far out over the ravine then back again and up until they seemed lost in the branches above. Throughout the long warm day they frolicked, the cuckoos calling to them from the trees. Midnight found them still swinging in the light of the crescent moon.”
As with the other activities, swinging played an important role in protection of the Korean people: it was thought to help mitigate the swarms of mosquitoes that plagued the country during the summer.
Food was also an important part of the celebrations. Koreans enjoyed suritteokk, or mugwort-flavored rice cakes. The Chinese prepared zongzi — rice dumplings filled with red bean paste and wrapped in bamboo leaves. The Japanese celebrated with kashiwa mochi — a rice cake filled with red bean paste and wrapped with oak leaves. Of course, alcohol would have also been abundant.
Prayers and sacrifices would have also been made at the respective temples and shrines. In 1900, McCargar, an American gold miner in northern Korea, described in a letter to his parents a ritual he had witnessed:
“They stretch a cloth awning in some convenient place and under it sit tables spread with quantities of their best food, to please the Devil and gain his good will so he won’t cause them trouble.”
A female shaman then appeared, beating a drum to “entice the Devil out of the sick,” and was “accompanied by men and boys carrying banners made of laced tissue paper and great bunches of big tissue paper flowers.” After beating the drum for some time, she then left — apparently having driven away the malevolent spirits.
McCargar continued: “The feast remains standing for a certain time and then, as they are an economic people, and the devil don’t seem to have a good appetite, everyone turns to and eats up the food.”
While the evil spirits in 1900 might have been appeased, they clearly weren’t in 1889.
In the early hours of June 3, “the premises of a Chinese storekeeper in Seoul were entered, looted, and then burned to the ground, and the only man who was on the premises was murdered.”
According to Japanese and Chinese newspapers:
“This store is quite distant from any other Chinese or other foreign dwelling, and the robbers were not molested. Suspicion points to some of the Chinese roughs who have been flocking over from Chefoo for the last six months, and if the Chinese Minister wished he could most likely place his hands on the thieves without much trouble, as it is supposed that the entire contents of the store were carried away. The value of the goods and store is about $7,000.”
Large rewards were offered for information leading to the apprehension of the murderer and his accomplices, but it is unclear if they were ever caught.
This year, the fifth day of the fifth moon falls on May 31. Considering the political and financial turmoil in the world today, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try some of the old methods of the past for warding off the evils of the present.
My appreciation to Diane Nars for her invaluable assistance.