There is such an inordinate desire for salt, especially the rock salt made out of salt water and ash lye, that the Manóbo will submit sometimes to tyranny and to the most exorbitant rates in order to obtain it. This craving for salt will explain the general preference that is felt for salted food as against fresh meat. The small salted fish, peddled in such quantities by Bisáya traders, are prized above the choicest pieces of venison and jerked crocodile, presumably for the salt that they contain. It may be wondered why the Manóbo does not salt his own meat and fish, but this is explained by the fact that such an operation is strictly tabooed.
Red pepper is a sine qua non. It is eaten much as we eat salt, and is said to impart courage. In the regions near the Mandáyas it is put up in a special form,26 this being nothing more than the dried pepper pounded, mixed with salt, and preserved in bamboo joints in a dry place, usually in the smoke above the hearth. In this condition it acquires an extraordinary strength that makes the plain red pepper taste mild. This is explained, perhaps, by the fact that in the pounding the seeds of the pepper are triturated.
25Ka-tum-bä (Capsicum sp.).
26Dú-mang.
THE PREPARATION AND COOKING OF FOOD
PREPARING THE FOOD
The remote preparation consists in getting a supply of sweet potatoes or rice from the farm. This may be a mile or more from the house, so that once a day at least the women, with baskets on their heads and paddles in their hands, if they live on navigable water, leave for the farm. In localities where an ambush is a possible contingency, a few men with lance and shield, and hunting dogs accompany the women as a guard, for the camote field is a favorite spot for the enemy to wreak his vengeance, according to the recognized laws of Manóboland. The women and girls dig up the camotes with a bolo or with a small pointed stick, and get a little rice from the granary.27 After performing any necessary work such as weeding and planting, they return and prepare the meal, the men taking no part except to clean and quarter the game or other meat that may have been selected for it.
27Tam-bó-bung.
The preparation of pigs and fowls is such a frequent occurrence in Manóboland, as also among Bisáyas, Mañgguáñgans, Debabáons, and Mandáyas of the Agúsan Valley, that it merits a detailed description.