Vampires: Folklore, fantasy and fact - Michael Molina

Prevodilac: Miloš Milosavljević Lektor: Tatjana Jevdjic

Good evening!

Dobro veče!

What's the matter?

Šta je bilo?

Are you afraid of vampires?

Plašite se vampira?

He he, no need to worry,

Hehe, ne brinite,

I'm not staying for dinner.

ne ostajem na večeri.

(Laughter)

Ahaha. Ovde sam da vas provedem

I'm here to guide you through a brief history of vampires,

kroz kratku istoriju vampira

illustrating how our image has changed

i ilustrujem vam kako se naša slika promenila

from a shambling corpse

od mrtvaca koji se gega

to the dapper gentleman you see before you.

do uglađenog gospodina koga vidite pred sobom.

Vampires are nearly as old as you humans.

Vampiri su skoro isto stari kao i vi, ljudi.

Stories about us, revenants,

Priče i svedočenja o nama

pojavljuju se u kulturama koje se protežu unazad

appear in cultures extending as far back as prehistoric times.

čak do praistorijskih vremena.

But we weren't called vampires back then

Ali tada nas nisu zvali vampirima

and most of us did not look the way we imagine vampires today.

i većina nas nije izgledala onako

kako danas zamišljamo vampire,

Ha, far from it!

daleko od toga!

For example, the Mesopotamian Lamashtu

Na primer, mesopotamijski Lamaštu

was a creature with the head of a lion and the body of the donkey,

je bio stvorenje sa glavom lava

i telom magarca,

and the ancient Greek striges

a starogrčke strige

were simply described as bloodthirsty birds.

su jednostavno opisivali kao krvožedne ptice.

Others were even stranger.

Drugi su bili još čudniji.

The Philippine manananggal would sever her upper torso

Filipinski manangal je odvajao svoj gornji deo tela

and sprout huge, bat-like wings to fly.

i širio ogromna krila nalik na ona od slepog miša, da bi poleteo.

The Malaysian penanggalan was a flying female head

Malezijski penangalan je bio leteća ženska glava

with dangling entrails.

sa utrobom koja visi iz nje.

(Laughter)

He he he he.

And the Australian Yara-ma-yha-who

A australijski jaramajahu

was a little red guy with a big head,

je bio malo crveno stvorenje sa velikom glavom,

a large mouth,

velikim ustima

and bloodsuckers on his hands and feet.

i pijavicama na rukama i nogama.

Oh, and let's not forget the Caribbean's soucouyant,

I da ne zaboravimo karipskog Sukujana,

the West African obayifo,

zapadnoafričkog obajifo

and the Mexican Tlahuelpuchi.

i meksičkog Tlahuelpučija.

(Laughter)

He, he, zar nisu simpatični?

Charming, aren't they?

Though they may look vastly different,

Iako izgledaju jako različito,

all of these beings have one common characteristic:

sva ova bića imaju jednu zajedničku osobinu:

They sustain themselves by consuming the life force of a living creature.

hrane se tako što konzumiraju

životnu snagu živog bića.

This shared trait is what defines a vampire --

Ova zajednička crta je ono što definiše vampira -

all the other attributes change with the tides.

svi drugi atributi se menjaju u skladu sa plimom i osekom.

So, how do we arrive

I kako smo onda stigli

at the reanimated fellow you see before you?

do oživljenog momka koga vidite pred sobom?

Our modern ideal emerges in 18th-century Eastern Europe.

Naš moderni ideal nastaje

u 18. veku u istočnoj Evropi.

With the dramatic increase of vampire superstitions,

Sa drastičnim povećanjem vampirskih sujeverja,

stories of bloodsucking, shadowy creatures

priče o stvorenjima nalik na duhove, koja sisaju krv

become nightly bedside terrors.

su postale horor priče za laku noć.

And popular folklore,

Narodni folklor,

like the moroi among the Romani people

kao što je moroi kod Rumuna

and the lugat in Albania,

i lugat u Albaniji,

provide the most common vampire traits known today,

daju vampirima osobine koje su poznate danas,

such as vampires being undead

kao što su: besmrtnost,

and nocturnal and shape-shifting.

noćna aktivnost

i promena oblika.

You see, Eastern Europe in the 18th century

Istočna Evropa u 18. veku je bila

was a pretty grim place

prilično sumorno mesto,

with many deaths occurring from unknown diseases and plagues.

sa mnogo umiranja

od nepoznatih bolesti i zaraza.

Without medical explanations, people searched for supernatural causes

U nedostatku medicinskog objašnjenja,

ljudi su tražili natprirodne uzroke

and found what looked like evidence in the corpses of the victims.

i našli nešto što je izgledalo kao dokaz

u telima žrtava.

When villagers dug up bodies

Kad su seljani iskopavali tela

to discern the cause of the mysterious deaths,

da nađu uzroke misterioznih smrti,

they would often find the cadavers

često su nalazili leševe

looking very much alive --

koji su izgledali vrlo živo -

longer hair and fingernails,

duže kose i noktiju,

bloated bellies,

naduvenih stomaka

and blood at the corners of mouths.

i sa krvlju na uglovima usana.

(Laughter)

He, he, naravno, ovi ljudi nisu bili stvarno mrtvi.

Clearly, these people were not really dead.

Heh, they were vampires!

Bili su vampiri!

And they had been leaving their graves

I napuštali su svoje grobove

da bi se hranili živima.

to feast on the living.

(Grunt)

The terrified villagers would quickly enact

Preplašeni seljani bi brzo sprovodili

a ritual to kill the undead.

ritual ubijanja ovih zombija.

The practices varied across the region,

Praksa se razlikovala od mesta do mesta,

but usually included beheadings,

ali obično je podrazumevala obezglavljivanja,

burnings, and staking the body to the coffin

spaljivanja

i zabijanja kocima za sanduk

to prevent it from getting up.

da bi ih sprečili da ustanu.

(Laughter)

Grizzly stuff!

Gadne stvari!

But what the villagers interpreted as unholy reanimation

Ali ono što su seljani tumačili kao grešno oživljavanje,

were actually normal symptoms of death.

u stvari su bili normalni simptomi smrti.

When a body decomposes, the skin dehydrates,

Kad se telo raspada,

koža dehidrira

causing the hair and fingernails to extend.

i prouzrokuje izduženje kose i noktiju.

Bacteria in the stomach creates gases

Bakterije u stomaku stvaraju gasove

that fill the belly,

koji ispunjavaju stomak,

which force out blood and matter through the mouth.

što prouzrokuje izbacivanje krvi i sadržaja kroz usta.

Unfortunately, this science was not yet known,

Nažalost, ova nauka još uvek nije bila poznata,

so the villagers kept digging.

pa su seljani nastavili da kopaju.

In fact, so many bodies were dug up

Toliko je tela bilo iskopano

that the Empress of Austria

da je austrijska carica poslala

sent her physician around to disprove the vampire stories,

svog lekara da opovrgne priče o vampirima

and she even established a law prohibiting grave tampering.

i čak je donela zakon

koji zabranjuje provaljivanje grobova.

Still, even after the vampire hunts had died down,

Ali, čak i pošto je lov na vampire zamro,

the stories of legends survived in local superstition.

legende su preživele

u lokalnom sujeverju.

This led to works of literature, such as Polidori's "The Vampyre,"

To je dovelo do književnih dela

kao što je Polidorijev "Vampir",

the Gothic novel "Carmilla,"

gotska novela "Karmila"

and, most famously, Bram Stoker's "Dracula."

i najpoznatije - "Drakula" Brema Stokera.

Although Stoker incorporated historical material,

Iako je Stoker uključio istorijsku građu,

like Elizabeth Báthory's virgin blood baths

kao što je kupanje Elizabet Batori u krvi devica

and the brutal executions of Vlad Dracul,

i surova pogubljenja Vlada Drakula,

it was these local myths

ove lokalne legende su bile ono

that inspired the main elements of his story:

što je inspirisalo glavne elemente njegove priče:

the Transylvanian setting,

Transilvaniju kao mesto radnje,

using garlic to defend oneself,

korišćenje belog luka za samoodbranu

and the staking of the heart.

i probadanje srca.

While these attributes are certainly familiar to us,

I dok su nam ove osobine sigurno poznate,

elements he invented himself have also lasted over the years:

elementi koje je sam izmislio

su se takođe zadržali:

fear of crucifixes,

strah od krstova,

weakness in sunlight,

slabost na sunčevoj svetlosti

and the vampire's inability to see their reflection.

i nesposobnost vampira

da vide svoj odraz.

By inventing new traits,

Izmišljanjem novih osobina

Stoker perfectly enacted the age-old tradition

Stoker je savršeno opisao jedan vek staru tradiciju,

of elaborating upon and expanding the myth of vampires.

razvijajući

i proširujući mit o vampirima.

As we saw, maybe you met my relatives,

Kao što smo videli,

možda ste upoznali moje rođake,

a huge of variety of creatures stalked the night before Dracula,

mnoštvo stvorenja koja su se šunjala po mraku

pre Drakule

and many more will continue to creep through our nightmares.

i još mnogi će nastaviti

da gamižu našim noćnim morama.

Yet, so long as they subsist off a living being's life force,

Dok god se održavaju

na snazi živih bića,

they are part of my tribe.

oni su deo moje porodice.

Even sparkling vampires can be included.

Čak i svetlucavi vampiri mogu tu da se uključe.

After all, it's the continued storytelling and reimagining of the vampire legend

Na kraju krajeva, priče koje nastavljaju da se pričaju

i ponovo osmišljena legenda o vampirima

that allows us to truly live

omogućavaju nam da živimo

forever.

večno.

(Ominous laughter)

Ahahahaha!