via Manila Bulletin, 3 September 2022: Traditional saltmaking in the Philippines using ‘dinosaur egg’ ceramics.
The other day, I was having a conversation with University of the Philippines assistant professor and PhD candidate in Archaeology Rhayan Gatbonton Melendres about his ethnographic research on the pottery communities in Alburquerque, Bohol. We were talking about pots, specifically “lagaan ng asin,” used in the rare saltmaking process called Asin Tibuok or what has been marketed abroad as “Dinosaur Egg” salt.
Asin Tibuok is unique because of how salt is extracted from sea water. It involves an evaporation process using small earthenware pots in which to boil the brine. The process to produce the brine is different from other saltmaking processes in the region in that coconut husks, left in saltwater for up to six months, are used to soak up the salt from saltwater. The husks are taken out to dry and then burned in an open fire to make ash. After a few days, the ash is gathered and poured into a dried buri palm leaf-lined vat with funnel and seawater is poured over it. The dried buri palm leaves serve as a filter to separate the salt from the ash. The filtered brine is then placed in small “lagaan ng asin” earthenware pots, then boiled. The pots are constantly filled with brine until salt forms and fills the pots, which are left to cool and then broken, leaving the salt to retain the form of the pot. This is why Asin Tibuok has come to be known as “Dinosaur Egg.”
Source: The death of salt in an archipelago – Manila Bulletin
