The Taino myth of the cursed creator - Bill Keegan

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

Before the world of humans began,

在人類的世界開始之前，

there was the world of the gods, made of fields, plains and gardens.

是神的世界，

由田野、平原，和花園組成。

Four brothers wandered this celestial realm.

四位兄弟在這神仙的王國中徘徊。

They had no family other than each other—

他們的家人就只有彼此——

they didn’t even know who their parents were.

他們甚至不知道自己的父母是誰。

One of the brothers, Deminan, looked different from the others.

其中，戴米南的外表 和其他兄弟不同。

His skin was covered in painful scabs,

他的皮膚表面都是痛苦的疥癬，

and he wondered why he alone had been marked with this affliction.

他很納悶為什麼 只有他要受這種折磨。

One day, while the supreme spirit Yaya was out in his gardens,

有一天，當至高的精靈雅雅 外出到他的花園中時，

Deminan and his brothers snuck into Yaya’s house.

戴米南和他的兄弟 偷溜進雅雅的房子。

After feasting and exploring, they spotted a giant gourd hanging in the corner.

在飽餐一頓又探索完之後，

他們注意到有個巨葫蘆掛著角落。

But as they tried to look inside the gourd, they dropped it.

但當他們試圖看向葫蘆 內部時，葫蘆掉落了。

The gourd broke apart, releasing a deluge that swept the brothers away,

葫蘆破裂後釋出洪水， 沖走這些兄弟，

separating them from the celestial lands forever.

讓他們與神仙之地永遠分離。

The waters from the gourd formed a new world.

葫蘆的水形成了一個新世界。

This realm was covered in seas, which didn’t exist in the gods’ world.

這個王國被海洋覆蓋， 在神的世界中沒有海洋。

The waters were full of fish and other creatures,

水中滿是魚類及其他生物，

and dotted with islands and caves.

還有島嶼和洞穴的點綴。

This world of seas was also cut off completely from the celestial realm,

這個海洋世界 也與神仙王國完全切開，

and the brothers wandered aimlessly,

這些兄弟漫無目的地遊走，

even more lost than they had been before.

從來沒有這麼迷失過。

One day, three of the brothers stumbled upon a house.

有一天，三位兄弟 偶然發現一間房子。

In the house lived an elder named Bayamanacao, and he invited them in.

房子中住了一位老人，

名叫拜亞曼納冠亞， 他邀請他們入內。

When Deminan caught up slightly later, he followed them into the house.

當戴米南稍後跟上來時， 他跟著他們進入屋內。

Bayamanacao told the brothers he was their grandfather

拜亞曼納冠亞告訴這些兄弟， 他是他們的祖父，

and gave them a gift of special cassava bread.

並給了他們一個禮物， 特殊的木薯麵包。

He revealed their family lineage to them:

他解答了他們的世系之謎：

their mother had been the Earth Mother Goddess Itibi Cahubaba

他們的母親是地球之母女神， 伊提比卡胡巴巴，

and had died when they were born.

在他們出生時便過世了。

The brothers were grateful for his hospitality and insight into their past.

這些兄弟很感謝他的好客 以及對他們過去的見解。

But then Bayamanacao turned on Deminan,

但拜亞曼納冠亞轉向戴米南，

blowing tobacco spittle from his nose onto Deminan’s back.

將香菸唾泡沫從他的鼻子 吹向戴米南的背。

The spot where the spittle landed immediately began to swell and sting.

泡沫接觸到的地方馬上 開始腫起來且有刺痛感。

Soon Deminan was delirious

很快地，戴米南便精神錯亂了，

and his back was so swollen his brothers feared he would die.

他的背腫得很厲害， 他的兄弟都怕他會死亡。

Not knowing what else to do, they cut open the welt.

不知道該如何是好， 他們把凸起處切開。

A turtle emerged from the wound and swam away,

一隻烏龜從傷口冒出來並游走，

alternating easily between sea and land as she went.

一路上，能在海洋 和陸地間自在地轉換。

When Deminan recovered from his delirium,

當戴米南從他的精神錯亂恢復時，

he finally understood what the curse of his disease meant:

他終於了解了他的疾病 詛咒有什麼意義：

he was a caracaracol, able to communicate with the gods.

他是一名能與神溝通的 「caracaracol」。

He was the link between the celestial realm and the earthly realm.

他是神仙王國 和地球王國之間的連結。

Deminan was the first in a long lineage of caracaracols.

戴米南是 caracaracols 世世代代中的第一人。

The world of seas he and his brothers had created when they dropped the gourd

他和他的兄弟在打破葫蘆之後

所創造的海洋世界， 變成了人類的世界，

became the world of humans,

where the caracaracols who followed Deminan maintained the delicate balance

在人類的世界中，戴米南 之後的 caracaracol 都繼續

between people and gods.

維持著人和神之間的脆弱平衡。

But their unique power came at a price:

但他們的獨特能力也有代價：

Deminan and all the caracaracols who followed him

戴米南以及他之後的 所有 caracaracol

continued to suffer from the illness that had first marked Deminan as special.

都繼續受到讓戴米南 如此獨特的疾病所苦。

Represented in Taino carvings and figurines

泰諾族的雕刻和小雕像

會用腫起的背部消瘦的手臂 來呈現 caracaracol，

with a swollen back and emaciated arms,

the caracaracol is both cursed and blessed to be a conduit between worlds.

caracaracol 身為 兩個世界之間的管道，

既是詛咒也是祝福。