Name: A day in the life of a Peruvian shaman - Gabriel Prieto
Uploaded: 2020-10-23T20:24:00.000Z
Duration: 4 min 40 s

At the temple of the fisherman,  Quexo, the village shaman,

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

在漁民的寺廟， 村中的薩滿巫師凱克索

遠望向海洋的另一端並皺起眉頭。

and the lack of wind is the latest  in a series of troubling signs.

此時還是早晨—— 無風到十分不尋常，

已經出現了一系列不祥徵兆， 沒有風是最近的一個徵兆。

Quexo's village sits in the dusty,  treeless desert

between the towering Andes  and Pacific Ocean.

凱克索的村落座落在 滿是塵土又沒有樹木的沙漠裡，

The villagers live off the sea,  harvesting reeds,

夾在高聳的安地斯山脈 和太平洋之間。

drying them in the sun,  and using them to build fishing boats.

在太陽底下曬乾，用來建造漁船。

the men set out on these boats to hunt shark and other fish

while the women harvest  shellfish and sea urchins.

男性都要乘這些船隻出海， 去獵捕鯊魚和其他魚類，

In winter, storms bring powerful waves, which cross the vast ocean unobstructed

冬天，暴風雨會帶來威猛的海浪，

Most years, Quexo's village catches  more than enough fish.

But this year, the winds have died  and the fish have dwindled.

幾乎每一年，凱克索的村落 都能捕捉到足量的魚類。

the fish disappear,  then the violent rains arrive,

但今年，沒有風，魚類也減少了。

causing flash floods that dissolve  mud bricks and wash away settlements.

He needs to stop the bad weather  before the storms come—

his only hope is a special ritual  he's been planning.

造成突來的水災，導致泥磚溶解，

Quexo spends much less time in the ocean than the other villagers.

He became a shaman after seeing  a sign in the sea one morning—

他必須要在暴風雨來臨之前 阻止惡劣的天氣——

like his father and grandfather before him.

是他一直在盤算的一種特殊儀式。

he walks to the nearby sacred mountain  as the sun rises.

相對於其他村民， 凱克索在海上的時間並不多。

There, he gathers ceremonial cactus  and herbs like “horse tail,”

有天早晨他看見海洋上的徵兆之後 便成了薩滿巫師——

“stonebreaker," and valerian,  along with the mineral hematite.

與他的父親和祖父先前的狀況一樣。

Back in the village,  everyone is preparing to leave

這天早晨的日出時， 他走到附近的聖山。

for a religious festival  at a large temple inland.

在那裡，他收集了儀式用的 仙人掌和藥草，比如「馬尾草」、

The festival marks the beginning of what is usually the season of abundance,

「珠子草」 、纈草，及赤鐵礦。

but with the signs pointing to storms, Quexo isn't feeling too celebratory.

回到村落時，大家都在準備離開，

Whole families travel to the festival, where they camp for a few days.

前往內陸的一間大型寺廟 參與宗教節慶。

They've packed seaweed, carved bones, gourd bowls, reed mats,

這個節慶通常代表豐收季的開始，

and other goods to trade  in the market around the temple.

但因為那些暴風雨將至的徵兆，

Quexo inspects the goods to make  sure everything is of the finest quality.

He brings the herbs he gathered  to trade for cinnabar,

全家人會一起到節慶所在， 在那裡紮營住幾天。

a mineral that comes  from the highlands in the Andes.

他們打包了海草、 骨頭雕刻、葫蘆碗、

He needs cinnabar for his ritual  to ward off the storms.

Around lunchtime, the sprawling  temple rises out of the desert ahead.

People have come from all along  the coast and the foothills.

凱克索檢查確保商品的最佳品質。

The women handle trade transactions— they're looking for cotton and ceramics.

他帶著他收集到的藥草， 要去交換辰砂，

Men aren't usually allowed  to do the trading,

辰砂是來自安地斯山脈 高地的一種礦物。

他需要辰砂，才能進行 阻擋暴風雨的儀式。

Though Quexo is a man, during rituals  he becomes half man, half woman,

午餐時分，已經可以看見 寺廟就在前方的沙漠中。

and this ambiguity makes his role  more flexible outside ceremonies too.

住在海岸和山角下 各地的人都來到這裡。

Quexo can't find any cinnabar  in the market,

He puts on his ceremonial garb:  red face paint, earrings,

and a necklace of shark's teeth and vertebrae.

Inside, the ceremonies  are already underway,

and the shamans have drunk the sacred cactus drink.

這種模糊性讓他的角色 在儀式外也較有彈性。

Many of them are Quexo's friends  from festivals over the years,

凱克索在市場裡找不到任何辰砂，

but he doesn't see the mountain shamans  who would have cinnabar.

他換上儀式的裝扮： 臉上塗上紅色顏料，戴上耳環，

his only option will be to make  the long walk into the mountains.

以及鯊魚牙齒與脊椎串成的項鍊。

It's a dangerous journey  that takes five days,

薩滿巫師們已經喝下了 神聖的仙人掌飲料。

當中有許多是凱克索這些年來 在節慶認識的朋友，

He refuses the sacred cactus  and sets off toward the mountains.

但他並沒有看到擁有 辰砂的山薩滿巫師。

As he leaves the settlement behind, he sees a group approaching.

He recognizes them as highlanders by their llamas.

他只剩下長途跋涉 進入山中一個選項。

Barely pausing to say hello,  he offers him hematite, dried seaweed,

and empty shells to grind up for lime and chew with coca leaves.

In return, the other shaman  gives him the precious cinnabar.

他謝絕了神聖的仙人掌， 啟程前往山中。

Quexo heads home to the temple  of the fisherman

在他離開聚居地之後， 看見有一群人接近。

從他們的駱駝可以看出 他們是高地人。