Salt
Salt being transporte by camel train on Lake Assale (Karum) in Ethiopia 2017Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
‘Salt
is like good humour, and nearly everything is better for a pinch of it.’ Louisa
May Alcott (1832 – 1888)
Before
the advent of industrialisation, the procuring of salt in the immense
quantities required for food preservation was labour-intensive and expensive.
Salt farmers harvesting salt in Thailand 2011 Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Iron Age
Britons produced salt through evaporation, boiling salt water in clay pots over
open fires. Later, Romans boiled larger
volumes of water in large lead-lined pans.
Salt routes existed from pre-historic times to move salt from the point
of production to areas requiring it.
In the
Middle Ages (5th to 15th
centuries) roads were built to transport salt. Some of them are still in existence.
The Old Salt Route (Alte Salzstraße)
in Northern Germany was a mediaeval trade route between the salt mines of Lüneburg
in the north and Lübeck on the Baltic Sea coast. Another famous salt road is
the Via Salaria which carried Roman salt from Ostia to other parts of Italy.
Salt harvesting, Lake Bumbunga, South Australia, late 1940s Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
The
Droitwich Salt Way was a trade route to the south-east of England. Brine bubbled
up from the ground naturally and the salt content was twenty times greater than
in sea water. The Salt Way was used from the Iron Age and throughout the Roman
and mediaeval periods. Today it is a public footpath between Droitwich Spa and
Blisworth in Northamptonshire.
Badwater Salt Flats, Death Valley, California, 2020
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Historically,
salt was an important and very valuable commodity and it production was strictly
regulated. In the 6th century Moorish merchants traded one ounce of salt
for one ounce of gold and in Africa, cakes of salt were used as currency. Salt field worker, Slovenia, 2009 Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Salt taxes have caused unrest across the
world. In France the oppressive tax, or gabelle, on salt caused resentment and
was one of the causes of the French Revolution (1789 – 1799) The gabelle was abolished in 1790 but reinstated by
Napoleon in 1806 to raise money for his military campaigns. It was eventually
abolished in 1945.
Meanwhile,
in India during the British Raj, 1858 – 1947, the British Government had a
monopoly on salt production and distribution. It was heavily taxed and became a
substantial source of revenue for Britain. Indians considered the tax unjust and repressive.
Sifto Salt Mine, Goderich, Ontario, Canada, 2018 Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
In 1930
Mahatma Gandhi led a march to the coast at Dandi to protest against the ban on
Indians making or selling salt. When he reached the coast after 23 days, he
violated the law by making salt at the seashore. Thereafter, people across the
country followed Gandhi’s example and began producing their own salt. Gandhi’s march
became known as the Salt March or Salt Satyagraha and was an important turning
point in the struggle for independence.
National Salt Satyagraha Memorial, 2020 Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
There is
a mistaken belief that Roman soldiers were paid in salt rather than money. They
were certainly issued with salt as part of their recompense but it was not
their only payment. Salarium (salt ration)
is the origin of the word ‘salary’.
Himalayan salt, 2020
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
There are
many beliefs and superstitions associated with salt, the commonest probably being
that it is bad luck to spill salt. The ancient Sumerians negated it by throwing
a pinch of the spilled salt over their left shoulder. The ritual spread to the
Egyptians, the Assyrians and later, the Greeks. It reflected how much salt is valued.
In the
later Christian tradition, spilling salt was thought to be an invitation to the
Devil to enter your life and cause havoc. The Devil lurks behind one’s left
shoulder, waiting for a way in. Tossing a pinch of salt directed it into the
Devil’s eyes, making him blind and powerless. Some people believed that throwing
salt over one’s shoulder was an act of purification and healing.
Nowadays,
people do it ‘for luck’ without thinking of the deeper meaning behind the act.
A man ‘not
worth his salt’ is a person considered unreliable or untrustworthy, whereas a
man described as ‘the salt of the earth’ is dependable and worthy. In mediaeval
times, when salt was a precious commodity, it was placed at the centre of the
dining table. The nobles would sit ‘above the salt’, nearest the most important
diners, and those of lesser, more ignominious rank would be seated ‘below the
salt’.
Rock salt, central Poland, 2014 Image courtesy of Wikimedia CommonsThe
ancient Greeks and Romans believed salt was sacred and used it in religious
ceremonies and sacrifices. Salt is also used in Shintoism as a purifier and
Buddhists use salt to ward off evil. Judeo-Christian traditions used salt to
purify and to finalise contracts.
However,
salt could be used in a destructive way. An ancient military practice involved ‘salting
the earth. Salt was spread on the sites of razed cities by their conquerors. It
was a curse to prevent repopulation and meant that no crops could be grown. It was
an act designed to reinforce the victor’s power and his desire to eradicate his
enemies.
Rock salt, Pakistan, 2017 Image courtesy of Wikimedia CommonsFinally,
if you’re advised to take something ‘with a pinch of salt’, it’s a warning that
what you’re being told may not be entirely believable. It is not clear how the phrase
originated but some have credited Pliny the Elder with it. When engaged in writing
the first encyclopaedia, he included a cure for poison, in which one ingredient
was a grain of salt. Over time, the grain grew into a pinch.
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