像祖辈一样造独木舟

Marc Pingry

One of the best times to travel to Papua New Guinea for once-in-a-lifetime experiences is for the September cultural festivals. So remote， unattached and magical this country has remained， that every encounter with its inner life is a raw new experience for the lucky explorer. The diversity of this culture is extraordinary. Countless tribes and clans each have their own character， traditions and even language. Amazingly there are over 830 distinctive languages spoken here， a third of the worlds total.

Sea transportation has kept the community alive and prosperous throughout centuries. The trading between tribes along the Gulf of Papua stopped in the 1940s， but is celebrated today， every September.

Helen Pokapin （Tourism Official）： The celebration is about the trade between the Motuan people of Central Province and the Karawa people of the Gulf Province in Papua New Guinea. They go on this big dugout canoe. And that can carry more than 50 people to go on this trade， and they go for months， and then， when they come back， the women are here waiting for them at the beach， dancing and celebrating for the homecoming of the people when they come back home.

The lush rain forest is dotted with many villages. The relationship between these villages is， in a way， the theme of this festival. It is in honour of the war canoes， which were used in violent rivalries between the clans as well as in peaceful times.

The elders hope to teach the younger generation the tradition of canoe-making. John Kaniku is a wellknown poet in Milne Bay. He fights to conserve the old customs he feels so strongly about and tries to incorporate them in todays local youth.

John： For the Kanu Festival is that we want to teach， especially urban children， who have left home， and the parents have to work in…in the cities and towns. They know nothing about it， and we hope， by building them， theyll come and see them， and then well continue with our traditional architecture.

如果想在巴布亚新几内亚获得人生中难忘的体验，最好的时间就是在九月份去参加那里的文化节活动。远离喧嚣尘世，与世隔绝，这个国度依旧保持着它神秘的魅力。对于那些幸运的探险者来说，与这个国家的每一次深度接触都是一次超凡脱俗的全新体验。这个国度的文化多元性无与伦比。数不清的部落与家族有各自的特点，习俗各异，甚至连语言也不一样。让人称奇的是，这里的语种多达830种，占世界全部语种的三分之一。

几百年来，人们靠海上运输生存，并且藉以繁荣兴旺。巴布亚湾沿岸各部落之间的贸易早在上世纪40年代就已经终止，但今天的人们会在每年九月纪念这段历史。

海伦·波卡平（旅游官员）：庆祝活动围绕着巴新中央省的莫图恩人与海湾省的卡拉瓦人之间的贸易关系进行。从前，他们会乘坐这种大的独木舟出门，每艘独木舟可以载五十多人外出进行交易，他们一去就是好几个月。当他们回来的时候，女人们就会在岸边这里等候，为他们的归来起舞、庆祝。

繁茂的雨林里散落着许多大大小小的村庄。从某种意义上讲，这些村子之间的关系正是这次节庆的主题。以前，独木舟既用于部落之间的对抗行动，也用于和平时期的各种活动，这个节日也是为了纪念这种作战用的独木舟。

村里的老人希望可以向年轻一代传授建造独木舟的方法，让这一传统得以延续。约翰·康尼库是米尔恩湾的一位著名诗人，他对这些传统有着强烈的感情，一直为保存这些传统而努力，他想让这些传统融入如今当地年轻人的生活。

约翰：在卡努节里，我们特别要对那些住在城里的孩子进行教育。他们已经离开了故乡，父母又必须在城里谋生，因此他们对这些一点儿也不了解。我们希望通过建造独木舟，年轻人会来，看到这一切，以后我们就可以把我们的传统建筑传下去。

When they cut a tree， first they sit down and talk about it， and then a man goes out to select a tree， and the women are not allowed to come closer to that man or to the place where the tree is. Then the man goes out one morning and chases the evil spirits away， and then he puts an axe on it， and then he selects his people gonna help him to cut.

Deep in the jungle， not far from their homes， the men join in elaborate teamwork for handcarving the canoe from the 1）ilimo tree. No modern tools are being used. It has to be done the way their ancestors did it.

Esther Mark （villager）： Ordinary canoe is made of different， in a different way. This type of canoe here， its a long process， and its a teamwork too， not only one person get to do that. It has to be done in a way where everybody gets involved in doing building.

Wearing their traditional dress and feathers， the women and children arrive from the village to bless the men.

在砍树的时候，他们首先要坐下来，讨论一番。然后有一个男人会去挑选一棵树。女人不能走近那个挑树的人，也不能靠近那棵树的所在地。然后，这个男人会一大早就出门，把邪灵赶走，再将斧头放在树上。接下来，他就会挑选帮他砍树的人。

在丛林深处离家不远处，男人们齐心协力，动手把八果木树干做成一只独木舟。他们不使用任何现代工具，一切都要遵从祖先传下来的方式行事。

埃丝特·马克（村民）：普通的独木舟是用不同的方式造成的。但这种独木舟的建造是一个漫长的过程，而且还是需要通力合作，不是谁单枪匹马就可以完成的。独木舟的建造需要每个人的参与。

妇女和孩子们身穿传统服装，头戴羽毛，从村里来到此地，向男人们祝福。翻译：旭文