The myth of the moon goddess - Cynthia Fay Davis

譯者: Leigh Yapp 審譯者: SF Huang

The moon goddess, Ix Chel, patiently watched a spider at work.

月亮女神依謝爾耐心地看著 一隻正在織網的蜘蛛

She could make use of it skills, she thought.

心想，她可以善用牠的織網技術

Through careful observation and imitation, she soon became a skilled weaver.

透過仔細地觀察和模仿 她很快地成為一名技術高超的紡織者

The sun god, Kinich Ahau, was impressed with her work,

太陽神──齊尼區亞浩 對於她的織品非常欽佩

and admired her from afar.

也會在遠處欣賞著她

But the goddess’ grandfather was very possessive

但女神的祖父有很強烈的佔有慾

and would not let the sun god anywhere near his beloved granddaughter.

他不讓太陽神靠近心愛的孫女一步

To get past the grandfather, the sun god disguised himself

為了避開祖父的耳目

太陽神把自己變身成一隻蜂鳥

as a hummingbird.

As he took a drink of tobacco flower honey,

當他在啜飲菸草花的花蜜時

the moon goddess spotted him and asked her grandfather

月亮女神注意到他

她要祖父捉那隻鳥給她

to capture the bird for her.

The grandfather shot the disguised sun god with a blow dart, stunning him.

祖父就把偽裝的太陽神 用吹箭射下來，太陽神便暈了過去

Ix Chel nursed the wounded bird back to health,

依謝爾悉心照顧 這隻受傷的鳥兒直到康復

and soon, he was able to spread his wings and fly again.

不久，鳥兒已能再次展翅高飛

He transformed back into the sun god and invited the moon goddess

牠變回太陽神的樣子

邀請月亮女神和他一起逃走

to escape with him.

The two rowed away in a canoe,

他們跳上獨木舟划走

but the grandfather called upon the powerful storm god

但是女神的祖父向強大的風暴之神請託

to help him stop them.

希望祂可以幫忙阻止他們

Sensing danger, the moon goddess jumped from the canoe into the water below

月亮女神察覺到危險 便從獨木舟跳進了水中

and transformed into a crab.

變身為一隻螃蟹

But the storm god had already thrown a lightning bolt,

但是風暴之神已經降下一道閃電

which hit the crab and pierced her through her heart, killing her.

擊中並且貫穿螃蟹的心臟 女神就這麼被殺死了

Hundreds and hundreds of dragonflies gathered,

成千上萬的蜻蜓飛聚過來

buzzing songs and fluttering their transparent wings.

嗡嗡唱著輓歌，拍打著透明的翅膀

They formed a thick, magical cloud over the moon goddess’ body.

牠們集結成一團厚實的魔法雲朵 覆蓋在月亮女神的屍體上

For thirteen days the dragonflies cut, cleaned, and hollowed thirteen logs.

在十三天之中，牠們切割、清理 並且挖空了十三根圓木

On the thirteenth night, the logs burst open,

在第十三夜裡，原木爆裂開來

and the moon goddess emerged— alive and more brilliant than ever.

然後月亮女神出現了 不僅生氣勃勃，還更加神采奕奕

The sun god wasted no time in proposing marriage.

太陽神立刻向她求婚

The moon goddess happily agreed.

月亮女神欣喜地答應了

Side-by-side, they were ready to light up the sky with their powerful rays.

他們肩並著肩，準備好要用他們 閃耀璀璨的光芒點亮天空

Unfortunately, the story doesn’t end there.

不幸的是，故事未如美麗童話般落幕

The sun god’s brother visited often.

太陽神的兄弟經常來拜訪他們倆

Sensing he was also in love with Ix Chel, the sun god grew jealous,

太陽神查覺到自己的兄弟 也愛上了依謝爾，他便醋海生波

and began to mistreat her.

開始虐待起她來

One day, Ix Chel was sitting on the riverbank,

一日，依謝爾坐在河畔旁

furious at her husband.

對自己的丈夫怒不可抑

A huge bird came gliding down

此時一隻巨鳥滑行下來

and offered to take her to the high mountain peaks.

說要載她一程，去到高山的山頂

To get away from the cruel sun god, she agreed.

她為了離開殘忍的太陽神，便答應了

There, she met the king of the vultures.

在那兒，她遇到了禿鷲王

The vulture king was kind and fun-loving—

禿鷲王很和善也很風趣

a much better partner than the violent sun god.

他比起殘暴的太陽神來說 是一個更加理想的伴侶

The moon goddess made a new home with him in the mountains.

於是月亮女神與他一起 在高山上建立了新的家庭

When the sun god heard, he was distraught.

當太陽神耳聞此事時，怒火沖天

He hid inside a deer carcass until a hungry vulture came swooping down,

他躲在一頭鹿的屍骸裡面 直到一隻飢餓的禿鷲向他俯衝而來

then hopped onto its back and rode to the mountain kingdom

他跳上了禿鷲的背， 並讓牠載回高山之國

where the moon goddess now lived with the vulture king.

也就是月亮女神現在和禿鷲王的住處

He begged her to come home with him, apologizing for how he had treated her.

他求她跟他一起回家， 也為虐待她的事向她道歉

The kind and forgiving goddess took pity on him and agreed to go back.

和善寬容的女神憐憫他 便答應和他一起回家去

But Kinich Ahau soon began to show his true nature again.

但是齊尼區亞浩沒多久就故態復萌

He struck her, scarring her face and dimming her bright rays.

他毆打她，在她臉上留下了疤 她耀眼的光芒逐漸黯淡

Ix Chel flew off into the dark.

依謝爾逃進了黑暗中

From then on, she vowed to appear only at night.

從那時起，她發誓只會在夜晚出現

She befriended the stars, and combined her pale blue rays with their light

她與星辰為友，將她淡藍色的光芒 和星辰的亮光結合在一塊

to guide night travelers to safety.

為夜晚的旅人指出安全的路

She used her healing gift,

她利用與生俱來的療癒能力

which she had once used on the wounded sun god,

那股曾經用在負傷的太陽神身上的能力

to cure people who were ill.

去治癒生病的人們

Today, Ix Chel is so widely known

今日，依謝爾廣為人知

that she’s become a symbol of Maya culture.

她已經成為了馬雅文化的一個象徵

But archeological evidence suggests that for the ancient Maya

但是考古證據指出，在古代馬雅

Ix Chel and the moon goddess were separate deities.

依謝爾和月亮女神是不同的神祇

In the retellings of Maya people and the records of anthropologists,

在馬雅人的重述， 以及人類學家的紀錄中

the two have merged so that Ix Chel’s story extends

這兩者已經融為一體，因此依謝爾的故事

beyond the limits of the historical record.

跨越了歷史記載的藩籬而延續流傳著

Her story, like all myths, isn’t just one story:

她的故事就像所有神話一樣 不只是一個故事而已

the variations, ancient and modern, speak to what people value,

古代和現代的各種版本 反映了人們的價值觀

and how they see themselves in their mythological heroes.

以及在神話英雄身上 他們是如何看待自己的