Article 1, March 21, 2009
Salt is essential for normal body functionality and
nutrition, not only in humans but in all animals. The human body balances around a 0.9% concentration of NaCl,
sodium chloride, commonly know as salt.
By maintaining this salinity within the body, the internal environment
functions properly; transmitting nerve impulses, facilitating muscle
contraction including the heart,
preserving a proper acid-base balance, signaling and controlling
hydration and body temperature, even providing the basis for digestion to begin
in the esophagus and stomach. Without
salt, quite simply the body could not continue functioning.
The cool, even amazing thing is, the body will let
us know when we need to replenish our salt supply. It should be understood that a healthy, functioning body will
receive all the salt it needs from a balanced diet. But, overexertion or even a day of not respecting the ‘normal’
diet can happen, throwing off the salt balance within the body. It is then that we notice the bodies
inherent alert system… we suddenly have a craving for salt. Thus, by listening to the body, we know that
we need to fill up again in order to maintain balance.
For humans, though, the essentiality of salt has
developed beyond bodily function. Salt
also became essential for sustenance.
Okay, yes, we do need salt to survive, but above and beyond that, we
need food. Nowadays with Ralph’s,
Trader Joes, etc. combined with our refrigerators and freezers, food storage is
not an issue. But, thousands of years
ago, such luxuries did not exist… obviously.
Food had to either be consumed immediately, or risk spoilage. In time though, humans began to understand
the idea of preservation. The idea that
if food was dried or cured, it could last longer. This is where salt became even more important; by either a wet
brine or a dry cure, salt could extend the life of a piece of meat from a few
hours to months.
Early on, civilizations began to realize the
importance of salt, planting the mineral as a significant component of
history. Seemingly, salt has played a
role in history even before records were kept.
In China, “published recordings” of salt date back to 2700 BC. In Egypt, there are records of salt production
dating back to 1450 BC. Researcher M.R.
Bloch conjectured that “civilization began along the edges of the deserts
because of the salt deposits found there”.
With the early recognition of the importance of
salt, financial gain was sure to soon follow.
The Chinese were the first to realize this necessity. Around 2200 BC, a tax was placed on salt in
China. Through time, many empires and
nations followed suit by also establishing a salt tax. In 1259 AD, Charles of Anjou established the
“gabelle”, a tax on salt to aid in funding his conquest of the kingdom of
Naples. From 1630 – 1710, that tax
increased exponentially, and in the late 18th century, the gabelle
was a component of the fuel that ignited the French Revolution in 1789. As a result the tax was lifted, only
temporarily though as Napolean reinstated the salt tax to help fund his
wars. The tax remained until 1946 when
it was permanently removed.
Once an area or city discovered its ability to make
salt, it made a name for itself, literally.
In Austria, the word for salt is “salz”, thus the city of Salzburg, a
major salt production city. In
Bosnia-Herzegovina, the city of Tuzla gets its name from the Turkish word for
salt. Even in the United States,
Saltville, Virginia is the namesake of the town’s saltworks.
Salt’s value made it an important trade commodity as
well. The explorer Marco Polo noted
from his expedition to China that the Chinese made tiny cakes out of pressed
salt and used them as coins. In the
Roman Empire, the soldiers were given salt rations known as “salarium
argentums” which is the root for the modern word, salary. In Greece, salt served as payment for
slaves; a slave not worth the payment was said to be “not worth his salt”, a
phrase that has lasted through the centuries.
Even today, salt is still used as money among the nomads of Ethiopia’s
Danakil Plains.
Politically, salt’s importance influenced the
outcomes of many conflicts in history. The previously quoted M.R. Block
believes that the first wars were fought over salt, likely on the banks of the
Jordan River. During Napolean’s wars
and his invasion of Russia, the wounds of thousands of his troops would not
heal due to lack of salt, resulting in death.
In India, salt paved the way for peaceful resolution. During their occupation of India, the
British had total control of all salt production. In 1930, though Mahatma Gandhi
led a 200 mile march to the ocean, where he and his followers began making
their own salt, against British law.
They were arrested, but in the end, the tax was lifted.
Salt also influenced the Civil War in the United
States. The Union had many resources
for salt, a major one being the saltworks on Onondaga Lake in Syracuse, New
York. The Confederacy on the other hand
had limited resources for salt production, the main production site being
Saltville, Virginia. Union General Sherman
declared salt as important as gun powder, “Without salt they cannot make bacon
and salt beef. Salt is eminently
contraband, because [of] its use in curing meats, without which armies cannot
be subsisted.” In December of 1864, the
Union army pushed to Saltville, Virginia and after a 36 hour battle captured
the city and its saltworks. This loss
was a major blow to the Confederacy and within five months contributed to
Confederate General Lee’s surrender to Union General Grant at the Appomattox
Court House after the April 9th Battle at Appomattox, 1865.
Culture and religion have also been influenced by
salt. The Pueblos of the southwest
United States are know to have worshipped the “Salt Mother”. Many cultures believe that salt will protect
them from evil. Buddhists throw salt
over their shoulder before entering a house and after a funeral to scare off
the evil spirits. To protect the Dalai
Lama for eternity, for his burial in 1933, he was buried sitting upright in a
bed of salt.
Sumo wrestlers, traditionalists of the Shinto
religion, will carry a handful of salt and throw it into the center of the ring
before a match to ward off malevolent spirits.
To this day in many European nations, it is custom to throw a handful of
salt in a coffin before burial to keep the devil away.
The Old and the New Testaments carry salt
references, also. Salt is said to have an
immutable, incorruptible purity, thus the Unification Churches “holy salt” and
Jesus’ reference to his disciples as “the salt of the earth”. In the Bible, the covenants are often sealed
with salt, thus the word “salvation”.
In da Vinci’s “The Last Supper”, Judas Escariot is seen haven spilled a
bowl of salt before Jesus, an omen of evil and bad luck.
In the end, tradition and superstition stem from the
essence of salt as a necessity. Simply
put, if you don’t have any salt, you will die.
But, more gingerly put in the mindset of a medieval commoner… if the
food smells it will poison you, perhaps it is evil. But, if you salt it, it does not smell, there is no poison, there
is no evil… it is cured!!
