Wade Davis: Cultures at the far edge of the world

You know, one of the intense pleasures of travel

对我来说 在世界各地旅行

and one of the delights of ethnographic research

和从事人类学研究的生涯中

is the opportunity to live amongst those

最大的乐趣之一莫过于

who have not forgotten the old ways,

体验那些没有忘记传统的族群的生活

who still feel their past in the wind,

沐浴在微风中

touch it in stones polished by rain,

触摸被雨水冲洗得晶莹光亮的石头

taste it in the bitter leaves of plants.

尝着苦叶的味道 你能感受到他们的历史

Just to know that Jaguar shamans still journey beyond the Milky Way,

在萨满教的传说中 老虎要跨越银河

or the myths of the Inuit elders still resonate with meaning,

因纽特老人的神话仍然引起后人的共鸣

or that in the Himalaya,

或者在喜马拉雅山

the Buddhists still pursue the breath of the Dharma,

佛教徒还在追随法门

is to really remember the central revelation of anthropology,

这让我们想起人类学的核心揭示

and that is the idea that the world in which we live

它的思想要义是 我们生活的世界

does not exist in some absolute sense,

不是存在于一个绝对的意识之中

but is just one model of reality,

而只是一个现实模型

the consequence of one particular set of adaptive choices

只是一种适应性选择的结果

that our lineage made, albeit successfully, many generations ago.

我们的祖先在很多世代以前就成功地做出了这种选择

And of course, we all share the same adaptive imperatives.

当然 我们所有都遵守同一种适应性规则

We're all born. We all bring our children into the world.

我们都出生于母腹 并且在这个世上生儿育女

We go through initiation rites.

我们要经历成年礼的洗礼

We have to deal with the inexorable separation of death,

必须面对残酷的生离死别

so it shouldn't surprise us that we all sing, we all dance,

因此 我们要歌唱和舞蹈 以排遣生活中的苦楚

we all have art.

我们创造了艺术

But what's interesting is the unique cadence of the song,

但是 你会发现 每种文化的歌曲韵律

the rhythm of the dance in every culture.

和舞蹈节奏有着独一无二的特色

And whether it is the Penan in the forests of Borneo,

无论是生活在婆罗(Borneo) 丛林的伯南(Penan)人

or the Voodoo acolytes in Haiti,

还是海地的巫毒教(Voodoo)侍僧

or the warriors in the Kaisut desert of Northern Kenya,

抑或是北肯尼亚凯苏特(Kaisut)沙漠的武士

the Curandero in the mountains of the Andes,

安迪斯山区的巫医(Curandero)

or a caravanserai in the middle of the Sahara --

或撒哈拉沙漠中部的围帐客栈

this is incidentally the fellow that I traveled into the desert with

一个月 我曾经与这个人一起结伴

a month ago --

前往沙漠

or indeed a yak herder in the slopes of Qomolangma,

他是一位牦牛牧养人 生活在世界之巅

Everest, the goddess mother of the world.

珠穆朗玛峰的山坡上

All of these peoples teach us that there are other ways of being,

所有这些族群向我们展现了不同的生存方式和

other ways of thinking,

不同的思维方式

other ways of orienting yourself in the Earth.

以及不同的人生观

And this is an idea, if you think about it,

如果你认真思考 你发会现

can only fill you with hope.

这种不同的思维会让你看到希望

Now, together the myriad cultures of the world

这个世界五彩缤纷的文化

make up a web of spiritual life and cultural life

犹如一张由精神生活和文化生活交织而成的网

that envelops the planet,

覆盖整个地球

and is as important to the well-being of the planet

它对于地球的芸芸众生有着十分重要的意义

as indeed is the biological web of life that you know as a biosphere.

如同我们称为生物圈的生态之网一样重要

And you might think of this cultural web of life

你可以把这种生命的文化之网

as being an ethnosphere,

看作是一个种族圈

and you might define the ethnosphere

这个种族圈可以被定义为

as being the sum total of all thoughts and dreams, myths,

一个人类自从有自我意识以来通过想像力

ideas, inspirations, intuitions brought into being

创造的所有思想和梦想、神话、直觉

by the human imagination since the dawn of consciousness.

的全部之和

The ethnosphere is humanity's great legacy.

这个种族圈是人类的伟大遗产

It's the symbol of all that we are

它是我们的身份标志

and all that we can be as an astonishingly inquisitive species.

也是我们作为具有很强的探究能力的物种的标志

And just as the biosphere has been severely eroded,

如同生物圈受到严重的侵蚀一样

so too is the ethnosphere

种族圈也面临着同样的厄运

-- and, if anything, at a far greater rate.

而且 它的毁灭速度更快

No biologists, for example, would dare suggest

没有任何一位生物学家敢断言

that 50 percent of all species or more have been or are

50% 或更多的物种已经灭绝

on the brink of extinction because it simply is not true,

或者正处在灭绝的边缘 因为真相并非如此

and yet that -- the most apocalyptic scenario

生物多样性的

in the realm of biological diversity --

最悲观的状况

scarcely approaches what we know to be the most optimistic scenario

也要远胜于

in the realm of cultural diversity.

文化多样性的最乐观的状况

And the great indicator of that, of course, is language loss.

这其中的一个最重要的标志 就是语言的

When each of you in this room were born,

在我们生活的这个星球上

there were 6,000 languages spoken on the planet.

原本有 6:00 种语言

Now, a language is not just a body of vocabulary

语言不仅仅是发音

or a set of grammatical rules.

和语法规则

A language is a flash of the human spirit.

语言是人类精神的闪光

It's a vehicle through which the soul of each particular culture

它是各个独特文化的精神实质

comes into the material world.

在这个物质世界上的承载体

Every language is an old-growth forest of the mind,

每一种语言都是一种思想

a watershed, a thought, an ecosystem of spiritual possibilities.

一种意识和一种精神生态系统的长期沉淀和积累

And of those 6,000 languages, as we sit here today in Monterey,

我们知道地球上有 6:00 种语言 这和我们在座的观众数量一样多

fully half are no longer being whispered into the ears of children.

在这些语言中 有一半已经不再向孩子们传授

They're no longer being taught to babies,

这些语言已经没有传人

which means, effectively, unless something changes,

也就是说 除非采取有效的措施

they're already dead.

它们将会彻底消失

What could be more lonely than to be enveloped in silence,

想象一下 当你有口难言

to be the last of your people to speak your language,

或者，你是最后一个会说本族语言的人

to have no way to pass on the wisdom of the ancestors

没有办法传承祖先的智慧

or anticipate the promise of the children?

也无许预言孩子们的未来 这会是多么的孤独和可怕

And yet, that dreadful fate is indeed the plight of somebody

另外 一个可怕的事实是

somewhere on Earth roughly every two weeks,

在地球上 大约每两个星期

because every two weeks, some elder dies

就会有一位年长者仙逝

and carries with him into the grave the last syllables

与之伴随的是

of an ancient tongue.

一种古老语言的消失

And I know there's some of you who say, "Well, wouldn't it be better,

我知道你们有人会说 那样岂不是更好吗

wouldn't the world be a better place

如果世界上只有一种语言

if we all just spoke one language?" And I say, "Great,

那不是更好吗 那么我要说

let's make that language Yoruba. Let's make it Cantonese.

假设这种唯一的语言是约鲁巴语(Yoruba) 或者是粤语(Cantonese)

Let's make it Kogi."

或者是科基语(Kogi)

And you'll suddenly discover what it would be like

你就会发现

to be unable to speak your own language.

你不会说自己的母语了

And so, what I'd like to do with you today

因此 今天我要做的事情

is sort of take you on a journey through the ethnosphere,

就是带领你们去探索这个种族圈

a brief journey through the ethnosphere,

让你们对种族圈有大致的了解

to try to begin to give you a sense of what in fact is being lost.

并且让你们切身感受到正在灭亡的文明

Now, there are many of us who sort of forget

可能有很多人已经忘了

that when I say "different ways of being,"

前面我说过的“不同的生存方式”

I really do mean different ways of being.

前面我说过的“不同的生存方式”

Take, for example, this child of a Barasana in the Northwest Amazon,

举个例子 这个小孩生活在亚玛逊西北部的巴拉撒拉地区

the people of the anaconda

他们被称为森蚺之族

who believe that mythologically they came up the milk river

因为他们相信一个传说 即他们来自米尔克河东岸

from the east in the belly of sacred snakes.

诞生于神圣的蛇腹

Now, this is a people who cognitively

这个族群的人不能区分

do not distinguish the color blue from the color green

蓝色和绿色

because the canopy of the heavens

因为丛林是他们的栖身之地

is equated to the canopy of the forest

所以在他们看来

upon which the people depend.

天穹与森林的树冠并没有区别

They have a curious language and marriage rule

他们说着一种奇怪的语言 并且遵守一种独特的通婚规则

which is called "linguistic exogamy:"

这称为语言学异族通婚

you must marry someone who speaks a different language.

一位族人必须与操一种不同语言的人结婚

And this is all rooted in the mythological past,

这都是根据神话传说的历史传承下来的

yet the curious thing is in these long houses,

你可以看到一个奇怪的现象

where there are six or seven languages spoken

由于异族同婚的缘故

because of intermarriage,

一个大家族往往有六七种语言

you never hear anyone practicing a language.

你从不会看到有人操练一种语言

They simply listen and then begin to speak.

他们只要会听 就会说一种语言了

Or, one of the most fascinating tribes I ever lived with,

在我曾经接触过的众多种族

the Waorani of northeastern Ecuador,

厄瓜多尔东北部的华拉尼(Waorani)族人是最奇妙的种族之一

an astonishing people first contacted peacefully in 1958.

早在 1958 年，我曾经与他们有过和平友好的接触

In 1957, five missionaries attempted contact

1957 年 五名传教士试图接近他们

and made a critical mistake.

但是这些人犯了一个致命的错误

They dropped from the air

他们从空中丢下

8 x 10 glossy photographs of themselves

八到十张他们本人的照片

in what we would say to be friendly gestures,

在我们看来 这是友好的表示

forgetting that these people of the rainforest

但是他们却没有想到 这些生活在雨林中的人

had never seen anything two-dimensional in their lives.

从来没有见过二维的照片

They picked up these photographs from the forest floor,

他们从林地上捡起这些照片

tried to look behind the face to find the form or the figure,

然后把照片翻过来 试图找到这些人的身影

found nothing, and concluded that these were calling cards

但是他们发现什么也没有 于是他们认为

from the devil, so they speared the five missionaries to death.

这是恶魔发出的召唤卡片 于是他们用长矛戮死了这五名传教士

But the Waorani didn't just spear outsiders.

更恐怖的是 华拉尼不仅戮死外来人士

They speared each other.

他们还自相残杀

54 percent of their mortality was due to them spearing each other.

54% 的死亡人口是被他们自己的族人戮死的

We traced genealogies back eight generations,

我们对一个八代宗谱进行调查

and we found two instances of natural death

发现只有两例自然死亡

and when we pressured the people a little bit about it,

我们刨根问底

they admitted that one of the fellows had gotten so old

他们终于道出真相 同族人年迈不堪行就将木的时候

that he died getting old, so we speared him anyway. (Laughter)

他们就会戮死他 为他送终（笑声）

But at the same time they had a perspicacious knowledge

另一方面 他们对丛林

of the forest that was astonishing.

有着令人惊诧的洞察力

Their hunters could smell animal urine at 40 paces

他们的猎手能够闻到 40 步开外的动物尿液味道

and tell you what species left it behind.

而且知道那是什么动物的尿液

In the early '80s, I had a really astonishing assignment

在 80 年代早期 我曾经承担了一项奇妙的任务

when I was asked by my professor at Harvard

我在哈佛大学的教授问我

if I was interested in going down to Haiti,

是否有兴趣去海地

infiltrating the secret societies

去潜入一个秘密社团

which were the foundation of Duvalier's strength

那是海地总统杜华利和他的政权

and Tonton Macoutes,

支持者的基地

and securing the poison used to make zombies.

教授让我去那里获取一种用于制造僵尸的毒药

In order to make sense out of sensation, of course,

为了理解其中的奥秘

I had to understand something about this remarkable faith

我必须弄明白这种神奇的宗教信仰巫毒教是怎么一回事

of Vodoun. And Voodoo is not a black magic cult.

巫毒教不是一种黑暗的魔纪教派

On the contrary, it's a complex metaphysical worldview.

相反 这是一种复杂的形而上学的世界观

It's interesting.

这很有意思

If I asked you to name the great religions of the world,

如果我要你列举出世界上一些重要的宗教

what would you say?

你会举出哪些例子

Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, whatever.

基督教 伊斯兰教 佛教 还有其他一些宗教

There's always one continent left out,

有一个大陆始终被遗忘

the assumption being that sub-Saharan Africa

很多人认为 撒哈拉以南的非洲地区

had no religious beliefs. Well, of course, they did

没有宗教信仰 这是不正确的

and Voodoo is simply the distillation

在大饥荒时代 这些地区的人流浪到世界各地

of these very profound religious ideas

把他们的宗教信仰也带到那里

that came over during the tragic Diaspora of the slavery era.

而巫毒教融汇这些宗教的精华

But, what makes Voodoo so interesting

巫毒的独特之处在于

is that it's this living relationship

它是生者与死者

between the living and the dead.

之间的一种联系

So, the living give birth to the spirits.

生者孕育了灵魂

The spirits can be invoked from beneath the Great Water,

应着舞蹈的节奏翩翩起舞

responding to the rhythm of the dance

可以唤醒大水之下的灵魂

to momentarily displace the soul of the living,

暂时地代替生者的灵魂

so that for that brief shining moment, the acolyte becomes the god.

在那个短暂的闪光时刻 侍僧成为神

That's why the Voodooists like to say

因此 巫毒教徒喜欢说

that "You white people go to church and speak about God.

你们去教堂做礼拜 言必称上帝

We dance in the temple and become God."

我们在圣殿起舞 成为神

And because you are possessed, you are taken by the spirit --

你已经被神灵附体

how can you be harmed?

怎么还会受到伤害呢

So you see these astonishing demonstrations:

于是 你会看一些令人惊奇的现象

Voodoo acolytes in a state of trance

巫毒教侍僧进入一种神志恍惚的状态

handling burning embers with impunity,

手持燃烧的枝条 但是毫发无损

a rather astonishing demonstration of the ability of the mind

当他们进入一种极端亢奋的状态时候

to affect the body that bears it

你还会看到更加令人吃惊的现象

when catalyzed in the state of extreme excitation.

让你感受意志力的强大

Now, of all the peoples that I've ever been with,

在我接触过的所有族群中

the most extraordinary are the Kogi

生活在哥伦比亚北部的圣玛尔塔山区的科基人

of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia.

是最不同寻常的

Descendants of the ancient Tairona civilization

这个种族是古代暴政文明的后裔

which once carpeted the Caribbean coastal plain of Colombia,

他们曾经一度征服和占领了哥伦比亚的

in the wake of the conquest,

加勒比海岸平原地区

these people retreated into an isolated volcanic massif

此后 他们退回到加勒比海岸平原的

that soars above the Caribbean coastal plain.

一个与世隔绝的山区

In a bloodstained continent,

在这个血腥肆虐的大陆

these people alone were never conquered by the Spanish.

这个种族从来没有被西班牙人征服过

To this day, they remain ruled by a ritual priesthood

至到今天 他们沿续着僧侣会统治制度

but the training for the priesthood is rather extraordinary.

但是 他们的僧侣训诫非常的独特

The young acolytes are taken away from their families

还只有三四岁的时候

at the age of three and four,

年幼的侍僧就被带离他们的家庭

sequestered in a shadowy world of darkness

隐居在黑暗世界

in stone huts at the base of glaciers for 18 years:

的冰川上用石头彻成的小屋里待到十八岁

two nine-year periods

十八年是两个九年之和

deliberately chosen to mimic the nine months of gestation

它象征在母腹的

they spend in their natural mother's womb;

九月怀胎

now they are metaphorically in the womb of the great mother.

在此期间

And for this entire time,

他们如同重新回到母腹

they are inculturated into the values of their society,

被灌输族群的价值观

values that maintain the proposition that their prayers

这些价值观是维系着

and their prayers alone maintain the cosmic --

信徒与宇宙之间的关系

or we might say the ecological -- balance.

我们可称之为生态平衡

And at the end of this amazing initiation,

直到他们十八岁的时候

one day they're suddenly taken out

这种神奇的洗礼结束

and for the first time in their lives, at the age of 18,

他们生平第一次走出小屋看到阳光

they see a sunrise. And in that crystal moment of awareness

在阳光的照耀下

of first light as the Sun begins to bathe the slopes

大地呈现出令人震撼的壮观美景

of the stunningly beautiful landscape,

那一刻 意识突然苏醒

suddenly everything they have learned in the abstract

他们以前学到的所有抽象知识

is affirmed in stunning glory. And the priest steps back

都是在令人惊叹的荣耀中得到印证 这时 祭司走过来说

and says, "You see? It's really as I've told you.

看到了吧 我以前教你的都是真的

It is that beautiful. It is yours to protect."

这里是多么的美丽 你要保护它

They call themselves the "elder brothers"

他们称自己为兄长

and they say we, who are the younger brothers,

称我们为弟兄

are the ones responsible for destroying the world.

说我们是破坏世界的人

Now, this level of intuition becomes very important.

这种直觉的领会能力非常重要

Whenever we think of indigenous people and landscape,

说到土族居民和原始的风土人情

we either invoke Rousseau

我们会想到罗素

and the old canard of the "noble savage,"

关于那个高贵的野人的古老传说

which is an idea racist in its simplicity,

那一个理想的种族主义者

or alternatively, we invoke Thoreau

我们会想到梭罗

and say these people are closer to the Earth than we are.

这些人比我们更亲近大地

Well, indigenous people are neither sentimental

土著人并不会多愁善感

nor weakened by nostalgia.

也不会承受思乡之苦

There's not a lot of room for either

在疟疾盛行的阿斯玛特(Asmant)湿地

in the malarial swamps of the Asmat

在寒风刺骨的西藏

or in the chilling winds of Tibet, but they have, nevertheless,

并没有多少平整的土地 但是他们依靠众人的力量 经年累月

through time and ritual, forged a traditional mystique of the Earth

在世上创造了流传百世的神迹

that is based not on the idea of being self-consciously close to it,

这并不是因为他们自觉地认识到这一点

but on a far subtler intuition:

而且凭借非常敏感的直觉

the idea that the Earth itself can only exist

他们认为这个世界本身的存在

because it is breathed into being by human consciousness.

是因为人类的意识吸收了自然的精华

Now, what does that mean?

那么 这是什么意思呢

It means that a young kid from the Andes

我们可以打个比方 一位生活在安第斯山脉的小孩

who's raised to believe that that mountain is an Apu spirit

大人们从小就教导他说 那里的大山是阿普神的化身

that will direct his or her destiny

它将会指引他们的命运

will be a profoundly different human being

他们是一类完全不同的人

and have a different relationship to that resource

他们与那里的自然环境和生养之地有着一种不同的关系

or that place than a young kid from Montana

而在蒙大拿州的年轻人看来

raised to believe that a mountain is a pile of rock

一座大山只不过是

ready to be mined.

一堆石头 可以用来开采石矿

Whether it's the abode of a spirit or a pile of ore is irrelevant.

无论那座大山是神的住所 或者仅仅是一堆矿石 这都不重要

What's interesting is the metaphor that defines the relationship

重要的是 这种象征意义

between the individual and the natural world.

阐述了人与自然之间的关系

I was raised in the forests of British Columbia

我在英属哥伦比亚的丛林长大

to believe those forests existed to be cut.

受当地人思想的影响 我认为丛林是要被砍伐的

That made me a different human being

这种想法让我与

than my friends amongst the Kwagiulth

夸基特尔(Kwakiutl)部落的朋友们成为两类截然不同的人

who believe that those forests were the abode of Huxwhukw

因为他们相信 这些树木是胡克神(Hukuk)

and the Crooked Beak of Heaven

和天堂之眼的化身

and the cannibal spirits that dwelled at the north end of the world,

吃人的精灵在世界的最北边

spirits they would have to engage during their Hamatsa initiation.

在哈马撒(Hamatsa)成人礼上 他们会与这些精灵开战

Now, if you begin to look at the idea

如果你从这个角度来看

that these cultures could create different realities,

你就会发现 这些文化创造了不同的生活方式

you could begin to understand

你就会明白

some of their extraordinary discoveries. Take this plant here.

他们与众不同的生活方式

It's a photograph I took in the Northwest Amazon just last April.

这张照片是我去年八月份在亚马逊西北地区拍摄的

This is ayahuasca, which many of you have heard about,

这是阿亚胡斯卡(ayahuasca)藤 俗称死藤

the most powerful psychoactive preparation

你们很多人都听说过 它是一种非常强效的精神麻醉植物

of the shaman's repertoire.

萨满教徒常用它制作迷幻药- 死藤水

What makes ayahuasca fascinating

死藤水的奇妙之处

is not the sheer pharmacological potential of this preparation,

不在于它神奇的药用性

but the elaboration of it. It's made really of two different sources:

而在于它的加工方法 实际上它由两种物质组成

on the one hand, this woody liana

一方面 它是一种藤本植物

which has in it a series of beta-carbolines,

含有 β-咔啉 蓬硷

harmine, harmaline, mildly hallucinogenic --

和微量的致幻成份

to take the vine alone

就拿它的藤来说

is rather to have sort of blue hazy smoke

你似乎可以看到

drift across your consciousness --

一层蓝色的烟雾

but it's mixed with the leaves of a shrub in the coffee family

它与一种名为九节木的咖啡属灌木的枝叶

called Psychotria viridis.

混杂在一起

This plant had in it some very powerful tryptamines,

这种植物具有一种强效的色胺

very close to brain serotonin, dimethyltryptamine,

它的成分与脑内的5-羟色胺的成份

5-methoxydimethyltryptamine.

非常接近

If you've ever seen the Yanomami

亚诺马米(Yanomami)部落的人

blowing that snuff up their noses,

也会从含有5-羟色胺的植物中

that substance they make from a different set of species

提取这种物质

also contains methoxydimethyltryptamine.

并且用鼻子吸食

To have that powder blown up your nose

如果你用鼻吸入这些粉末

is rather like being shot out of a rifle barrel

你会看到光怪陆离的幻觉

lined with baroque paintings and landing on a sea of electricity. (Laughter)

处于一种非常亢奋的状态

It doesn't create the distortion of reality;

现实在你面前不是扭曲

it creates the dissolution of reality.

而是荡然无存

In fact, I used to argue with my professor, Richard Evan Shultes --

事实上 我曾经与我的导师 Richard Evan Shultes 争论过

who is a man who sparked the psychedelic era

上世纪 30 年代 我的导师曾经在墨西哥

with his discovery of the magic mushrooms

发现一种神奇的蘑菇

in Mexico in the 1930s --

具有很强的迷幻效果

I used to argue that you couldn't classify these tryptamines

我曾经和他争论说 你不能把这些色胺归入

as hallucinogenic because by the time you're under the effects

迷幻成份类别 因为当它们在你身上发挥效力的时候

there's no one home anymore to experience a hallucination. (Laughter)

你已经无法体验到迷幻的感觉（笑声）

But the thing about tryptamines is they cannot be taken orally

但是 这些色胺物质并不能口服

because they're denatured by an enzyme

因为它们会被

found naturally in the human gut called monoamine oxidase.

人体器官中的一种名为单胺氧化酶(MAO)的酶改变活性

They can only be taken orally if taken in conjunction

要口服这些色胺物质

with some other chemical that denatures the MAO.

还有必须同时口服改变单胺氧化酶(MAO)的活性的其他化学物质

Now, the fascinating things

有意思的是

are that the beta-carbolines found within that liana

这种藤本植物中存在的 β-咔啉

are MAO inhibitors of the precise sort necessary

正好能够抑制单胺氧化酶(MAO)

to potentiate the tryptamine. So you ask yourself a question.

而发挥色胺的效力 因此 你不由得要问自己

How, in a flora of 80,000 species of vascular plants,

在这片丛林中 有 80:00 种植物

do these people find these two morphologically unrelated plants

那里的人们是如何发现这两种在形态上毫无关联的植物

that when combined in this way,

组合在一起 会发挥这种神奇的效力

created a kind of biochemical version

这如同一种生化实验

of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts?

多种成分产生的化学效应大于各成分的效力之和

Well, we use that great euphemism, "trial and error,"

我们普通人会做各种各样的实验 不断地犯错误

which is exposed to be meaningless.

结果却一无所获

But you ask the Indians, and they say, "The plants talk to us."

但是 如果你问印第安人 他们会说 植物会说话

Well, what does that mean?

那是什么意思呢

This tribe, the Cofan, has 17 varieties of ayahuasca,

科凡(Cofan)部落的人发现了 17 种死藤

all of which they distinguish a great distance in the forest,

全部是他们在丛林深处发现的

all of which are referable to our eye as one species.

在我们看来 它们是不同的物种

And then you ask them how they establish their taxonomy

如果你问他们是如何给这些植物分门别类的

and they say, "I thought you knew something about plants.

他们说 我想你对植物有一些研究

I mean, don't you know anything?" And I said, "No."

你是不是对植物有一定的了解 我说 不是

Well, it turns out you take each of the 17 varieties

那我告诉你 他们说道 如果在月圆之夜

in the night of a full moon, and it sings to you in a different key.

这 17 种植物的每一种植物 会用不同的密语向你歌唱

Now, that's not going to get you a Ph.D. at Harvard,

这个发现不会让你得到哈佛大学的博士学位

but it's a lot more interesting than counting stamens. (Laughter)

但是它远比会计报表更有乐趣

Now --

现在

(Applause) --

（鼓掌）

the problem -- the problem is that even those of us

我们面临这样一个问题

sympathetic with the plight of indigenous people

虽然我们中的一些人同情土著人的遭遇

view them as quaint and colorful

认为他们离群索居 生活丰富多彩

but somehow reduced to the margins of history

但是随着我们的世界向前发展

as the real world, meaning our world, moves on.

这些人退居到历史的边缘地位

Well, the truth is the 20th century, 300 years from now,

对于 20 世纪 以及今后的 300 年

is not going to be remembered for its wars

后人所记住的 不会这期间发生的战争

or its technological innovations,

或者它的科技创新

but rather as the era in which we stood by

而会记住 在我们这个时代

and either actively endorsed or passively accepted

积极地对地球上的生态和文化多样性

the massive destruction of both biological and cultural diversity

进行大规模的破坏 或者被动地接受这个局面

on the planet. Now, the problem isn't change.

现在 局面依然没有改变

All cultures through all time

所有的文化

have constantly been engaged in a dance

一直受到新的生活方式

with new possibilities of life.

的强烈冲击

And the problem is not technology itself.

这个问题并不在于技术本身

The Sioux Indians did not stop being Sioux

苏族印第安人即使放下弓箭

when they gave up the bow and arrow

仍然还是苏族印第安人

any more than an American stopped being an American

而美国人告别骑马和坐马车的生活

when he gave up the horse and buggy.

依然还是美国人

It's not change or technology

威胁种族圈完整性的

that threatens the integrity of the ethnosphere. It is power,

不是变革或技术创新本身 而是权力

the crude face of domination.

是野蛮的排他主义

Wherever you look around the world,

观察我们周围的世界

you discover that these are not cultures destined to fade away;

你就会发现 没有一种文化是注定要消亡的

these are dynamic living peoples

这些原本富有生机活力的人群

being driven out of existence by identifiable forces

被强暴的力量驱逐出他们的生养之地

that are beyond their capacity to adapt to:

让他们感到无所适从

whether it's the egregious deforestation

无论是伯南(Penan)腹地

in the homeland of the Penan --

肆无忌惮的森林砍伐

a nomadic people from Southeast Asia, from Sarawak --

还是东南亚的撒拉瓦克游民部落

a people who lived free in the forest until a generation ago,

他们上代人还自由自在地生活在丛林中

and now have all been reduced to servitude and prostitution

而现在全部已经沦落为仆役和妓女

on the banks of the rivers,

在河岸边

where you can see the river itself is soiled with the silt

你可以看到河水泥沙很重

that seems to be carrying half of Borneo away

似乎要把婆罗族的一半居住地冲走到

to the South China Sea,

南中国海

where the Japanese freighters hang light in the horizon

在那里 日本的人货船已经整装待发

ready to fill their holds with raw logs ripped from the forest --

准备运走从森林砍伐的圆木

or, in the case of the Yanomami,

我们再来看亚诺马米部落

it's the disease entities that have come in,

在那里

in the wake of the discovery of gold.

由于发现了金矿 人们蜂拥而至

Or if we go into the mountains of Tibet,

我们再来看看西藏山区

where I'm doing a lot of research recently,

最近我在那里做了大量的研究

you'll see it's a crude face of political domination.

在那里 你会看到政治独裁的残酷压迫

You know, genocide, the physical extinction of a people

虽然种族灭绝

is universally condemned, but ethnocide,

在全世界受到一致的谴责

the destruction of people's way of life, is not only not condemned,

但是种族文化灭绝 也就是破坏人们的生活方式的行径 却没有受到谴责

it's universally, in many quarters, celebrated

在很多地方 它甚至被视为发展战略的一部分

as part of a development strategy.

受到赞扬

And you cannot understand the pain of Tibet

只要你亲自去那里

until you move through it at the ground level.

你才能体会到西藏承受的痛楚

I once travelled 6,000 miles from Chengdu in Western China

我和一位年轻的同事 从中国西北部的成都市出发

overland through southeastern Tibet to Lhasa

经过 6:00 英里的旅程 穿过西藏的东南地区 到达拉萨

with a young colleague, and it was only when I got to Lhasa

当我到达拉萨的时候

that I understood the face behind the statistics

才真正明白 你们所听说过的那些统计数字

you hear about:

背后隐藏的真相

6,000 sacred monuments torn apart to dust and ashes,

在文化大革命期间

1.2 million people killed by the cadres

6:00 座神殿庙宇被拆毁

during the Cultural Revolution.

120 万人被共产党骨干分子杀害

This young man's father had been ascribed to the Panchen Lama.

这位年轻人的父亲皈依班禅喇嘛

That meant he was instantly killed

中国人入侵后

at the time of the Chinese invasion.

他立即被杀害了

His uncle fled with His Holiness in the Diaspora

他的叔叔和其他信徒

that took the people to Nepal.

一起逃亡到尼泊尔

His mother was incarcerated

他的母亲因为富农家庭成份

for the crime of being wealthy.

而被关押起来

He was smuggled into the jail at the age of two

那时他还只有两岁 他的母亲悄悄地把他藏在裙子下面

to hide beneath her skirt tails

把他带进牢房

because she couldn't bear to be without him.

因为她不能离开她的儿子

The sister who had done that brave deed

他的姐姐因为冒犯行为

was put into an education camp.

而被送入学习班

One day she inadvertently stepped on an armband

有一天 她不小心踩到

of Mao, and for that transgression,

印有毛主席头像的臂章 而被处以判国罪

she was given seven years of hard labor.

接受七年劳教

The pain of Tibet can be impossible to bear,

西藏的痛楚让人难以承受

but the redemptive spirit of the people is something to behold.

人类的救赎精神需要得到见证

And in the end, then, it really comes down to a choice:

到最后 我们将面临这样一个选择

do we want to live in a monochromatic world of monotony

我们是想要生活在单一的世界中

or do we want to embrace a polychromatic world of diversity?

还是需要一个五彩缤纷、多样化的世界

Margaret Mead, the great anthropologist, said, before she died,

伟大的人类学家 Margaret Mead 在生前曾经说过

that her greatest fear was that as we drifted towards

她最担心的事情是 由于我们已经走进

this blandly amorphous generic world view

这种无形的原生世界观

not only would we see the entire range of the human imagination

我们不仅会看到 人类的想像力

reduced to a more narrow modality of thought,

陷入更陕隘的思维圈子

but that we would wake from a dream one day

而且某一天 我们一觉醒来

having forgotten there were even other possibilities.

会忘记这个世界还有其他的可能性

And it's humbling to remember that our species has, perhaps,

回想起我们人类已经在世界上存在了 15 万年

been around for [150,000] years.

这会让我们感到羞愧

The Neolithic Revolution -- which gave us agriculture,

新石器时代革命让人类进入农业时代

at which time we succumbed to the cult of the seed;

我们对种子顶礼腊拜

the poetry of the shaman was displaced

萨满的诗篇

by the prose of the priesthood;

被祭司的箴言抽取代

we created hierarchy specialization surplus --

我们创造了层次化的社会分工

is only 10,000 years ago.

这只 10:00 年前的事情

The modern industrial world as we know it

现代化的工业社会

is barely 300 years old.

只有将近三百年的历史

Now, that shallow history doesn't suggest to me

在我看来 这个短暂的历史

that we have all the answers for all of the challenges

还足以让我们有能力

that will confront us in the ensuing millennia.

解决未来千年将面临的各种挑战

When these myriad cultures of the world

当我们向这个世界的不同文化

are asked the meaning of being human,

询问生命的意义

they respond with 10,000 different voices.

你会听到 10:00 种不同的答案

And it's within that song that we will all rediscover the possibility

在歌声中， 我们将会重新发现

of being what we are: a fully conscious species,

作为人类我们有另外一种可能性：一个有完全意识的物种

fully aware of ensuring that all peoples and all gardens

充分认识到 我们必须保证所有种族和所有生物

find a way to flourish. And there are great moments of optimism.

昌盛繁荣 对生活充满乐观

This is a photograph I took at the northern tip of Baffin Island

这张照片是我在巴芬(Baffin)岛的北部山顶上拍摄的

when I went narwhal hunting with some Inuit people,

那时 我和一些因纽特人去捕独角鲸

and this man, Olayuk, told me a marvelous story of his grandfather.

这个叫奥拉雅的人向我讲述了一个关于他的祖父的传奇故事

The Canadian government has not always been kind

在上世纪 50 年代 加拿大政府并不是

to the Inuit people, and during the 1950s,

一直善待因纽特人

to establish our sovereignty, we forced them into settlements.

为了建立我们的主权国家 我们将他们驱赶到指定的定居点

This old man's grandfather refused to go.

这位老人的祖父拒绝迁移

The family, fearful for his life, took away all of his weapons,

他的家人担心他的安全 把他的所有武器和工具

all of his tools.

都拿走了

Now, you must understand that the Inuit did not fear the cold;

你们都知道 因纽特人不怕冷

they took advantage of it.

这是他们特天独厚的优势

The runners of their sleds were originally made of fish

他们的雪橇的滑条最初是用

wrapped in caribou hide.

北美驯鹿皮包裹的冻鱼干做成的

So, this man's grandfather was not intimidated by the Arctic night

这位男子的祖父并不惧怕北极的夜晚

or the blizzard that was blowing.

和凛冽的暴风雪

He simply slipped outside, pulled down his sealskin trousers

他睡在外面 穿着他的海豹皮长裤

and defecated into his hand. And as the feces began to freeze,

他把大便拉到手上 等到大便快变得僵硬的时候

he shaped it into the form of a blade.

他把它做成刀片的形状

He put a spray of saliva on the edge of the shit knife

然后在这把屎做成的刀片边缘吐上口水

and as it finally froze solid, he butchered a dog with it.

等它结冰之后变得非常坚固之后 他用这把刀子宰杀了一条狗

He skinned the dog and improvised a harness,

剥下狗皮 做成一副挽具

took the ribcage of the dog and improvised a sled,

他又取出狗的胸腔 做成雪橇

harnessed up an adjacent dog,

套到另一只狗身上

and disappeared over the ice floes, shit knife in belt.

腰间别着那把屎做成的刀 消失在冰原上

Talk about getting by with nothing. (Laughter)

这真是空手造万物

And this, in many ways --

从很多方面来说

(Applause) --

（鼓掌）

is a symbol of the resilience of the Inuit people

这是因纽特人

and of all indigenous people around the world.

世界上的所有土著人的顽强生命力的真实写照

The Canadian government in April of 1999

1999 年 4 月 加拿大政府

gave back to total control of the Inuit

将一块面积比加利福尼亚和德克萨斯的面积之和还要大的土地

an area of land larger than California and Texas put together.

重新归还给因纽特人

It's our new homeland. It's called Nunavut.

我是我们的新家园 它的名字叫纽勒维特(Nunavut)

It's an independent territory. They control all mineral resources.

这是一块独立的领土 他们控制那里所有的海洋资源

An amazing example of how a nation-state

这个例子很好地说明了

can seek restitution with its people.

一个国家可以有所作为 想办法修复与它的人民之间的关系

And finally, in the end, I think it's pretty obvious

最后 我认为

at least to all of all us who've traveled

对于曾经去过这个世界上

in these remote reaches of the planet,

一些偏远地区的人来说

to realize that they're not remote at all.

其实那里并不偏远

They're homelands of somebody.

因为那里是某个族类的家园

They represent branches of the human imagination

他们代表着人类想象力的分支

that go back to the dawn of time. And for all of us,

可以追溯到最远古的起源时期

the dreams of these children, like the dreams of our own children,

对于我们所有的人来说 这些孩子们的梦想 与我们自己的孩子们的梦想一样

become part of the naked geography of hope.

是整个世界未来希望的一部分

So, what we're trying to do at the National Geographic, finally,

因此 我们要通过国家地理杂志和电视台所做的事情就是

is, we believe that politicians will never accomplish anything.

我们相信政治家不会做出成绩

We think that polemics --

我们认为

(Applause) --

（鼓掌）

we think that polemics are not persuasive,

辩论不是为了说服别人

but we think that storytelling can change the world,

但是我们认为 通过讲述事实 可以让世界得到改观

and so we are probably the best storytelling institution

因此 我们可能是世界上最擅长讲述事实的机构

in the world. We get 35 million hits on our website every month.

我们的网站每月点击量达到 3 千 5 百万次

156 nations carry our television channel.

我们的电视频道在 156 个国家播放

Our magazines are read by millions.

我们的杂志有上百万的读者

And what we're doing is a series of journeys

我们要做的是 通过一系列的种族圈旅程

to the ethnosphere where we're going to take our audience

带领我们的观众去领略

to places of such cultural wonder

文化奇迹之地

that they cannot help but come away dazzled

他们所看到的一切

by what they have seen, and hopefully, therefore,

会让他们情不自禁地感到震撼 而且我们希望

embrace gradually, one by one,

他偿逐渐地包容和接纳这些文化

the central revelation of anthropology:

人类学的核心揭示是

that this world deserves to exist in a diverse way,

这个世界需要多样化的生存方式

that we can find a way to live

让我们能够真正地生活在

in a truly multicultural, pluralistic world

一个多元文化的世界之中

where all of the wisdom of all peoples

让所有种族的智慧

can contribute to our collective well-being.

能够为全人类的福址做出贡献

Thank you very much.

谢谢

(Applause)

（鼓掌）