Wade Davis: Cultures at the far edge of the world

譯者: Feiman Luk 審譯者: Po-Chih Tsai

You know, one of the intense pleasures of travel

對我來說 在世界各地旅行

and one of the delights of ethnographic research

和從事人類學研究的生涯中

is the opportunity to live amongst those

最大的樂趣莫過於去體驗

who have not forgotten the old ways,

那些沒有忘記傳統的族群的生活

who still feel their past in the wind,

不管是沐浴在微風中

touch it in stones polished by rain,

還是觸摸被雨水刷亮的石頭

taste it in the bitter leaves of plants.

或是嘗著苦葉的味道 你都能感受到他們的歷史

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

聽著黑豹巫師(Jaguar shamans)依然在銀河外旅行的故事

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

紐特(Inuit)老人的神話仍然引起後人的共鳴

or that in the Himalaya,

而在喜馬拉雅山

the Buddhists still pursue the breath of the Dharma,

佛教徒還在追隨法門

is to really remember the central revelation of anthropology,

這讓我們想起人類學的核心揭示

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

它的意思是 我們生活的世界

does not exist in some absolute sense,

不是存在於絕對的主張之中

but is just one model of reality,

而是客觀的現實

the consequence of one particular set of adaptive choices

它是一連串適應性的選擇的結果

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

許多世代前 人類祖先成功地做了選擇

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

當然 我們都遵守著相同的適應性規則

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

我們都生於母腹 也這樣生兒育女

We go through initiation rites.

我們要經歷成年禮的洗禮

We have to deal with the inexorable separation of death,

必須面對殘酷的生離死別

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

所以我們會唱歌和跳舞

we all have art.

還創造了藝術 來排遣生命苦楚

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

但有趣的是 每種文化的歌曲韻律

the rhythm of the dance in every culture.

和舞蹈節奏都有獨一無二的特色

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

無論是生活在婆羅(Borneo)叢林的伯南(Penan)人

or the Voodoo acolytes in Haiti,

還是海地的巫毒教(Voodoo)侍僧

or the warriors in the Kaisut desert of Northern Kenya,

抑或是北肯亞(Kenya)凱蘇特(Kaisut)沙漠的武士

the Curandero in the mountains of the Andes,

安迪斯(Andes)山區的巫醫(Curandero)

or a caravanserai in the middle of the Sahara --

或撒哈拉沙漠中的圍帳客棧

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

我碰巧與一位犛牛牧養人結伴進沙漠

a month ago --

一個月前

or indeed a yak herder in the slopes of Qomolangma,

他在珠穆朗瑪峰的山坡上牧牛

Everest, the goddess mother of the world.

埃佛勒斯峰 世界的母親

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

這些族群展示了不同的生存方式和

other ways of thinking,

不同的思維方式

other ways of orienting yourself in the Earth.

以及不同的人生觀

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

如果你認真想想 你就會發現

can only fill you with hope.

它們能讓你滿懷希望

Now, together the myriad cultures of the world

這個世界五彩繽紛的文化

make up a web of spiritual life and cultural life

猶如一張由精神生活和文化生活交織而成的網

that envelops the planet,

覆蓋住整個地球

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

就如同地球上生態圈的網絡

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

對芸芸眾生是一樣重要

And you might think of this cultural web of life

你可以把這種生命文化之網

as being an ethnosphere,

看作是一個種族文化圈

and you might define the ethnosphere

這個種族文化圈可以被定義為

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

從人類有意識以來 通過想像力

ideas, inspirations, intuitions brought into being

所有的思想和夢想、神話、

by the human imagination since the dawn of consciousness.

想法、感動與直覺的總集合

The ethnosphere is humanity's great legacy.

種族文化圈是人類的偉大遺產

It's the symbol of all that we are

它是我們的身份標誌

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

也是我們人類天性格物致知的證明

And just as the biosphere has been severely eroded,

如同生物圈受到嚴重的侵蝕一樣

so too is the ethnosphere

種族文化圈也面臨著同樣的厄運

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

而且 它的毀滅速度更快

No biologists, for example, would dare suggest

沒有任何一位生物學家敢斷言

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

50% 或更多的物種已經滅絕

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

或者頻臨絕種 這本來就不是真的

and yet that -- the most apocalyptic scenario

然而對 生物多樣性 的

in the realm of biological diversity --

最悲觀的預測

scarcely approaches what we know to be the most optimistic scenario

還遠優於我們對 文化多樣性 的

in the realm of cultural diversity.

最樂觀的預測

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

而其中最明顯的 就是語言的失傳

When each of you in this room were born,

數十年前 當我們才出生時

there were 6,000 languages spoken on the planet.

地球上原本有 6000 種語言

Now, a language is not just a body of vocabulary

語言不僅僅是字彙集合

or a set of grammatical rules.

或者文法而已

A language is a flash of the human spirit.

語言是人類靈魂的神來一筆

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

是透過它 每個獨特文化的精神

comes into the material world.

才得以在物質世界體現

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

每種語言都是一座古老的思想森林

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

也是一種意識和生命可能性的生態系

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

6000 種語言 這和今天的觀眾一樣多

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

其中一半已經不再向孩子們傳授

They're no longer being taught to babies,

這些語言已經沒有傳人

which means, effectively, unless something changes,

也就是說 除非採取有效的措施

they're already dead.

否則它們會徹底地消失

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

試想有口難言 這樣地孤單寂寞

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

或者 你成了最後一個會說這語言的人

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

祖先的智慧再也不能傳承下去

or anticipate the promise of the children?

再也無法期待孩子們的承諾

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

另一個可怕的事實是

somewhere on Earth roughly every two weeks,

現在每兩個星期

because every two weeks, some elder dies

就會有一位長者去世

and carries with him into the grave the last syllables

跟著一起埋葬入土的是

of an ancient tongue.

一種古老語言的消逝

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

我知道你們有人會說

wouldn't the world be a better place

「如果世界上只有一種語言，

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

那不是更好嗎？」 我會說「好,

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

就讓約魯巴語(Yoruba) 或者是粵語(Cantonese)

Let's make it Kogi."

或者是科基語(Kogi) 成為那唯一的語言。」

And you'll suddenly discover what it would be like

你就會發現不能說母語

to be unable to speak your own language.

是什麼樣的感覺了

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

因此 今天我想做的

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

就是帶你們去看看這個種族文化圈

a brief journey through the ethnosphere,

一段簡潔的種族文化圈之旅

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

去切身感受那消失中的文明

Now, there are many of us who sort of forget

可能你們有些人會忘記了

that when I say "different ways of being,"

我在前面說過“不同的生存方式”

I really do mean different ways of being.

那是真的 完全不同的生命之道

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

舉個例子 這個小孩生活在亞瑪遜西北部的巴拉撒拉地區

the people of the anaconda

他們被稱為森蚺之族

who believe that mythologically they came up the milk river

他們相信 他們是來自銀河東岸

from the east in the belly of sacred snakes.

誕生於神聖的蛇腹

Now, this is a people who cognitively

這個族群的人在意識上

do not distinguish the color blue from the color green

認為藍色和綠色是相同的顏色

because the canopy of the heavens

因為天堂的藍色穹頂

is equated to the canopy of the forest

與他們安身其下的綠色樹冠

upon which the people depend.

是完全相同的意義

They have a curious language and marriage rule

他們有特別的 "與異種語言通婚" 規則

which is called "linguistic exogamy:"

這被稱為語言學異族通婚

you must marry someone who speaks a different language.

你必須與一個說不同語言的人結婚

And this is all rooted in the mythological past,

這都是根據神話傳說的歷史傳承下來的

yet the curious thing is in these long houses,

你可以看到一個奇怪的現象

where there are six or seven languages spoken

由於異語言同婚的緣故

because of intermarriage,

一個大家族會有六七種語言

you never hear anyone practicing a language.

你從不會看到有人在練習別種語言

They simply listen and then begin to speak.

他們只要聽 就會說了

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

其中一個我共同生活過的奇妙種族

the Waorani of northeastern Ecuador,

厄瓜多東北部的華拉尼(Waorani)族人

an astonishing people first contacted peacefully in 1958.

早在 1958 年 就與現代人有和平的接觸

In 1957, five missionaries attempted contact

1957年 有五名傳教士試圖接近他們

and made a critical mistake.

但是這些人犯了一個致命的錯誤

They dropped from the air

他們從空中丟下

8 x 10 glossy photographs of themselves

八到十張他們自己的照片

in what we would say to be friendly gestures,

在我們看來 這是友好的表示

forgetting that these people of the rainforest

卻忘了這些生活在雨林中的人

had never seen anything two-dimensional in their lives.

從來沒有見過平面圖像

They picked up these photographs from the forest floor,

他們從林地上撿起這些照片

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

試圖從相片背面 找到這些人的真實形體

found nothing, and concluded that these were calling cards

但什麼也沒發現 所以他們認為

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

這是惡魔的召喚卡 於是他們用長矛戮死了這五名傳教士

But the Waorani didn't just spear outsiders.

但華拉尼不僅戮死外來者

They speared each other.

他們還自相殘殺

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

54% 的死亡人口是被他們自己的族人戮死的

We traced genealogies back eight generations,

我們對一個八代宗譜進行調查

and we found two instances of natural death

發現只有兩例自然死亡

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

當我們追根究柢

they admitted that one of the fellows had gotten so old

他們終於承認 當族人因為年邁難免一死

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

我們就乾脆戮死他 為他送終（笑聲）

But at the same time they had a perspicacious knowledge

另一方面 他們對叢林

of the forest that was astonishing.

有著令人驚詫的洞察力

Their hunters could smell animal urine at 40 paces

獵人們能聞到 40 步外的動物尿液

and tell you what species left it behind.

再告訴你是什麼動物留下的

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

80 年代早期 我曾有一項奇妙的任務

when I was asked by my professor at Harvard

我在哈佛大學的教授問我

if I was interested in going down to Haiti,

是否有興趣去海地

infiltrating the secret societies

去潛入一個秘密社團

which were the foundation of Duvalier's strength

那是海地總統杜華利和他的政權

and Tonton Macoutes,

支持者的基地

and securing the poison used to make zombies.

並且帶回一種製造僵屍的毒藥

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

為了理解其中的奧秘

I had to understand something about this remarkable faith

我必須先瞭解這神奇的巫毒教信仰

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

其實它不是什麼邪教組織

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

相反地 它是一個複雜且抽象的世界觀

It's interesting.

這是很有意思的

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

如果要列舉世界上的重要宗教

what would you say?

你會舉出哪些例子

Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, whatever.

基督教 伊斯蘭教 佛教 猶太教... 大概這些吧

There's always one continent left out,

但有一個大陸總是被遺忘

the assumption being that sub-Saharan Africa

很多人認為 撒哈拉以南的非洲地區

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

沒有宗教信仰 當然 這是不正確的

and Voodoo is simply the distillation

巫毒教常被認為不過是

of these very profound religious ideas

在奴隸時代悲哀的種族遷徙下

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

所跟隨來的偉大宗教奧義的副產品

But, what makes Voodoo so interesting

但是 巫毒的獨特之處在於

is that it's this living relationship

它是生者與死者之間

between the living and the dead.

一種實在的聯繫

So, the living give birth to the spirits.

生者孕育了靈魂

The spirits can be invoked from beneath the Great Water,

應著舞蹈的節奏翩翩起舞

responding to the rhythm of the dance

可以喚醒大水之下的靈魂

to momentarily displace the soul of the living,

暫時地代替生者的靈魂

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

在那個短暫的閃光時刻 侍僧會成為神

That's why the Voodooists like to say

因此 巫毒教徒喜歡說:

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

「你們這些白人去教堂做禮拜 談論上帝,

We dance in the temple and become God."

而我們就在聖殿起舞 成為上帝。」

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

因為你已經被神靈附體

how can you be harmed?

那你又怎會受到傷害呢

So you see these astonishing demonstrations:

於是 你會看到一些令人驚奇的現象

Voodoo acolytes in a state of trance

巫毒教侍僧進入神志恍惚的狀態

handling burning embers with impunity,

手持燃燒的枝條 但卻毫髮無損

a rather astonishing demonstration of the ability of the mind

當他們進入變得極端亢奮時

to affect the body that bears it

你看到的現象更加令人吃驚

when catalyzed in the state of extreme excitation.

那是人類意志力的強大證明

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

在我接觸過的所有族群中

the most extraordinary are the Kogi

最不平凡的

of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia.

是生活在哥倫比亞北部的聖馬爾塔山區的科基人

Descendants of the ancient Tairona civilization

這個種族是古代泰榮納(Tairona)文明的後裔

which once carpeted the Caribbean coastal plain of Colombia,

他們一度征服了哥倫比亞的加勒比海岸平原地區

in the wake of the conquest,

列強的號角響起

these people retreated into an isolated volcanic massif

此後 他們避退到加勒比海岸平原的

that soars above the Caribbean coastal plain.

一個與世隔絕的火山山區

In a bloodstained continent,

在這個血腥肆虐的大陸

these people alone were never conquered by the Spanish.

這個種族逃過西班牙人的荼毒

To this day, they remain ruled by a ritual priesthood

至到今天 他們仍然沿用僧侶會統治制度

but the training for the priesthood is rather extraordinary.

但是 他們的僧侶訓練方式非常獨特

The young acolytes are taken away from their families

年幼的侍僧在三四歲時

at the age of three and four,

就被帶離他們的家庭

sequestered in a shadowy world of darkness

隱居在黑暗世界

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

在冰川上用石頭小屋待滿十八年

two nine-year periods

兩個九年的總和

deliberately chosen to mimic the nine months of gestation

它象徵在母腹的

they spend in their natural mother's womb;

九月懷胎

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

在此期間

And for this entire time,

他們如同重新回到母腹中

they are inculturated into the values of their society,

被族群文化的價值觀所滋養著

values that maintain the proposition that their prayers

這些價值觀維繫著

and their prayers alone maintain the cosmic --

信徒與宇宙之間的關係

or we might say the ecological -- balance.

我們可稱之為生態平衡

And at the end of this amazing initiation,

十八年後

one day they're suddenly taken out

一天他們突然被帶出來

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

他們生平第一次走出小屋看到陽光

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

大地在陽光的照耀下

of first light as the Sun begins to bathe the slopes

呈現出令人震撼的壯觀美景

of the stunningly beautiful landscape,

那一刻 意識突然蘇醒

suddenly everything they have learned in the abstract

他們以前學到的所有抽象知識

is affirmed in stunning glory. And the priest steps back

都在令人驚歎的榮耀中得到印證 這時祭司說:

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."

這裏是多麼的美麗 你要保護它。」

They call themselves the "elder brothers"

他們稱自己為兄長

and they say we, who are the younger brothers,

稱現代人為弟兄

are the ones responsible for destroying the world.

說我們是破壞世界的人

Now, this level of intuition becomes very important.

現在 這種程度的感情是非常重要的

Whenever we think of indigenous people and landscape,

說到土著和原始的風土人情

we either invoke Rousseau

我們會想到羅素

and the old canard of the "noble savage,"

關於那高貴野人的古老誑語

which is an idea racist in its simplicity,

只是被簡化的種族歧視

or alternatively, we invoke Thoreau

或者我們會想到梭羅

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

他說這些人比我們更親近大地

Well, indigenous people are neither sentimental

這些在地族群並不多愁善感

nor weakened by nostalgia.

也不會沉溺往日時光

There's not a lot of room for either

在瘧疾盛行的阿斯瑪特(Asmant)濕地

in the malarial swamps of the Asmat

在寒風刺骨的西藏

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

並沒有多少空間 但是他們經年累月地

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

不間斷地演示 而創造了流傳百世的奇跡

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

這並不是因為他們自覺地認識到這一點

but on a far subtler intuition:

而是憑著非常細微的靈感

the idea that the Earth itself can only exist

他們認為這個地球本身的存在

because it is breathed into being by human consciousness.

是因為人類透過意識吸收了自然的精華

Now, what does that mean?

那麼 這是什麼意思呢

It means that a young kid from the Andes

比如一位生活在安第斯山脈的小孩

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

從小就被教導說 那裏的大山是阿普神的化身

that will direct his or her destiny

它將會指引他們的命運

will be a profoundly different human being

他們是一類完全不同的人

and have a different relationship to that resource

與自然環境有一種不同的連結

or that place than a young kid from Montana

而對蒙大拿州的年輕人

raised to believe that a mountain is a pile of rock

一座大山只不過是一堆大石頭

ready to be mined.

可以用來開採石礦

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

無論那是神的住所 或是一堆礦石 這都不重要

What's interesting is the metaphor that defines the relationship

重點是 他們的所教育的文化

between the individual and the natural world.

定義了人與自然之間的關係

I was raised in the forests of British Columbia

我在英國哥倫比亞的叢林長大

to believe those forests existed to be cut.

我學到叢林是生來被砍伐的

That made me a different human being

這種想法讓我與誇基特爾(Kwakiutl)部落的朋友們

than my friends amongst the Kwagiulth

成為截然不同的人

who believe that those forests were the abode of Huxwhukw

他們相信 這些樹木是胡克神(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,

吃人的精靈在世界的最北邊

spirits they would have to engage during their Hamatsa initiation.

在哈馬撒(Hamatsa)成人禮上 他們會與這些精靈戰鬥

Now, if you begin to look at the idea

如果你開始去了解

that these cultures could create different realities,

這些文化能創造不同的生活方式

you could begin to understand

你就會開始認識到

some of their extraordinary discoveries. Take this plant here.

他們與眾不同的生活方式

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

這張照片是去年八月在亞馬遜西北地方拍的

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

這是阿亞胡斯卡(ayahuasca)藤 俗稱死藤

the most powerful psychoactive preparation

一種非常強效的精神麻醉植物

of the shaman's repertoire.

薩滿教徒用它製作迷幻藥- 死藤水

What makes ayahuasca fascinating

死藤水的奇妙之處

is not the sheer pharmacological potential of this preparation,

不在於它神奇的藥用性

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

它其實是由兩種不同的物質組成的

on the one hand, this woody liana

一方面 它是一種藤本植物

which has in it a series of beta-carbolines,

含有 β-哢啉 蓬鹼

harmine, harmaline, mildly hallucinogenic --

和微量的致幻成份

to take the vine alone

食用它的藤

is rather to have sort of blue hazy smoke

就彷彿看到你的意識

drift across your consciousness --

被一層藍色煙霧籠罩

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

它與九節木的咖啡屬灌木的枝葉

called Psychotria viridis.

混雜在一起

This plant had in it some very powerful tryptamines,

這種植物具有一種強效的色胺

very close to brain serotonin, dimethyltryptamine,

它的成分與腦內的5-羥色胺的成份

5-methoxydimethyltryptamine.

非常接近

If you've ever seen the Yanomami

亞諾馬米(Yanomami)部落的人

blowing that snuff up their noses,

也會從含有5-羥色胺的植物中

that substance they make from a different set of species

提取這種物質

also contains methoxydimethyltryptamine.

並且用鼻子吸食

To have that powder blown up your nose

如果你用鼻吸入這些粉末

is rather like being shot out of a rifle barrel

你會感覺像被砲管射出

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

然後跟一排巴洛克畫像 一起掉落到整池的電流裡

It doesn't create the distortion of reality;

現實沒有被扭曲

it creates the dissolution of reality.

它只是消失

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

事實上 我曾與我的導師 Richard Evan Shultes 爭論過

who is a man who sparked the psychedelic era

他曾揚名於1960的迷幻藥年代

with his discovery of the magic mushrooms

因為他在1930年代所發現的

in Mexico in the 1930s --

一種墨西哥的神奇蘑菇

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

我和他爭論說 你不能把這些色胺歸入

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

迷幻成份類別 因為當它們發揮效力時

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

你已迷幻到不知迷幻為何物（笑聲）

But the thing about tryptamines is they cannot be taken orally

但是 這些色胺物質並不能用吃的

because they're denatured by an enzyme

因為它們會被

found naturally in the human gut called monoamine oxidase.

人體器官中的單胺氧化酶(MAO)的酶改變活性

They can only be taken orally if taken in conjunction

要口服這些色胺物質

with some other chemical that denatures the MAO.

還必須吃下改變單胺氧化酶(MAO)活性的其他化學物質

Now, the fascinating things

有意思的是

are that the beta-carbolines found within that liana

這種藤本植物中存在的 β-哢啉

are MAO inhibitors of the precise sort necessary

正好能夠抑制單胺氧化酶(MAO)

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

同時發揮色胺的效力 因此 問問自己

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

在這片叢林中 有 8000 種藤蔓植物

do these people find these two morphologically unrelated plants

他們是如何發現這兩種完全不同的植物

that when combined in this way,

能這樣組合在一起

created a kind of biochemical version

這如同一種生化實驗

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

多種成分混合的效應會大於各單獨成分

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

我們都相信失敗是成功之母

which is exposed to be meaningless.

但這樣實驗下去總是徒勞

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

不過 印第安人會說 "是植物告訴我們的"

Well, what does that mean?

那是什麼意思呢?

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

科凡(Cofan)部落的人發現了 17 種死藤

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

全部是他們在叢林深處發現的

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

在我們看來 它們是不同的物種

And then you ask them how they establish their taxonomy

如果你問他們是如何給這些植物分門別類的

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

他們就會說:「我想你對植物有一些研究，

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

應該對植物有一定的瞭解吧? 」 我說:「我不懂。」

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

他說這十七種植物

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

在月圓時 它們會用不同的音高對你歌唱

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

這個發現不會讓你得到哈佛的博士學位

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

這可比計算雄蕊數目好玩多了

Now --

現在

(Applause) --

（鼓掌）

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

我們面臨這樣一個問題

sympathetic with the plight of indigenous people

雖然我們會同情土著人的遭遇

view them as quaint and colorful

認為他們生活多彩且不被打擾

but somehow reduced to the margins of history

但是隨著我們的世界向前發展

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

這些人被排擠到歷史的邊緣

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

20 世紀 以及接下來的 300 年

is not going to be remembered for its wars

戰爭會被遺忘

or its technological innovations,

科技發展也隨風而逝

but rather as the era in which we stood by

但後人們會記住 現在的我們

and either actively endorsed or passively accepted

積極地對地球上的生態和文化多樣性

the massive destruction of both biological and cultural diversity

進行大規模的破壞 或者姑息這個局面

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

我們不能怪罪世界生活的進步

All cultures through all time

所有的文化也全都

have constantly been engaged in a dance

一直受到新的生活方式

with new possibilities of life.

的強烈衝擊

And the problem is not technology itself.

也不能怪罪科技的日新月異

The Sioux Indians did not stop being Sioux

蘇族印第安人即使放下弓箭

when they gave up the bow and arrow

他們依然是蘇族印第安人

any more than an American stopped being an American

當美國人不再騎馬和坐馬車時

when he gave up the horse and buggy.

他們仍然是美國人

It's not change or technology

威脅種族圈完整性的

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

不是新時代或新科技 而是權力

the crude face of domination.

是野蠻的排他主義

Wherever you look around the world,

去看看我們的世界

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

你會發現 沒有一種文化是註定要消亡的

these are dynamic living peoples

這些富有活力的人們

being driven out of existence by identifiable forces

霸道的力量排除了他們的存在

that are beyond their capacity to adapt to:

他們根本無從適應

whether it's the egregious deforestation

無論是伯南(Penan)腹地

in the homeland of the Penan --

肆無忌憚的森林砍伐

a nomadic people from Southeast Asia, from Sarawak --

還是東南亞的撒拉瓦克遊民部落

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

他們上一代還自由地生活在叢林中

and now have all been reduced to servitude and prostitution

現在全淪落為僕役和妓女

on the banks of the rivers,

在婆羅洲(Borneo)溪流沿岸

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

河水含沙量高到像泥漿

that seems to be carrying half of Borneo away

像要把他們的一半土地都沖走

to the South China Sea,

全帶進南中國海

where the Japanese freighters hang light in the horizon

同時日本的人貨船已經整裝待發

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

準備運走從婆羅洲森林砍伐的原木

or, in the case of the Yanomami,

我們再來看亞諾馬米部落

it's the disease entities that have come in,

金礦的發現引來掏金潮

in the wake of the discovery of gold.

也因此帶來了病原體

Or if we go into the mountains of Tibet,

我們再來看看西藏山區

where I'm doing a lot of research recently,

最近我做了大量的研究

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

在那裏 你會看到政治獨裁的殘酷面

You know, genocide, the physical extinction of a people

雖然種族屠殺 物裡上的滅絕一個族群

is universally condemned, but ethnocide,

在全世界受到一致的譴責

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

但是種族文化滅絕 也就是抹消人們的生活方式

it's universally, in many quarters, celebrated

卻被姑息 甚至在很多地方被表揚

as part of a development strategy.

被視為文化發展的一部分

And you cannot understand the pain of Tibet

你無法體會西藏承受的痛楚

until you move through it at the ground level.

除非你親身去體會

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

我跋涉 6000 英哩 從中國成都

overland through southeastern Tibet to Lhasa

穿過西藏的東南邊 到達拉薩

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

跟著一個年輕同事 直到那時我也才真的明白

that I understood the face behind the statistics

你們所聽說的那些統計數字

you hear about:

背後隱藏的真相

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

6000 座神聖的古蹟被搗毀

1.2 million people killed by the cadres

120 萬人被共產黨殺害

during the Cultural Revolution.

這都發生在文化大革命期間

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

年輕同事的父親被指為班禪喇嘛一派

That meant he was instantly killed

在中國人入侵後

at the time of the Chinese invasion.

他父親因此被殺害了

His uncle fled with His Holiness in the Diaspora

他叔叔和他的導師

that took the people to Nepal.

跟著大逃亡潮到尼泊爾

His mother was incarcerated

他的母親因為富有的身家

for the crime of being wealthy.

被捕入獄

He was smuggled into the jail at the age of two

兩歲的他被藏在裙子下

to hide beneath her skirt tails

悄悄地帶進牢房

because she couldn't bear to be without him.

因為她不能離開她的兒子

The sister who had done that brave deed

好心協助他們的姐姐

was put into an education camp.

被送去再教育

One day she inadvertently stepped on an armband

有一天 她不小心踩到印有毛主席頭像

of Mao, and for that transgression,

的臂章 而被處以判國罪

she was given seven years of hard labor.

被迫勞改七年之久

The pain of Tibet can be impossible to bear,

西藏的痛楚是讓人難以承受

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

但也因此見證人類的救贖精神

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

到最後 我們將面臨這樣的一個選擇

do we want to live in a monochromatic world of monotony

我們是要一個單一單調的世界

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

還是想要一個五彩繽紛、多樣化的世界?

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

偉大的人類學家 Margaret Mead 在生前曾經說過

that her greatest fear was that as we drifted towards

她最擔心的是 人類隨波逐流地接受

this blandly amorphous generic world view

這種統一、概括的世界觀

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

我們不僅會看到 人類的想像力

reduced to a more narrow modality of thought,

退化得更狹隘短淺

but that we would wake from a dream one day

最後我們會一覺醒來

having forgotten there were even other possibilities.

忘記這個世界還有其他的可能性

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

謙卑地說 人類的[15 萬年]的歷史

been around for [150,000] years.

不過是滄海一粟

The Neolithic Revolution -- which gave us agriculture,

新石器時代--人類農業的初始

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

那時我們對種子頂禮膜拜

the poetry of the shaman was displaced

薩滿的詩篇

by the prose of the priesthood;

被祭司的韻文取代

we created hierarchy specialization surplus --

我們創造了層層的社會分工

is only 10,000 years ago.

不過是一萬年前的事

The modern industrial world as we know it

現代化的工業社會

is barely 300 years old.

也只有將近三百年的歷史

Now, that shallow history doesn't suggest to me

在我看來 這個短暫的歷史

that we have all the answers for all of the challenges

並不足以證明我們有能力

that will confront us in the ensuing millennia.

解決這個千禧年將面臨的各種挑戰

When these myriad cultures of the world

當我們向這個世界的多元文化

are asked the meaning of being human,

詢問生命的意義

they respond with 10,000 different voices.

你會得到一萬個不同的答案

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

在這個歌聲中 我們將會重新發現

of being what we are: a fully conscious species,

作為人類的別種可能：一個有完全意識的物種

fully aware of ensuring that all peoples and all gardens

充分認識到 我們必須保證所有種族和生物

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

都是昌盛繁榮 對生活充滿樂觀的

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

這張照片是我在巴芬(Baffin)島的北邊山頂上拍攝的

when I went narwhal hunting with some Inuit people,

那時 我和一些因紐特人去捕獨角鯨

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

這個叫奧拉雅的人 述說了他祖父的傳奇故事

The Canadian government has not always been kind

1950 年代 加拿大政府並沒有

to the Inuit people, and during the 1950s,

友善地對待因纽特人

to establish our sovereignty, we forced them into settlements.

為了確立我們國家的主權 他們被趕到指定區域

This old man's grandfather refused to go.

這位老人的祖父拒絕遷移

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

他家人擔心他的安全 拿走他所有的武器

all of his tools.

也拿走所有工具

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

先告訴你們 紐特人一點都不怕冷

they took advantage of it.

他們善用這個優勢

The runners of their sleds were originally made of fish

他們雪橇的滑刃是用凍魚乾

wrapped in caribou hide.

外面包裹馴鹿皮做成的

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

這位男子的祖父並不懼怕北極的夜晚

or the blizzard that was blowing.

和凜冽的暴風雪

He simply slipped outside, pulled down his sealskin trousers

他就在雪地裡 脫下海豹皮長褲

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

把大便拉到手上 等大便開始凍硬時

he shaped it into the form of a blade.

把它削成刀片的形状

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

然後在大便刀片的邊緣 抹上口水

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

等它完全結凍變硬 他再用它宰殺了一條狗

He skinned the dog and improvised a harness,

剝下狗皮 做成一副挽具

took the ribcage of the dog and improvised a sled,

又取出狗的胸腔 造了一對雪橇

harnessed up an adjacent dog,

套到另一隻狗身上

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

拽著那把大便刀 消失在冰原上

Talk about getting by with nothing. (Laughter)

這就是雙手萬能囉

And this, in many ways --

從很多方面來說

(Applause) --

（鼓掌）

is a symbol of the resilience of the Inuit people

這是他們頑強生命力的寫照

and of all indigenous people around the world.

也是所有土著人的生命力的真實寫照

The Canadian government in April of 1999

1999年4月 加拿大政府

gave back to total control of the Inuit

重新歸還給因紐特人土地

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

這片土地比加州和德州的總和還更大

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

這是我們的新家園 它叫紐勒維特(Nunavut)

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

這是一塊獨立的領土 他們擁有所有的礦物資源

An amazing example of how a nation-state

這個例子正好說明了

can seek restitution with its people.

一個國家如何去修復與人民的關係

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

最後 我認為

at least to all of all us who've traveled

至少對我們這些曾去過

in these remote reaches of the planet,

一些世界上偏遠地方的人來說

to realize that they're not remote at all.

其實他們一點也不"偏遠"

They're homelands of somebody.

那裏也是某個族群的家

They represent branches of the human imagination

他們是遠古人類想像力的遺產

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

人類歷史源頭的分支

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

而這些孩子的夢想 與我們自己孩子的夢想一樣

become part of the naked geography of hope.

是整個世界未來希望的一部分

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

因此 我們嘗試透過"國家地理雜誌"去告訴所有人

is, we believe that politicians will never accomplish anything.

政治家並不能做到些什麼

We think that polemics --

我們認為

(Applause) --

（鼓掌）

we think that polemics are not persuasive,

我們覺得雄辯不一定能說服人

but we think that storytelling can change the world,

但我們認為 說故事才能改變這個世界

and so we are probably the best storytelling institution

因此 我們是最會說故事的機構

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

我們網站每月點擊量達到 3 千 5 百萬次

156 nations carry our television channel.

我們的節目在 156 個國家播放

Our magazines are read by millions.

我們的雜誌有上百萬的讀者

And what we're doing is a series of journeys

我們要做的是 通過一系列旅程

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

帶領我們的觀眾去體驗種族文化圈的

to places of such cultural wonder

文化奇跡之地

that they cannot help but come away dazzled

他們所看到的一切

by what they have seen, and hopefully, therefore,

會讓他們感到震撼 而且我們希望

embrace gradually, one by one,

他們逐漸地接納

the central revelation of anthropology:

人類學的核心揭示：

that this world deserves to exist in a diverse way,

這個世界需要多樣化的生存方式

that we can find a way to live

讓我們能夠真正地生活在

in a truly multicultural, pluralistic world

一個多元而豐富的世界之中

where all of the wisdom of all peoples

讓所有種族的智慧

can contribute to our collective well-being.

都能為全人類的福址做出貢獻

Thank you very much.

謝謝

(Applause)

（鼓掌）