Transcript:

TANOmusic"Not in heaven, not in earth, but you are in mid-sky. Blue hills and green waters seem to swing to and fro. You come as falling flowers, you go as skimming swallows." That ancient poem is in honor of a celebration taking place throughout Korea this month. It's called Tano, a children's festival of swings. I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet.ambience: Korean folk musicIn Korea, Spring traditionally starts after the rice seeds are planted, and swings are hung in preparation for Tano. Dangling from poles and bridges, on the longest ropes that can be found, the swings hang in wait for the fifth day of the fifth moon, when the competitions begin. In rural Korean villages, on the morning of the Tano festival, young girls are told to wash their hair with the dew gathered from a special herb. It's said to make their hair grow wonderfully long, and to give it the freshness of the season. Girls braid their hair and tie it up with a silken ribbon. And then, with colorful dresses billowing behind them, they climb on to the swings and reach for the sky. Straining to swing the highest, at the peak of the arch they reach to ring a bell with their feet or pull a leaf off a tree with their teeth.Now, while the girls swing, shamans may perform a musical rite, and families eat foods dyed rainbow colors. Young boys take part in a form of wrestling that's over a thousand years old. But, Tano is mostly a coming of age event for girls. Traditionally this may be the only time during the year that girls are allowed to be away from their families. So, while the girls are swinging, the boys are often spying, and maybe dreaming of silken-haired maidens soaring through the heavens.I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet.