More che, and a day for the dead

This che -- swallowed yesterday after lunch -- was thick with licorice jellies, and on top you can see specks of a black seaweed. Other ingredients: unidentified little dough balls that looked like fish eggs with a black speck in the middle.

Here's Lena: my source for all che facts!


Vien, the son of the hotel proprietor, tells me that twice a month, his relative here (someone other than his grandmother but he didn't clarify) offers up a few plates of food outside the front door and burns incense for the family's ancestors. (Vien is studying acting at the university, but he and his sister both dutifully help their mom run her two guesthouses.)

I saw several of these little shrines on my way back from school today. I wonder why incense is burned? Does the smoke purify the environment so souls can return to earth?

Maybe Daddy, Grandpa, Cammie, Grandaddyaddy and Grannieannie all would be pleased if we cooked them some food and laid it out at Mum's place (as long as we kept Ben from eating it first).

Here's what wikipedia says about the tradition of burning incense: "Incense fragrances can be of such great strength that they obscure other, less desirable odors. This utility led to the use of incense in funerary ceremonies because the incense could smother the scent of decay. Another example of this use, as well as of religious use is the Botafumeiro, which, according to tradition, was installed to hide the scent of the many tired, unwashed pilgrims huddled together in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela."