萊斯利·馬錢特/文　郭曉陽(yáng)/譯

From the San people of South Africa all the way up to the Berbers in Morocco， Africa is the origin of myriad tribes—in fact， there are estimated to be about 3，000. With so many unique groups come quite a few fascinating tribal traditions. Some well never know about， but others weve been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of. These seven tribal traditions are just a small part of what makes the people of Africa so spellbindingly colourful.

從南非的桑人一路向北到摩洛哥的柏柏爾人，非洲是眾多部落的發(fā)源地。事實(shí)上，非洲據(jù)估計(jì)約有3000個(gè)部落。如此眾多的獨(dú)特族群，帶來(lái)了許多非常有趣的部落傳統(tǒng)。有些我們永遠(yuǎn)不得而知，有些我們卻有幸一窺究竟。非洲民族文化如此多姿多彩，令人神往，以下7種部落傳統(tǒng)只代表一小部分原因。

1. The courtship dance of the Wodaabe

1. 沃達(dá)貝人的求偶舞

Birds do it. Bees do it. Were talking， of course， about a courtship dance. In the Wodaabe tribe of Niger， the human mating ritual takes a page from natures book. The Guérewol is an annual ritual and competition that sees young men dress up in elaborate ornamentation and traditional face paint and gather in lines to dance and sing. The goal？ To get the attention of one of the judges—a marriageable young woman. In this particular tribe， the male beauty ideal is all about bright eyes and teeth， so men will often roll their eyes and bare their teeth to show off their sex appeal.

小鳥(niǎo)會(huì)跳。蜜蜂會(huì)跳。我們說(shuō)的當(dāng)然是求偶舞。在尼日爾的沃達(dá)貝部落，人類的求偶儀式借鑒了大自然的做法。格萊沃爾節(jié)是一年一度的儀式及競(jìng)賽，屆時(shí)年輕男性會(huì)盛裝打扮，畫上傳統(tǒng)面部彩繪，一字排開(kāi)，載歌載舞。目的是什么呢？是為了博得某位評(píng)委，也就是某位適婚年輕女性的青睞。在這個(gè)獨(dú)特的部落，男性以明眸皓齒為美。因此男人常會(huì)轉(zhuǎn)眼露齒，展示他們的性感魅力。

2. The lip plates of the Mursi

2. 穆?tīng)栁魅说拇奖P

The Mursi tribe of Ethiopia is one of the last tribes in Africa where its the norm for women to wear large pottery or wooden plates in their lower lips. When a Mursi girl reaches the age of 15 or 16， her lower lip is cut by her mother or another older woman in the settlement. The cut is held open by a wooden plug for about three months while it heals. Mursi members are rather egalitarian—girls are never forced to have their lip pierced; its a totally personal choice. （Of course， 16 is the prime age for peer pressure no matter your culture， and this is often the reason girls opt for the lip plate.）

埃塞俄比亞的穆?tīng)栁鞑柯涫桥韵麓脚宕鞔筇毡P或大木盤的風(fēng)俗依然留存的非洲部落之一。穆?tīng)栁鞑柯涞呐⒆釉陂L(zhǎng)到十五六歲時(shí)，她的母親或聚居點(diǎn)的其他年長(zhǎng)女性會(huì)把她的下唇切開(kāi)。在傷口愈合的約3個(gè)月的時(shí)間里，用木塞撐住切口。穆?tīng)栁魅讼喈?dāng)講求平等，從不強(qiáng)迫女孩切唇，完全聽(tīng)從個(gè)人選擇。（當(dāng)然，無(wú)論什么文化，16歲正是同輩壓力最大的年齡，女孩常因此選擇佩戴唇盤。）

3. The bull jumping of the Hamar

3. 哈馬爾人的跳牛

Ethiopias Hamar tribe， made up mostly of pastoralists who respect and treasure their cattle， has a rather… athletic initiation ritual. Forget cow tipping—this tradition is all about the art of bull jumping. Bull jumping is a three-day rite of passage that all boys must partake in， and its extremely important for the dignity of both the initiate and his family. The initiate must walk over 15 castrated bulls that have been rubbed in dung to make their backs slippery （and the task that much tougher）. If he fails， hell have to wait a whole year to try again. And if he succeeds？ It means hes ready to marry a girl of his parents choosing， and to raise his own children and cattle.

埃塞俄比亞的哈馬爾部落主要由牧民構(gòu)成，他們尊重且愛(ài)惜自己的牛，有一種頗具運(yùn)動(dòng)色彩的成人儀式。別再想著推牛了，這項(xiàng)傳統(tǒng)的核心是跳牛技術(shù)。跳牛是一項(xiàng)為期3天的成人儀式，所有男孩都必須參加。它對(duì)參加者及其家庭的尊嚴(yán)至關(guān)重要。參加者必須越過(guò)15頭閹割的公牛，牛背上涂有糞便，使其變得濕滑（從而大大增加了挑戰(zhàn)難度）。如果失敗，他必須再等一整年才能繼續(xù)嘗試。如果成功了呢？那就意味著他可以與父母為其挑選的女孩結(jié)婚生子，飼養(yǎng)自己的牛群了。

4. The red ochre of the Himba

4. 欣巴人的紅赭石

The women of this iconic Namibian tribe are known for their beautiful， red-tinged skin and hair. The reason for the rich colour？ A homemade paste of butter， fat and red ochre known as otjize. Girls in the tribe start using otjize as soon as theyre old enough to care for their own hygiene. There has long been speculation around exact origins of the practice， with many people claiming it acts as sun protection or insect repellent. But the Himba tribe says its purely for aesthetic reasons—effectively a traditional make-up they apply every morning in the same way wed slap on a lick of mascara and lipstick.

這個(gè)納米比亞代表性部落的女性以其美麗的紅皮膚和紅頭發(fā)而聞名。這種濃厚的顏色從何而來(lái)呢？它來(lái)自于用牛油、脂肪和紅赭石自制的膏狀物，稱為奧吉孜。部落的女性在年齡大到懂得料理個(gè)人衛(wèi)生時(shí)，就開(kāi)始使用奧吉孜。人們一直猜測(cè)這種做法的確切起源，許多人稱其用于防曬或驅(qū)蟲。然而欣巴人卻說(shuō)這么做純粹為了美觀，實(shí)際上這是她們每天早上涂抹的傳統(tǒng)化妝品，就同我們涂睫毛膏和口紅一樣。

5. The spitting of the Maasai

5. 馬賽人的吐口水

The Maasai people of Kenya and Northern Tanzania view spitting as a form of blessing and a sign of respect. Tribespeople use spitting to greet or say goodbye to friends， clinch a bargain or to wish someone good luck. Two friends greeting each other will spit in their palms before shaking hands. When a baby is born， family members will spit on the child to wish him or her a long life and good luck. Spitting is also customary on a daughters wedding day， where her father will spit on her forehead to wish her a blessed union.

肯尼亞和坦桑尼亞北部的馬賽人把吐口水視為一種祝福方式和尊敬的表達(dá)。部落的人們用吐口水來(lái)問(wèn)候朋友或告別、達(dá)成交易或祝人好運(yùn)。兩個(gè)朋友互致問(wèn)候，在握手前會(huì)先向手心吐口水。嬰兒出生時(shí)，家人會(huì)向小孩身上吐口水，祝其長(zhǎng)壽及好運(yùn)。女兒的出嫁之日，吐口水也是慣常習(xí)俗，她的父親會(huì)向她額頭上吐口水，祝她婚姻美滿。

6. The healing dance of the San

6. 桑人的治療之舞

Of all the tribal traditions， this one is arguably the most magical. For the San people of South Africa， Namibia， Botswana and Angola， dance is considered a sacred power. One of their most integral tribal traditions is the trance dance （also known as the healing dance）. The whole community comes together around a fire for several hours or even an entire night， led by healers and elders. The healers dance around the fire， chant and hyperventilate until they induce a powerful trance-like state. In this state， they are granted access to the spirit world （and are often able to walk over fire）. The San healers arent just doing this to cure physical illnesses in their community—they also attempt to expel what they call “star sickness”， a force that causes jealousy， anger and arguments.

這可以說(shuō)是所有部落傳統(tǒng)中最具魔幻色彩的傳統(tǒng)。南非、納米比亞、博茨瓦納和安哥拉的桑人將舞蹈視為一種神圣的力量。他們最不可或缺的部落傳統(tǒng)之一，就是出神之舞（也稱為治療之舞）。整個(gè)部落在治療師及年長(zhǎng)者的帶領(lǐng)下，聚集在火堆旁數(shù)小時(shí)乃至一整夜。治療師圍著火堆跳舞、吟唱、強(qiáng)力呼吸，直至誘發(fā)出強(qiáng)烈的出神狀態(tài)。在這種狀態(tài)下，他們可以通靈，而且常能在火上行走。桑人治療師此舉不僅為了治療族人的身體疾病，還試圖驅(qū)除他們所謂的“星患”，即一種導(dǎo)致嫉妒、憤怒和爭(zhēng)吵的力量。

7. The wedding ceremony of the Ndebele

7. 恩德貝勒人的婚禮

The Ndebele wedding ceremony is all about the bride—and her attire puts western white dresses to shame. This， in most part， is thanks to her future mother-in-law and the prettiest of all the tribal traditions. The grooms mother creates a Jocolo for the bride—an apron made of goatskin and decorated with gorgeous， colourful beads. The Jocolo is worn by all married women at the wedding ceremony， and is representative of a mother surrounded by children. On their wedding day， the groom performs a ceremony in honour of his new wife， giving her thanks and credit for everything shes done for him in their time together.

新娘是恩德貝勒人婚禮的中心，她的婚服讓西方的白色婚紗相形見(jiàn)絀。這在很大程度上要?dú)w功于她未來(lái)的婆婆以及這項(xiàng)最美麗的部落傳統(tǒng)。新郎的母親會(huì)為新娘縫制“喬科洛”，這是一種用山羊皮制成的圍裙，上面飾有華麗的彩珠?；槎Y上，所有已婚婦女都要穿著喬科洛，它象征著被兒女簇?fù)淼哪赣H?；槎Y當(dāng)天，新郎要為新婚妻子舉行一個(gè)儀式，感謝和贊揚(yáng)她在相處期間為他所做的一切。

（譯者為“《英語(yǔ)世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎(jiǎng)?wù)撸?/p>