Taco

The Tako, or Taco in Occidental Romanization, is a traditional dish in Loa cuisine, consisting of flatbread typically made with lentils leavened with sourdough and wrapped about a filling of meat and vegetables. The filling is very diverse but typically consists of small dried fish or fermented pork, ginger, okra and green onions, and is usually accompanied with a sauce of chilies, citrus and a spice blend consisting of poppy seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg and turmeric. The taco is a central aspect of Loa cuisine, with most everyday meals consisting of some variant of the dish. It has even spread beyond the Vallosian subcontinent via the Loa diaspora, with notable regional variants in Pelaxia, Cartadania, Carna and other regions with a large Loa diaspora.

History

The earliest references to the taco appeared in the 15th and 16th century, with the extensive trade between Kiravia, Takatta Loa and Audonia resulting in significant cultural developments in Vallos. Most notable is the friendly cooperation and syncreticization of Islam with the indigenous Loa Church, which resulted in many aspects from Audonia being imported into Takatta Loa, such as cuisine. Prior to this trade, the Loa people subsisted predominantly on stews with breads being unheard of.

The first reference to flatbread occurs in the royal cookbook of the court of Ilahakatu Andia'ariohono, who reigned from 1457-1498. Flatbreads are mentioned numerous times in a number of elaborate dishes, but the taco itself is mentioned once under the name ta'ahihako, or "wrapped fish". The author noted that in the reign of the previous empress, this dish was made with banana leaves, but it became fashionable to make it with a foreign and more expensive wrapping.

However, the dish became common outside the Floating Palace after the reign of Andia'ariohono due to the farming of lentils being employed during the dry season to return nutrients to the soil that had previously been farmed with rice. By the mid 1500s, huilalo (a term that originally referred to banana leaves but eventually came to refer to flatbreads) became the tax standard, with an average peasant being expected to pay forth a tax equivalent to the worth of 125 huilalo, with the tax increasing substantially with lesser royalty, entomantic orders and tribal chieftains being expected to pay upwards of the worth of 1,250 huilalo.

In modern times, the taco is an established part of Loa culture, with most street food stands offering tacos and the dish being enjoyed by nobility and commoners alike. In addition, a new custom emerging from the 80s has been to fold the huilalo as a bun, secure it with a sharp pick of bamboo or reeds and then deep-fry it. These fried tacos have become especially popular outside of Takatta Loa as a large number of Loa were displaced in the Poppy Flower Rebellion of the 80s.

Religion and Culture

Tacos are the primary offering of the Festival of Light and Song, the biannual holiday that conducts worship of the celestial bodies. One aspect aspect of festival is the taco contests that are held, with entire families submitting their best tacos for judgement by the clergy, nobility and village elders. Whichever family does best is then chosen to prepare an assortment of seven tacos to offer to the Sun, Moon and Animate Stars which are then placed in a large lantern balloon to be lifted into the skies in the hopes that the Heavens will reward the village for their offerings.

Tacos are also offered to the dead at ancestral tombs and shrines, though certain procedures must be followed. The water used in preparation must come from a sacred well, and the dried salamanders that are used in the making of the tacos must be raised in said wells. The vegetables used for the filling as well as the lentils must be blessed by a holy man or woman. Finally, an exact amount must be made for every ancestor. Too many, and malevolent will be attracted to the ancestral shrine. Too few, and the wrath of the forgotten dead will plague the family.