Why museums are returning cultural treasures | Chip Colwell

翻译人员: Wanna Shi 校对人员: Amber Lee

A confession:

首先，我要坦白：

I am an archaeologist and a museum curator,

我是一位考古学家，也是一位博物馆馆长，

but a paradoxical one.

但我是一个矛盾体。

For my museum, I collect things,

我所在的博物馆不仅收藏东西，

but I also return things back to where they came from.

也会将藏品物归原主。

I love museums because they're social and educational,

我之所以喜欢博物馆 ， 是因为它具有社会价值和教育意义，

but I'm most drawn to them because of the magic of objects:

但博物馆最吸引我的 是各件极具魅力的藏品：

a one-million-year-old hand axe,

一把一百万年“高龄”的手斧，

a totem pole, an impressionist painting

一根图腾柱，一幅印象派画作，

all take us beyond our own imaginations.

都超乎我们的想象。

In museums, we pause to muse, to gaze upon our human empire of things

人们会在博物馆展品前驻足、欣赏，

in meditation and wonder.

陷入沉思，惊叹连连。

I understand why US museums alone

我知晓为什么仅仅美国的博物馆，

host more than 850 million visits each year.

每年接待的访客数量就超过了8.5亿人次。

Yet, in recent years, museums have become a battleground.

然而，博物馆近几年却沦为了战场。

Communities around the world don't want to see their culture

全球各地的人们均不希望 到自己并无控制权的

in distant institutions which they have no control over.

遥远的他乡博物馆去看 本属于自己祖国的文物。

They want to see their cultural treasures

人们希望本国文化瑰宝

repatriated, returned to their places of origin.

能回到故土。

Greece seeks the return of the Parthenon Marbles,

希腊希望帕特农神庙大理石雕塑能回归，

a collection of classical sculptures held by the British Museum.

这些雕塑现存于大英博物馆内。

Egypt demands antiquities from Germany.

埃及要求德国归还文物。

New Zealand's Maori want to see returned

新西兰的毛利人希望

各地博物馆归还带有纹身的祖先头颅。

ancestral tattooed heads from museums everywhere.

Yet these claims pale in comparison to those made by Native Americans.

然而，这些索求与美洲印第安人的索求 相比可以说是小巫见大巫。

Already, US museums have returned more than one million artifacts

美国各个博物馆已经归还了 他们一百多万件手工艺品

and 50,000 sets of Native American skeletons.

和5万具美洲印第安人骨骸。

To illustrate what's at stake, let's start with the War Gods.

为了说明其中的利害关系 ， 我们先来说说战神。

This is a wood carving

这是新墨西哥州

made by members of the Zuni tribe in New Mexico.

祖尼人刻的木雕。

In the 1880s, anthropologists began to collect them

19世纪80年代，人类学家开始收集这种木雕，

as evidence of American Indian religion.

用来证明美洲印第安人的宗教信仰。

They came to be seen as beautiful,

人们认为这些木雕非常精美，

the precursor to the stark sculptures of Picasso and Paul Klee,

毕加索和保罗 · 克利的雕塑也受其影响，

helping to usher in the modern art movement.

战神木雕推动了现代艺术运动的发展。

From one viewpoint, the museum did exactly as it's supposed to

从某个角度而言，博物馆收集战神木雕

with the War God.

正是其职责所在。

It helped introduce a little-known art form

博物馆将这种鲜为人知的艺术形式

for the world to appreciate.

介绍给世人了解和欣赏。

But from another point of view,

但从另一个角度而言，

the museum had committed a terrible crime of cultural violence.

博物馆犯下了严重的罪行：文化暴力。

For Zunis, the War God is not a piece of art,

对于祖尼人而言，战神木雕并非艺术品，

it is not even a thing.

甚至都不算是一件物品。

It is a being.

它有生命。

For Zunis, every year,

每年，祖尼牧师都会

priests ritually carve new War Gods,

按仪式雕刻新的战神，

the Ahayu:da,

Ahayu:Da，

breathing life into them in a long ceremony.

在漫长隆重的祭典上，为其注入生命的气息。

They are placed on sacred shrines

祖尼人将战神木雕放置在神庙，

where they live to protect the Zuni people

祈求它们保佑自己的族人，

and keep the universe in balance.

并维护宇宙的平衡。

No one can own or sell a War God.

任何人都不能占有或者贩卖战神。

They belong only to the earth.

战神只属于大地母亲。

And so Zunis want them back from museums

所以祖尼人想从博物馆把战神木雕要回来，

so they can go to their shrine homes

放回自己的神庙，

to fulfill their spiritual purpose.

履行自己的精神使命。

What is a curator to do?

博物馆馆长要怎么做呢？

I believe that the War Gods should be returned.

我认为应该归还战神。

This might be a startling answer.

这个答案或许让人觉得不可思议。

After all, my conclusion contradicts the refrain

毕竟，我的答案与全球大部分

of the world's most famous archaeologist:

知名考古学家的观点相左：

"That belongs in a museum!"

“战神属于博物馆！”

(Laughter)

（大笑）

is what Indiana Jones said, not just to drive movie plots,

这是电影《夺宝奇兵》的男主角 印地安纳・琼斯说的，

but to drive home the unquestionable good of museums for society.

他说这话可不单单是为了推动剧情发展 ， 更是为了全社会的利益。

I did not come to my view easily.

当然，我也并非轻易得出了自己的答案。

I grew up in Tucson, Arizona,

我在亚利桑那州的图森市长大，

and fell in love with the Sonoran Desert's past.

从小就喜欢索诺拉沙漠的历史。

I was amazed that beneath the city's bland strip malls

使我惊奇的是，在图森一条条商业街的下面

埋藏着12000年的历史故事，等着人类去探索。

was 12,000 years of history just waiting to be discovered.

When I was 16 years old, I started taking archaeology classes

我16岁那年，开始上考古学课，

and going out on digs.

也会外出进行考古发掘。

A high school teacher of mine even helped me set up my own laboratory

我的一位高中老师甚至帮我 建了属于我个人的实验室，

to study animal bones.

以便我研究动物骨骼。

But in college,

但上大学时，

I came to learn that my future career had a dark history.

我发现我日后的职业生涯 还涉及了一段黑暗的历史。

Starting in the 1860s,

自19世纪60年代以来，

Native American skeletons became a tool for science,

美洲印第安人骨骸就成为了科学工具，

collected in the thousands

人们收集成千上万的骨骸

to prove new theories of social and racial hierarchies.

来证明新的社会和种族阶级理论。

Native American human remains were plundered from graves,

有些人强行把美洲印第安人的 骸骨从坟墓里挖出来，

even taken fresh from battlefields.

甚至还从战场收集尸骸。

When archaeologists came across white graves,

当考古学家挖到白人坟墓时，

the skeleton was often quickly reburied,

一般会尽快把骨骸埋回去，

while Native bones were deposited as specimens on museum shelves.

而挖到美洲印第安人的骨骸时， 却会做成标本放到博物馆展示柜里。

In the wake of war, stolen land, boarding schools,

战争过后，家园故土被侵占， 学校成为寄宿制，

laws banning religion,

宗教被法律禁止，

anthropologists collected sacred objects

人类学家收集各种神圣物件，

in the belief that Native peoples were on the cusp of extinction.

认为美洲印第安人即将灭绝。

You can call it racism or colonialism, but the labels don't matter

你们可以称之为种族主义或殖民主义 ， 贴任何标签都无所谓，

as much as the fact that over the last century,

重要的是上世纪发生的事情，

Native American rights and culture were taken from them.

美洲印第安人的权利被剥夺，文化被侵犯。

In 1990, after years of Native protests,

1990年，在多年的本土抗议之后，

the US government, through the US Congress,

美国政府通过美国国会，

finally passed a law that allowed Native Americans to reclaim

终于通过了一项法律 允许美洲印第安人

cultural items, sacred objects and human remains from museums.

从博物馆取回文物，圣物和祖先遗骸。

Many archaeologists were panicked.

考古学家纷纷表示震惊。

For scientists,

对于科学家而言，

it can be hard to fully grasp how a piece of wood can be a living god

可能很难理解一块木头 怎么就变成有生命的神了，

or how spirits surround bones.

亦或神灵如何守护遗骸。

And they knew that modern science, especially with DNA,

而科学家知道，现代科学，尤其是DNA，

can provide luminous insights into the past.

能有助于洞悉过去。

As the anthropologist Frank Norwick declared,

人类学家弗兰克 · 诺维克曾说过，

"We are doing important work that benefits all of mankind.

“我们手头在做的事情 对全人类而言意义非凡。

We are not returning anything to anyone."

我们绝不会把任何东西还给任何人。”

As a college student, all of this was an enigma

对于大学生而言，这一切都是谜，

that was hard to decipher.

难以解读。

Why did Native Americans want their heritage back

为什么美洲印第安人想把文化遗产

from the very places preserving it?

从保存文化遗产的地方拿回来呢？

And how could scientists spend their entire lives

科学家怎么能穷其一生

studying dead Indians

研究死去的美洲印第安人，

but seem to care so little about living ones?

却不怎么关注活生生的美洲印第安人？

I graduated but wasn't sure what to do next,

我虽然从大学毕业了， 却不知道之后要做什么，

so I traveled.

于是我就出去旅行了。

One day, in South Africa,

有一天，我到了南非，

I visited Nelson Mandela's former prison cell on Robben Island.

去了罗本岛上关押过 纳尔逊 · 曼德拉的监狱。

I had an epiphany.

我恍然大悟。

Here was a man who helped a country bridge vast divides

这里关过的可是曼德拉啊，

他致力于帮助国家消除分歧，寻求和解。

to seek, however imperfectly, reconciliation.

I'm no Mandela, but I ask myself:

虽然我不是曼德拉，但也不禁扪心自问：

Could I, too, plant seeds of hope in the ruins of the past?

我是否也能同他一样， 在曾经的废墟之上播种希望？

In 2007, I was hired as a curator

2007年，我出任

at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

丹佛自然科学博物馆馆长。

Our team agreed that unlike many other institutions,

我们的团队达成了共识，和其他机构不同，

we needed to proactively confront the legacy of museum collecting.

我们要主动归还馆藏文物。

We started with the skeletons in our closet,

我们先从储藏室里的遗骸入手，

100 of them.

共有100具。

月复一月，年复一年， 我们与几十个部落取得了联系，

After months and then years, we met with dozens of tribes

to figure out how to get these remains home.

想办法将这些遗骸送回部落。

And this is hard work.

这项工作十分艰难，

It involves negotiating who will receive the remains,

我们要协商谁来接收这些遗骸，

how to respectfully transfer them,

如何转移这些遗骸，才能显示尊重，

where will they go.

要把这些遗骸送到哪里去。

Native American leaders become undertakers,

美洲印第安人部落领袖承办了殡葬仪式，

planning funerals for dead relatives they had never wanted unearthed.

为那些被强行挖出来的逝去的亲人置办葬礼。

A decade later, the Denver Museum and our Native partners

十年后 ，丹佛自然科学博物馆和美洲印第安人

have reburied nearly all of the human remains in the collection.

差不多把馆藏的人类遗骸都重新埋葬了。

We have returned hundreds of sacred objects.

我们已经归还了数百件圣物。

But I've come to see that these battles are endless.

但我发现，这些战争无休无止。

Repatriation is now a permanent feature of the museum world.

归还文物如今成了博物馆的固定工作内容。

Hundreds of tribes are waiting their turn.

数百个部落等着博物馆归还文物。

There are always more museums with more stuff.

博物馆越来越多， 需要归还的文物更是数不胜数。

Every catalogued War God in an American public museum

美国公共博物馆里每一个登记在册的战神

has now been returned -- 106, so far --

都已经归还给了祖尼部落 ， 截至目前一共归还了106个。

but there are more beyond the reach of US law,

但是还有很多的战神并不在 美国法律的管辖范围之内，

in private collections and outside our borders.

比如私人收藏的，和美国领土之外的。

In 2014, I had the chance to travel with a respected religious leader

2014年，我有幸与一位 受人敬重的宗教领袖一同出行，

from the Zuni tribe named Octavius Seowtewa

他名叫奥塔维斯 · 西欧特瓦 （Octavius Seowtewa） ，来自祖尼部落，

to visit five museums in Europe with War Gods.

我们访问了欧洲五家收藏了战神的博物馆。

At the Ethnological Museum of Berlin,

在柏林民族学博物馆，

we saw a War God with a history of dubious care.

我们发现其对战神的保存能力令人生疑。

An overly enthusiastic curator had added chicken feathers to it.

这所博物馆的馆长对战神怀着满腔热忱， 甚至还把鸡毛放到了战神上。

Its necklace had once been stolen.

战神的项链被偷过。

At the Musée du quai Branly in Paris,

在巴黎的凯布朗利博物馆，

an official told us that the War God there is now state property

一位管理人员称那里的战神现在属于国有财产，

with no provisions for repatriation.

没有归还的规定。

He insisted that the War God no longer served Zunis

他坚称战神不再为祖尼人服务，

but museum visitors.

而是在博物馆供游客观赏。

He said, "We give all of the objects to the world."

他说：“我们把所有的展品呈现给全世界。”

At the British Museum,

在大英博物馆，

we were warned that the Zuni case would establish a dangerous precedent

则有人警告称，把战神归还给 祖尼人会开创危险的先例，

for bigger disputes,

会引起更大的争端。

such as the Parthenon Marbles, claimed by Greece.

比如说，希腊人会索回 帕特农神庙大理石雕塑。

After visiting the five museums,

访问了这五家博物馆之后，

Octavius returned home to his people empty-handed.

奥塔维斯空手而归。

He later told me,

后来，他告诉我，

"It hurts my heart to see the Ahayu:da so far away.

“看到战神散落在远方，我非常心疼。

They all belong together.

这些战神都应该在一起。

It's like a family member that's missing from a family dinner.

它们好比家庭成员在家庭聚餐中缺席了。

When one is gone, their strength is broken."

缺少了一个，它们的凝聚力就被破坏了。”

I wish that my colleagues in Europe and beyond

我希望欧洲及其他地区的同仁们

could see that the War Gods do not represent the end of museums

能够明白，归还战神并不会 对博物馆产生负面影响，

but the chance for a new beginning.

而是代表一个新的开端。

When you walk the halls of a museum,

当你参观博物馆的时候，

you're likely just seeing about one percent

你看到的展品

很可能只占全部馆藏的1%左右。

of the total collections.

The rest is in storage.

剩下的全在储藏室放着。

Even after returning 500 cultural items and skeletons,

即使是在归还了500件文物和遗骸后，

my museum still retains 99.999 percent of its total collections.

我的博物馆还有99.999%馆藏。

Though we no longer have War Gods,

虽然我们博物馆没有了战神，

we have Zuni traditional pottery,

但是我们有传统祖尼陶器，

jewelry, tools, clothing and arts.

珠宝、工具、衣物及艺术品。

And even more precious than these objects

还有比这些文物更珍贵的，

are the relationships that we formed with Native Americans

那便是我们在归还文物的过程中

through the process of repatriation.

与美洲印第安人建立的关系。

Now, we can ask Zunis to share their culture with us.

现在，我们可以请祖尼人 与我们一同分享祖尼文化。

Not long ago, I had the chance to visit the returned War Gods.

不久前，我有幸见到了归还的战神。

A shrine sits up high atop a mesa overlooking beautiful Zuni homeland.

神庙建在一座平顶山上， 俯瞰美丽的祖尼家园。

The shrine is enclosed by a roofless stone building

神庙由一些石屋围起来，没有屋顶。

threaded at the top with barbed wire

石屋上面设有带刺铁丝网，

to ensure that they're not stolen again.

确保战神不会再次被盗。

And there they are, inside,

神庙里共有

the Ahayu:da,

106尊战神，

106 War Gods amid offerings of turquoise, cornmeal, shell,

它们的周围摆满了祭品： 绿松石、玉米粉、贝壳，

even T-shirts ...

甚至还有T恤衫……

a modern gift to ancient beings.

这是献给古代生灵的现代礼物。

And standing there,

站在那里，

I got a glimpse at the War Gods' true purpose in the world.

我突然理解了战神存在的真正意义。

And it occurred to me then

我明白了，

that we do not get to choose the histories that we inherit.

我们不能选择我们能够继承的历史。

Museum curators today did not pillage ancient graves

当代博物馆馆长并没有掠夺古代坟墓，

or steal spiritual objects,

没有偷盗圣物，

but we can accept responsibility for correcting past mistakes.

但是我们应该承担责任，纠正前人的错误。

We can help restore dignity,

我们可以帮助美洲印第安人，

hope and humanity to Native Americans,

恢复尊严，重获希望，推崇人道，

the very people who were once the voiceless objects of our curiosity.

因为我们的好奇，他们曾被迫保持沉默，

And this doesn't even require us to fully understand others' beliefs,

我们并不需要完全理解他人的信仰，

only that we respect them.

只需要去尊重他们的信仰。

Museums are temples to things past.

博物馆收藏历史文物。

Now they must also become places for living cultures.

现在，博物馆也要收藏当代文化作品。

As I turned to walk away from the shrine,

走出神庙的时候，

I drank in the warm summer air,

我尽情享受着温暖的夏日阳光，

and I watched an eagle turn lazy circles high above.

我看到一只鹰在高空中缓缓盘旋。

I thought of the Zunis,

我想到了祖尼人，

whose offerings ensure that their culture is not dead and gone

各种各样的祭品证明了他们的文化并未消逝，

but alive and well,

而是依旧鲜活，

and I could think of no better place for the War Gods to be.

我相信，这就是战神最好的归宿。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）