邁克爾·范杜伊森 盧屹

Music is as integral to the human experience as anything else， perhaps even predating language itself. Mythology has been similarly ubiquitous throughout human history. As such， myths have built up to explain various aspects of music， including its very creation. Here are eight of them.

8 Tezcatlipoca And Quetzalcoatl

Culture： Aztec

Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl， the sky god and wind god， respectively， are two of the more widely known of the Aztec deities. Quetzalcoatl， colloquially known as the “Feathered Serpent，” was also the god of wisdom， and he and Tezcatlipoca had a love-hate relationship. One day， while Quetzalcoatl was busy making hurricanes， Tezcatlipoca noticed a distinct lack of singing or music on the part of the humans. He developed a plan which would resolve the problem： have his brother take music from the Sun.

After an arduous journey， Quetzalcoatl finally made it to the House of the Sun， guided there by the lovely sound of music carried through the air. Face-to-face with the god of the wind， the Sun commanded the singers and musicians to be quiet， for fear they would be taken down to Earth. After displaying the frightful majesty of his powers， Quetzalcoatl convinced them to come with him. As he neared Earth， fruits began to ripen， flowers began to bloom， and it appeared as if the whole planet had awakened from a deep slumber. Happy with what they had accomplished， Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl basked in the harmonious glow of the music which has existed ever since.

7 Various

Culture： Greek

Better known as the herald1 for the rest of the Olympian gods， Hermes was also the god of thieves， merchants， and literature. As a baby of sorts， he escaped his swaddling bands and ran off to where his brother Apollo grazed his cattle. Hermes caught a tortoise， killed it， and hollowed out its shell. Using some entrails from one of Apollos cows， he crafted the first lyre. Later， while under interrogation for stealing the cattle， he played the lyre so beautifully that Apollo traded the cattle for the lyre. Hermes is credited with inventing the flute and the panpipes as well.

Another character heavily involved with the creation of music in Greek mythology is Orpheus， who was said to have played so beautifully that animals， trees， and rocks would dance around him. After his death， his lyre was placed among the heavens as a constellation， playing its sweet music for the rest of eternity.

6 Heavens Angels

Culture： Christianity

Saint Ignatius was the second bishop of Antioch， an early Christian position allegedly founded by the apostle Saint Peter. To him is attributed the practice of antiphonal singing （by two choirs） during church services. He had seen a vision of the angels in heaven alternately singing praises to God， and divided his church choir to follow this example.

5 Apollo

Culture： Roman

Apollo was venerated as the god of the Sun， truth， healing， and music. He received his lyre from the infant thief Hermes， future father of the sylvan god Pan and learned to play the most beautiful music ever heard by man or god.

The god Pan thought he could beat Apollo with a double flute. Playing in front of the legendary King Midas， Pan was judged to be the winner. Angry that Midas had chosen Pan and his double flute， Apollo turned the kings ears into those of a donkey.

4 Uzume

Culture： Japanese

Otherwise known as Amenouzume No Mikoto， Uzume is the Japanese Shinto goddess of joy and happiness. With a nickname like “Heavens Forthright Female，” she is also seen as the embodiment of the perfect female.

As for the musical side of her nature， Uzume expressed it most beautifully in a story involving Amaterasu， the Sun goddess. Amaterasu had hidden herself in a cave， driven there out of anger at the storm god Susanoo. Unfortunately， this covered the world in darkness， leaving nothing able to grow anymore. While all of the gods tried in vain to convince Amaterasu to leave the cave， Uzume covered herself with moss and leaves and began singing and dancing wildly， leading Amaterasu to leave the cave in curiosity.

The Shinto religious music and dancing， known as kagura， is said to be modeled after Uzumes singing and dancing.

3 Jubal

Culture： Judaism

The son of Lamech， himself said to be the most ancient poet of the world before the Flood2， Jubal is said to have invented various stringed and wind instruments， chief among them being the harp.

Rabbinical writings take note that the music he introduced to the world can have a deleterious effect， often when used in an act of seduction. Later Christian and Muslim writers associated music with Satan himself， believing it had a pseudo-magical influence over human beings.

2 Odin/Bragi

Culture： Norse

In Norse mythology， there was a legendary drink known as the Mead of Poetry， which had been created by the dwarves. Depending on the version of the myth， it either turned one into a poet or granted one the ability to speak with wisdom. For ages， it was guarded with secrecy until the giant Suttung came and stole it， hiding it in a mountain cave under the protection of his daughter. The great Norse god Odin believed that being a good poet was as crucial as being a good warrior， so after an arduous journey， he managed to convince Suttungs daughter to allow him to drink the mead. He later escaped， turning into an eagle， and poured the mead over the whole world.

1 Ling Lun

Culture： Chinese

Though some myths attribute the creation of music to a mythical beast named Kui， more sources cite Ling Lun as the legendary founder of music for ancient China. The Yellow Emperor， a deity in Chinese religion， is said to have ordered Ling Lun to create music. Ling Luns first attempt was a flute made out of bamboo， which was said to be unpleasant. In fact， when the Yellow Emperor was passing by on his horse， the noise startled the animal， and the emperor was thrown to the ground.

When he arose， Ling Lun fell to his knees， embarrassed and ready to accept death. However， the Yellow Emperor was astounded the flute made any noise at all and told him to continue his efforts. Eventually， Ling Lun ended up at Mount Phoenix， named after the mythical birds which frequented the area. The males and females each sang six distinct tones， and he carved his flute to match their pitches.

音樂對于人類經(jīng)歷而言是不可或缺的，它甚至比語言本身還要早。神話在人類歷史上也同樣是普遍存在的。由此，解釋音樂方方面面（包括其源起）的神話傳說應運而生了。本文介紹其中八個。

8泰茲卡特里波卡和克查爾科亞特爾

文化源起：阿茲特克

泰茲卡特里波卡和克查爾科亞特爾分別是天空神和風神，是阿茲特克文化中較為出名的兩位神祇?？瞬闋柨苼喬貭査追Q“羽蛇神”，也是智慧神，他和泰茲卡特里波卡有著相愛相殺的關系。一天，正當克查爾科亞特爾忙著制造狂風時，泰茲卡特里波卡發(fā)現(xiàn)人類顯然缺少了歌唱和音樂。他想出一條妙計來解決這個問題：讓他的兄弟去太陽那里求取音樂。

經(jīng)過了一段艱苦的旅程，循著空中傳來的優(yōu)美樂聲，克查爾科亞特爾終于到達了太陽的居所。太陽與風神正面對峙，生怕歌者、樂者被帶去人間，命令他們收聲。在克查爾科亞特爾展現(xiàn)出懾人的神武之威后，他們心悅誠服地與他同行。當他快到地球時，果實逐漸成熟，花朵逐漸綻放，整個地球仿佛從酣睡中蘇醒了。泰茲卡特里波卡和克查爾科亞特爾對自己的成就很滿意，陶醉在曼妙的音樂氛圍里，而音樂自此誕生了。

7 各顯神通

文化源起：希臘

以眾神使者著稱的赫爾墨斯也是小偷、商人的保護神，還司管文學。尚在嬰兒之時，他就掙脫襁褓，跑到哥哥阿波羅的放牛地。赫爾墨斯抓住一只烏龜并且殺死了它，把龜殼掏空。他用阿波羅一頭牛的幾根腸子制作出了第一把七弦琴。后來他因偷牛而遭到質(zhì)問，就彈起了七弦琴，彈得美妙至極，于是阿波羅就用牛交換了這把琴。人們還把長笛和排簫的發(fā)明歸功于赫爾墨斯。

在古希臘神話中，與創(chuàng)造音樂密切相關的另一個人物是俄耳甫斯。據(jù)說他演奏得極為優(yōu)美，動物、樹木、石頭都會在他周圍起舞。他死后，他的七弦琴被懸于天際，成了一個星座，永遠彈奏著動人的音樂。

6 天堂里的天使

文化源起：基督教

圣伊格內(nèi)修斯是第二任安提俄克主教，這是基督教的一個早期神職，據(jù)說是使徒圣彼得創(chuàng)立的。教堂禮拜時的輪唱活動（由兩組唱詩班演唱）就是圣伊格內(nèi)修斯創(chuàng)設的。他曾看到天堂中的天使輪流對上帝唱贊歌的異象，為了效仿這一做法，他把教堂的唱詩班分成了兩組。

5 阿波羅

文化源起：羅馬

阿波羅被尊為太陽、真理、治療和音樂之神。他從嬰兒時的小偷、日后森林神潘的父親赫爾墨斯那里得到了七弦琴，學會了演奏人與神耳中最為優(yōu)美的音樂。

森林神潘自信能用雙管笛勝過阿波羅。潘在傳奇的米達斯王面前演奏，被判定勝出。因為米達斯王選擇了潘和他的雙管笛，阿波羅很生氣，把米達斯王的耳朵變成了驢耳朵。

4 鈿女

文化源起：日本

鈿女即天鈿女命，是日本神道教中的快樂幸福女神。別名“天之驕女”的她也被視為完美女性的化身。

至于鈿女的音樂天性，在一個與太陽女神——天照大神有關的故事里，以最為美妙的方式得以展現(xiàn)。因為對風暴神素盞鳴尊很生氣，天照大神躲進了一個洞穴中。不幸的是，整個世界因此陷入了黑暗，萬物再也無法生長。眾神勸說天照大神離開洞穴無果，而鈿女則用苔蘚和葉子遮身，縱情歌舞，引得天照大神出于好奇而離開了洞穴。

神道教的音樂舞蹈稱為“神樂”，據(jù)說就是模仿鈿女的歌舞而成。

3 猶八

文化源起：猶太教

猶八是拉麥之子，而拉麥本人據(jù)說是大洪水滅世前最早的詩人。據(jù)說猶八發(fā)明了各種弦樂器和管樂器，其中最主要的是豎琴。

猶太教文獻記述道，他帶給世界的音樂可能會起到毒害作用，在被用于引誘之舉時往往如此。后來基督教、伊斯蘭教的作家都把音樂跟撒旦本身關聯(lián)起來，認為音樂對于人類有一種偽魔幻的影響。

2 奧丁/布拉基

文化源起：古斯堪的納維亞

北歐神話里有一種名為“詩之蜜酒”的神奇飲品，是矮人族發(fā)明的。根據(jù)神話故事的各種版本，它要么能讓人變成詩人，要么能使人有談吐睿智的本領。多年來，詩之蜜酒一直被秘密看守著，直到巨人蘇圖恩過來偷走了它，藏在一個山洞中，由他的女兒守著。偉大的北歐之神奧丁認為，成為優(yōu)秀的詩人跟成為優(yōu)秀的勇士同等重要，所以他在一場苦旅之后，成功說服蘇圖恩的女兒讓他喝了詩之蜜酒。他后來逃走了，變成一只雄鷹，把蜜酒灑遍了全世界。

1 伶?zhèn)?/p>

文化源起：中國

雖說有些神話故事把創(chuàng)造音樂歸功于一位名叫夔的神獸，但更多文獻還是把伶?zhèn)惙Q為遠古中國創(chuàng)造音樂的傳奇人物。據(jù)說，中國宗教的一位神祇黃帝命令伶?zhèn)悇?chuàng)造音樂。伶?zhèn)惖氖状螄L試是用竹子制成的笛子，據(jù)說不太悅耳。實際上，當黃帝騎馬路過時，笛聲驚擾了馬匹，黃帝被甩到了地上。

當黃帝站起身時，伶?zhèn)愲p膝跪地，羞愧不已，準備受死。然而，黃帝對笛子竟然能發(fā)出聲音大為驚訝，命他繼續(xù)努力。后來，伶?zhèn)悂淼搅锁P嶺，這座山以經(jīng)常出沒此地的神鳥命名。這里的鳳和凰各唱六種不同的調(diào)子，他在笛子上鑿孔，以匹配它們的音調(diào)。? ? ? ? ? ? ? □

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）