The myth of the stolen eyeballs - Nathan D. Horowitz

Prevodilac: Ivana Vojnić Tunić Lektor: Ivana Korom

Deep in the Amazon rainforest in the river Nea’ocoyá,

Duboko u amazonskoj prašumi u reci Neokoja,

lived, according to Siekopai legend,

živelo je, prema sekopajskoj legendi,

a school of particularly big and tasty fish.

jato naročito velikih i ukusnih riba.

When the rains came and the water rose, the fish appeared,

Kada napadaju kiše i nadođu vode, pojave se i ribe,

swimming away as the waters fell again.

odlazeći čim se nivo vode vrati u normalu.

The villagers along the river reveled in this occasional bounty—

Duž reke, seljani su slavili ovu povremenu nagradu

and wanted more.

i poželeli više.

They followed them upriver deep into the jungle

Pratili su ribe uzvodno, duboko u džunglu

to a lagoon that thundered with the sound of flapping fish.

do lagune u kojoj se orio zvuk koprcajuće ribe.

The whole village set up camp by the lagoon,

Celo selo postavilo je šatore oko lagune,

bringing barbasco, a poison they would put in the water to stun the fish.

donoseći barbasko, otrov koji će staviti u vodu kako bi omamili ribu.

Meanwhile, their young shaman took a walk.

U međuvremenu, njihov mladi šaman ode u šetnju.

He sensed he might not be completely alone.

Učini mu se da možda nije sasvim sam.

Then, he came to a monse tree humming so loudly

Zatim, naiđe na monse drvo koje je zujalo tako glasno

he could hear it even above the thunder of the fish.

da ga je čuo čak i pored gromoglasnih riba.

With that, he was sure: spirits lived here.

Zbog toga, u jedno je bio siguran: tu žive duhovi.

Back at camp, he warned his people these fish had an owner.

Nazad u logoru, upozorio je ljude da ribe imaju vlasnika.

He would find the owner.

On će pronaći tog vlasnika.

Until he returned, no one should fish.

Dok se ne vrati, niko ne sme da peca.

He went to the humming tree.

On ode do zujećeg drveta.

Inside was a hollow as big as a house, full of busy weavers.

U njegovoj unutrašnjosti stoji šupljina velika kao kuća, puna uposlenih tkača.

Their chief invited him in,

Njihov vođa ga pozove unutra,

explaining that the juicy little siripia fruits were ripening,

objašnjavajući mu da male, sočne siripija voćke trenutno zriju

and they were weaving baskets to collect them.

i da pletu korpe kako bi ih sakupili.

Though they looked and acted like people,

Iako su izgledali i ponašali se kao ljudi,

the shaman knew they were juri, or air goblins,

šaman je znao da su oni Huri iliti goblini vazduha

who could fly and control the winds.

koji mogu da lete i upravljaju vetrom.

They taught him how to weave.

Naučili su ga da plete.

Before the shaman left,

Pre nego što je šaman otišao,

the goblin chief whispered some cryptic instructions in his ear.

vođa goblina šapnu mu neko zagonetno uputstvo.

Finally, he told him to tie a pineapple shoot outside a hollow log

Na kraju, poruči mu da ispred šupljeg panja zaveže izdanak ananasa

and sleep inside that night.

i prespava noć u njemu.

Back at camp, the villagers were fishing with barbasco poison, cooking, and eating.

Nazad u logoru, seljani su pecali koristeći barbasko otrov, kuvali i jeli.

Only the shaman’s little sister refrained.

Jedino se šamanova mlađa sestra suzdržala.

Then, everyone else fell into a deep sleep.

Svi ostali potom padoše u dubok san.

The shaman and his sister yelled and shook them,

Šaman i njegova sestra su vikali, tresući ih,

but they wouldn’t wake.

ali oni se nisu budili.

It was getting dark, so the shaman and his sister

Padao je mrak, pa su šaman i njegova sestra

tied the pineapple sprout outside the hollow log and crawled inside.

svezali izdanak ananasa ispred šupljeg panja i zavukli se unutra.

A strong wind rose— the mark of the air goblins.

Zavitlao je jak vetar - znak goblina vazduha.

It broke branches and brought down trees.

Izlomio je granje i pokosio drveća.

Caymans, boas and jaguars roared.

Krokodili, boe i jaguari urliknuše.

The water began to rise.

Voda poče da se penje.

The fish flopped off the drying racks and swam away.

Ribe odskočiše sa svojih mesta za sušenje i otplivaše.

The pineapple sprout turned into a dog.

Izdanak ananasa pretvori se u psa.

All night it barked, keeping the jungle creatures away from the fallen tree.

Lajao je celu noć, štiteći srušeno drvo od životinja iz džungle.

When dawn broke, the flood receded.

Kada je svanulo, poplava se povukla.

The fish were gone, and most of the people were, too:

Ribe su nestale, kao i većina ljudi:

the jungle animals had devoured them.

životinje iz džungle su ih proždrle.

Only the shaman’s relatives survived.

Samo su šamanovi rođaci preživeli.

When his family turned toward him,

Kada se njegova porodica okrenu ka njemu,

the shaman realized what the goblins meant when they said the fruits were ripening:

šaman shvati na šta su goblini zapravo mislili kada su rekli da voće zrije:

they weren’t really collecting siripia fruits at all,

oni nisu uopšte skupljali siripija voćke,

but human eyes.

već ljudske oči.

The shaman’s older sister called him over,

Šamanova starija sestra ga dozva,

trying to touch his face with her long, sharp nails.

pokušavajući da mu dotakne lice svojim dugim, oštrim noktima.

He backed away and, remembering the goblin chief’s instructions,

On ustukne i seti se uputstva koje mu je dao vođa goblina,

threw palm seeds at her face.

pa baci palmine koštice u njeno lice.

The seeds became eyes.

Koštice postanu oči.

But then she transformed into a white-lipped peccary and ran away—

Ali onda, ona se pretvori u divlju svinju belih usta i pobeže -

still alive, but no longer human.

još uvek živa, ali više ne u čovečjoj formi.

The shaman and his little sister’s whole community was gone.

Zajednica šamana i njegove mlađe sestre potpuno je nestala.

They went to live with another village,

Otišli su da žive u drugo selo,

where he taught everyone to weave baskets, as the air goblins had taught him.

gde je šaman naučio ljude da pletu korpe baš kao što su goblini naučili njega.

But he couldn’t forget the last of the goblin chief’s words,

Međutim, nije mogao da zaboravi poslednje reči vođe goblina,

which told him how to get revenge.

kojima mu je rečeno kako da se osveti.

He returned to the air goblins’ home carrying chili peppers wrapped in leaves.

Vratio se u dom goblina vazduha noseći sa sobom čili papriku zamotanu u lišće.

As the goblins watched through their peepholes,

Dok su ga goblini posmatrali kroz otvore,

the shaman made a fire and put the chili peppers on it.

šaman zapali vatru i na nju baci čili papriku.

The fire began to smoke the tree out.

Vatra poče da proždire drvo.

The goblins who had eaten people’s eyes died.

Goblini koji su pojeli ljudske oči umreše.

Those who hadn’t were light enough to fly away.

Oni koji su se suzdržali su bili dovoljno laki da odlete.

So the goblins, like the humans, paid a steep price.

Tako su goblini, baš kao i ljudi, platili visoku cenu.

But they also lived to tell the tale, like the shaman.

Isto tako, neki su, poput šamana, preživeli da ispričaju priču.

In Siekopai legend, where the spirit and human worlds meet,

Po sekopajskoj legendi, na mestu gde se svet duša i ljudski svet spajaju,

there are no clear victors,

nema očiglednog pobednika,

and even death is an opportunity for renewal.

a čak je i smrt prilika za obnovu.