Salt for Taste, Cocoa for Coffee

3 MIN READ

By RICHARD GIYE
www.nordis.net

A pouch of Salt. A red bean. A charm wood. These are small things tucked in my travel bags. Who would still do this up to this age, I wonder? I grew up in a house with many mundane rituals, so this practice became natural to me.

For instance, Mom will always hug me and pray for me each time I leave our house. In my departure, she would finger the lace of my bag in search of these small trinkets; at times, a small stone in my pocket would do! Then I will just throw it when I get to my destination. My good friend Sir Paul would joke about this, so that I would not kiss the ground whenever I visited a place for the first time, I would carry a charm instead.

Every time I travel to the provinces, I make sure I carry one or two trinkets. These small things are hidden in the pocket – near the signature tag, sewn in a secret button, cross-stitched on the collar, or pinned on a shirt – these, I believe, are totems of a traveler. Others would become grand and carry the holy book, their favorite perfume, their performative novel, their red-stringed bracelet, or simply show off their tattoo. 

I realized, there are just too many elements along the way that would ‘catch our wind’ and drive our soul astray, and that we need a small reminder to be careful, and a kindred thing that would anchor us in a safe place- we call home.

One time, I was travelling to Bontoc when the wind on the Halsema Highway got really cold, dry, and malevolent. I remembered to pinch a small amount of salt and drink it with water before taking a nap. It’s the dampness or the moistness of the place that allowed my body to pass silently and drift in and flow in my dreams. 

At times, I felt like I had accumulated too much heat in my body – from the oven-like weather of the La Trinidad valley where I studied for so long, or the humid sun in the cityscape I lived in, which contrasts with the places I go. So, when travelling north, I do mundane rituals to blend in with the coolness of their sky and tame the difficult wind.

Also, whenever I go to a foreign place and feel homesick, I drop a red bean into my souvenir pouch. In my mind, I saw it withered – eaten by the unseen. And at times, I throw it somewhere, like sowing seed in the wind – just to keep safe and grounded.  To keep me thinking of our humble town in Sadanga. They say it was Lumawig’s creation charm, which also bears the shape of his footprints when he left our mountain many myths ago.

Then I carried a roasted cocoa roll from Abra or the Baguio market. Its earthy, bittersweet taste and natural acidity calm my stomach during travel. I thaw it in warm water; I use it as a sweetener in our brewed coffee. Or I melt it on my tongue to satiate my hunger when, at times, I do not want to eat along the way. I keep three or five pieces, depending on how far away I am, sealed in my small medicine kit with other essentials. It’s a way of neutralizing my food intake.

Food overwhelms us. It’s good to have a taste, a bite, a drink, or a munch of the delicacies of the different food offered to us in places we visit. But I also think our stomach has a rhythm, or a personality, or a conjunction we ought to maintain. It’s often a place of accidental encounter for travelers- that would make or break our journey. 

So, I made a routine to guard the belly of human-centeredness. I carry charm and food trinkets. I respect food stops and carefully choose food that is clean, homy and familiar – if in doubt, I don’t eat. 

I pay homage to food centers too – there’s the public market in Baguio City, there’s the pancake house in Bontoc, there’s slow food in Kalinga, there’s an authentic homestay resto in Banaue, the miki and goto stores in Abra, and if in a rush, there’s the fast food to dine in.

The body is an element. The body is living and moves in rituals, both cultural and mundane. The body is mobile – it walks, travels, and eventually stops. So, make it a journey of care, safety, and worship; we honor its corporeal being while remaining attuned to its spiritual sanctity.#nordis.net