亡靈節

2008-12-31 00:00:00ＳｈｍｕｅｌＲｏｓｓ

新東方英語·中學版 2008年11期

The Mexican holiday of Día de los Muertos， or Day of the Dead， takes place over the first two days of November. Its origins are a mixture of Native American traditions and a set of Catholic1) holidays.

While the holiday's observances2) include spending time in cemeteries3)， making shrines4) to the dead， and displaying artistic representations of skulls5) and skeletons， the occasion is festive， rather than morbid6). Death isn't seen as the end of one's life， but as a natural part of the life cycle; the dead continue to exist much as they did in their lives， and come back to visit the living every year.

十一月的頭兩天是墨西哥的亡靈節，也叫死者節，它來源于印第安傳統文化與一系列天主教節日的混合產物。

雖然亡靈節的慶祝活動包括了守靈、給死者上供、展示頭骨與骷髏的藝術品，但節日氣氛是喜慶而非恐怖的。死亡沒有被看成生命的終結，而是生命循環的正常組成部分；死者繼續以某種形式存在，并且每年都會回家與生者團聚。

Aztec Origins

The names of two consecutive7) twenty-day months on the Aztec calendar， Miccailhuitomi and Miccailhuitl， can be translated as \"Feast of the Little Dead Ones\" and \"Feast of the Adult Dead.\" Put together， they appear to have formed one long celebration of the dead.

阿茲特克起源

根據阿茲特克歷法，一月有二十天的兩個連續月份的名稱“Miccailhuitomi”和“Miccailhuitl”可以被翻譯成“幼靈節”和“成靈節”。兩月在一起，看起來就形成了一個對死者的長期慶典活動。

The Spanish Imposition

In the early 1500s， Spanish conquistadors8)， led by Hernando Cortez， conquered the Aztec Empire， taking over the area we now know as Mexico.

They immediately set about trying to convert the native population to Catholicism9)， for both religious and political reasons. Among the practices introduced by Spanish missionaries10) were All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day， taking place on November 1 and 2， respectively.

The conquered Native Americans took the opportunity to incorporate11) their own traditions for honoring the dead into these two days. The resulting holiday is a unique hybrid12) of the two.

Welcoming the Dead

It is generally believed that the souls of one's family return home to join in the Day of the Dead festivities. First those who died in infancy come home， and then the older children， and finally those who died once they'd reached adulthood. Families set up altars13) in their homes， decorated in bright colors and laden with the favorite foods of their dead. Typically， the altars contain photographs of the dead， representations of things they liked， and items representing the four elements: candles for fire， drinks for water， fruit for earth， and fluttering14) tissue-paper decorations for wind. The dead take in the essence15) of the food， which will later be eaten by the living.

In some areas， families go to the graveyard to celebrate through the night. They clean and decorate the graves， sometimes setting up altars on the gravestones， singing and dancing as bells are rung.

Skeleton Decorations

The major feature of Day of the Dead decorations is skeletons. Skeletons are everywhere， from tissue-paper scenes to tiny plastic toys， from cardboard puppets to ceramic16) sculptures， from posters to paper models. These skeletons are usually cheerful， and they are designed to show the full range of activities and professions people perform. Farmers， barbers， secretaries， fire fighters...if somebody does it while alive， you can find an artistic rendering17) of a skeleton doing it while dead.

This theme also extends to the day's food and treats. The Day of the Dead feast typically includes a special \"bread of the dead.\" While the form of this bread is different from region to region， it is often decorated with strips of dough18) resembling bones， or made to resemble a dead body.

Also common are skulls and skeletons made of sugar or candy. Some people get sugar skulls made to resemble themselves， or with their names inscribed on them.

Tone of the Holiday

Although Day of the Dead and Halloween are both offshoots19) of All Saints' and All Souls' Days， their tones couldn't be different. Halloween's images of skeletons and spirits emphasize the spooky20) and gruesome21). People shudder22) at the thought of scary spirits threatening the living world. On Day of the Dead， the focus isn't on impersonal threatening spooks， it's on celebrating with one's family—alive and dead—and remembering those who are no longer alive. It's on seeing death as another stage following life， not something to be faced with fear.

西班牙文化的入侵

十六世紀早期，西班牙征服者在埃爾納納多·科爾特斯的率領下征服了阿茲特克帝國，占領了我們現在所知的墨西哥地區。

鑒于宗教與政治原因，他們立即著手強迫土著居民改信天主教。西班牙傳教士引入的節日包括了“諸圣節”和“萬靈日”，分別是11月1日和11月2日。

被征服的土著印第安人在這兩個節日中融入了自己的傳統文化，用于紀念死者。于是，亡靈節就成了這兩個節日獨一無二的混合產物。

迎接死者

人們普遍相信，家人的靈魂會回家加入亡靈節的歡宴。首先是“幼靈”回家，然后是較大的“童靈”(編者注：兒童時期死亡)，最后是那些“成靈”。家人在家中搭建祭壇，裝飾以明亮的顏色，并盛滿死者生前喜歡的食物。通常，祭壇擺放有死者的照片、他們喜愛的物品和四件代表不同意義的東西：蠟燭——代表光明，水——代表水源，水果——代表大地，飄動的紙質裝飾品——代表風。亡靈僅僅食用食物的精髓，隨后這些食物會被生者食用。

在某些地區，家人會來到墓地，整晚慶祝。他們打掃并裝飾墓地，有時在墓地擺設祭壇，并伴隨著鈴聲唱歌跳舞。

骷髏裝飾品

亡靈節裝飾物的主要特色是骷髏。節日當天，骷髏裝飾遍布各處，從紙道具到小的塑料玩具，從紙糊骷髏到陶瓷雕刻，從海報到紙模型。這些骷髏通常都表情愉快，被設計成各種各樣的姿態，展現人們所從事的各種職業：農民、理發師、秘書、救火隊員……只要有人生前從事過的職業，這個人死后，你就能發現從事這一職業的骷髏藝術形象。

這一主題也拓展到了節日當天的食物與宴會。亡靈節盛宴通常包括一種特殊的“死者面包”。雖然這一面包的外形因地區的不同會有所差異，但通常會將生面團搓成條，制作成類似骨骼或尸體的形狀來做裝飾。

同樣常見的是用糖果制作的頭骨和骷髏。有些人用糖果制作與自己相似的頭骨，或在糖果頭骨上刻上自己的名字。

節日的基調

雖然亡靈節與萬圣節都是“諸圣節”和“萬靈節”的分支，但他們的節日基調并不相同。萬圣節的骷髏與幽靈的形象強調詭異、恐怖。人們因為恐怖的幽靈即將威脅到現實世界這一想法而不寒而栗。而亡靈節關注的不是恐怖的幽靈，而是家人的團圓和慶祝(包括生者與死者)，緬懷已經逝去的人。亡靈節將死亡視為生命延續的另一個階段，而不是懼怕去面對的東西。