The complicated history of surfing - Scott Laderman

翻译人员: Ying Lu 校对人员: Di SUN

For some, it's a serious sport.

对于一些人而言， 冲浪是一项严肃的运动。

For others, just a way to let loose.

对于另一些人而言， 这不过是一种放松方式。

But despite its casual association with fun and sun,

冲浪除了不经意的 结合了阳光与乐趣，

surfing has a richer and deeper history than many realize.

它还拥有着比许多人所认知 更为丰富和深刻的历史。

What we today call surfing originated in

如今我们常说的冲浪起源于

the Polynesian islands of the Pacific Ocean.

太平洋的波利尼西亚群岛。

We know from various accounts

我们从不同的记录了解到，

that wave riding was done throughout the Polynesian Pacific,

在波利尼西亚太平洋，

as well as in West Africa and Peru.

西非和秘鲁都有冲浪运动。

But it was in the Hawaiian archipelago in particular

但是在夏威夷群岛，

that surfing advanced the most,

冲浪发展得最快，

was best documented,

拥有最完整的记录，

and, unlike elsewhere in Polynesia, persisted.

同时，不像在波利尼西亚的其他地方， 在这儿，冲浪运动一直被延续和保留。

And for the people of Hawaii,

对于夏威夷的人们而言，

wave sliding was not just a recreational activity,

冲浪并非只是一项娱乐活动，

but one with spiritual and social significance.

而是一项具有精神和 社会意义的运动。

Like much of Hawaiian society,

正如夏威夷社会的惯例，

nearly every aspect of surfing was governed by a code of rules and taboos

几乎冲浪的方方面面都被 一套规则和禁忌约束，

known as kapu.

被称为 kapu。

Hawaiians made offerings when selecting a tree to carve,

夏威夷人民会为被选中用来 雕刻的树献上祭品，

prayed for waves with the help of a kahuna, or an expert priest,

向祭司（Kahuna） 或者专业的牧师祈祷浪潮，

and gave thanks after surviving a perilous wipeout.

并对遭受汹涌浪潮袭击后的 幸存表达感激。

Certain surf breaks were strickly reserved for the elite.

一些冲浪区只对优秀选手开放。

But it wasn't just a solemn affair.

但冲浪并不只是一项严肃的运动。

冲浪者之间互相竞争并 打赌谁会冲得最远，

Surfers competed and wagered on who could ride the farthest,

the fastest,

最快，

or catch the biggest wave with superior skill,

或者用高超的技巧 赶上最大的浪潮。

granting respect,

这些人会赢得尊重，

social status,

社会地位、

and romantic success.

和浪漫的爱情。

Though it was later called the sport of kings,

尽管冲浪后来被称为 王者的运动，

Hawaiian men and women of all ages and social classes participated,

夏威夷不同年龄段和社会阶层的人 都参与这项运动，

riding surfboards shaped from koa,

使用由夏威夷寇阿相思树、

breadfruit,

or wiliwili trees.

面包树、

或者夏威夷刺桐做的冲浪板。

很多夏威夷人用阿莱亚（alaia） 木质的冲浪板驰骋，

Many Hawaiians road alaia boards,

which were thin, midsized, and somewhat resemble today's shortboards.

这种板狭窄，中等大小， 有点类似于当今的小型滑水板。

Some mounted paipo boards,

一些人用派波（paipo）板，

short, round-nosed boards on which riders typically lay on their stomachs.

这是一种短小，圆头的冲浪板， 通常冲浪者将腹部贴在板上。

But only chieftains could ride the massive olo boards,

但是只有酋长才能驾驭 巨大的欧罗（olo）板，

twice as long as today's longboards.

是当今长滑板的两倍长。

Unlike most modern surfboards,

和当今大多数冲浪板不同的是，

all boards were finless,

所有的板都是无鳍的，

requiring surfers to drag their hands or feet to turn.

需要冲浪者滑动手脚来转弯。

We don't know exactly when wave sliding was invented,

我们并不能准确知道 冲浪是什么时候发明的，

but we know that it had already been practiced in Polynesia for centuries

但我们知道在 1777 年， 冲浪被威廉·安德森记录下来的时候，

by the time it was described in 1777 by William Anderson,

它已经出现在波利尼西亚 好几个世纪了。

a surgeon on Captain Cook's ship "Resolution."

威廉·安德森是库克船长“决心号” 船上的一名外科医生。

Although Anderson was in awe,

尽管人们尊敬安德森，

most of the American Christian missionaries who arrived in Hawaii

之后几十年来到夏威夷的

several decades later

大部分美国基督徒传教士

regarded surfing as sinful,

把冲浪视为是有罪的，

and they discouraged it, along with other aspects of native culture.

并且阻止这项运动， 以及本土文化的其他方面。

The biggest threat to surfing, however, was the threat to the natives themselves.

然而对冲浪最大的威胁 是来自对原著民的威胁。

By 1890, new illnesses introduced by Europeans and Americans

在 1890 年，欧洲和美国 移民带来了新的疾病，

had decimated the Hawaiian people, leaving fewer than 40,000

导致夏威夷人口从最初的 80 多万

from a pre-contact population that may have exceeded 800,000.

锐减到 4 万以下。

At the same time, foreign influence grew

与此同时， 外界影响也逐渐增强。

with white settlers overthrowing the native monarchy in 1893,

白人定居者在 1893 年 推翻了当地君主制，

and the U.S. annexing the islands five years later.

美国也在 5 年之后 吞并了这些岛屿。

The end of Hawaii's independence coincided with surfing's native-led revival,

夏威夷岛的独立与本土主导的 冲浪复兴不谋而合，

a revival soon exploited by the American colonizers.

这也很快被美国殖民者充分利用。

刚开始，一些夏威夷人 会去海外冲浪。

But first, some Hawaiians took surfing overseas.

In 1907, George Freeth, the so-called Hawaiian Wonder,

1907年，被誉为 夏威夷奇迹的乔治·弗里斯

traveled to the west coast

到西海岸旅行，

and gave surfing demonstrations in southern California.

并在南加州做冲浪示范。

Then in 1914, Olympic swimmer Duke Kahanamoku

在1914年，奥林匹克游泳选手 杜克·卡哈纳姆库

made his way to Australia and New Zealand,

前往了澳大利亚和新西兰冲浪，

gliding across the southern Pacific waves

滑行在南太平洋的浪潮上。

and attracting rapt audiences wherever he went.

不论他去哪里，总能吸引 一大批狂热的观众。

Shortly before Freeth went to California,

在弗里斯到加州的不久前，

a South Carolinian named Alexander Hume Ford moved to Hawaii.

一个名为亚历山大·休姆·福特的 南卡罗来纳州人搬到了夏威夷。

After learning to surf, he became a champion of the pastime.

在学会冲浪后，他成为了 这个业余项目的好手。

But Ford may have had unsavory reasons

但是在福特不遗余力推广冲浪背后，

for his enthusiastic efforts to boost the sport.

也许有着不可告人的理由。

和很多移民者一样， 他希望夏威夷成为美国的一个州，

Like many settlers, he wanted Hawaii to become a U.S. state

but was worried about its non-white majority of natives and Asian workers.

但对于这里大部分是非白人的 原住民和亚洲人感到担忧。

因此福特通过推广冲浪吸引 美国白人来夏威夷，

Ford thus promoted surfing to attract white Americans to Hawaii,

first as tourists, then as residents.

刚开始作为观光者， 之后成为定居者。

他得到了许多作家和 电影制作人的帮助。

He was helped by numerous writers and filmmakers.

Ford's demographic plan would fail miserably.

但福特的人口计划以惨败告终。

Hawaii became a state in 1959

1959 年，夏威夷 成为了美国的一个州，

and remains the most racially diverse state in the country.

并且一直都是美国 人种最为多样的州。

But the promotion of surfing was a far greater success.

但是冲浪的推广 取得了极大的成功。

Today, surfing is a multi-billion dollar global industry,

如今，冲浪是一个数十亿 美金的全球产业，

with tens of millions of enthusiasts worldwide.

拥有世界各地数千万爱好者。

And though relatively few of these surfers are aware of the once-crucial wave chants

尽管曾经至关重要 的波潮吟咏或者板雕仪式

or board carving rituals,

现在在冲浪者中已经鲜有人知，

Hawaiians continue to preserve these traditions

夏威夷人们仍然继续保留着

nearly washed away by history's waves.

这些差点被历史浪潮淹没的传统。