Sky E-News

There are plenty of gifts that will delight the senses in Hawaii. The islands have served as a generous home to people for generations, and have also become one of the most attractive paradises on the planet recently. The contemporary delights are found in the tours, the excellent attractions, and the five star Hawaiian hotels that speak directly to the part of the spirit that knows how to receive.

One of the things that makes it so extravagantly welcoming, however, is related to the most elemental aspects of any place. The thing about Hawaii that is very old is also the thing that keeps renewing itself, in a delicate balance that depends on the care and the respect of the people who set foot here. Elemental is the most appropriate word for the place, in fact, because it is in the elements that all the deeper mysteries are found.

Perhaps out of all the wonderful souvenirs that one can take from the place, salt is the most simple, but it is also the most powerful. Salt, of course, is very old, and is found all over the world in every culture. In Hawaii, where everything has its own power and magic, salt, likewise, is a local idea. Here, it’s called alae , or Hawaiian red salt, or sometimes just salt. The term alae refers more to the earth the is mixed with the salt, and is that which gives it its red color. It’s said to give it the special, subtle flavors, as well as to provide some essential, and even elemental, nutrients.

Salt is an important element historically and mythologically, being one of the main ingredients in alchemy. In Hawaii, salt stories relate tales of goddesses and gods speaking, offering mortals some of the secrets to preservation, and means of making the flavors sing. Preservation is linked to immortality, and here, the correspondence is not accidental at all.