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.