Wirreenun the Rainmaker

The country was stricken with a drought. The rivers were all dry except the deepest holes in them. The grass was dead, and even the trees were dying. The bark dardurr of the blacks were all fallen to the ground and lay there rotting, so long was it since they had been used, for only in wet weather did the blacks use the bark dardurr; at other times they used only whatdooral, or bough shades.

国は旱に襲われていた。川はいちばん深い淵を残してみな干上がった。草は枯れ、木さえ枯れかけていた。人々の樹皮のダルルはみな地に落ちて朽ちるにまかされていた。使われなくなって久しかったからである。人々が樹皮のダルルを使うのは雨の季節だけで、ほかのときはワットドゥーラル、すなわち枝の日よけしか使わなかった。

The young men of the Noongahburrah murmured among themselves, at first secretly, at last openly, saying: "Did not our fathers always say that the Wirreenun could make, as we wanted it, the rain to fall? Yet look at our country--the grass blown away, no doonburr seed to grind, the kangaroo are dying, and the emu, the duck, and the swan have flown to far countries. We shall have no food soon; then shall we die, and the Noongahburrah be no more seen on the Narrin. Then why, if he is able, does not Wirreenun inake rain?"

ヌーンガーブラーの若者たちは、はじめはひそかに、しまいには表立って、こう言い交わすようになった。「父たちはいつも、ウィリーヌンは望みどおりに雨を降らせられると言っていたではないか。それなのにこの国を見ろ——草は吹き飛ばされ、挽くドゥンバーの種も無く、カンガルーは死にかけ、エミューも鴨も白鳥も遠い国へ飛び去った。じきに食べ物が無くなる。そうなればわれらは死に、ヌーンガーブラーはナランの地から姿を消す。それならなぜ、できるというのにウィリーヌンは雨を降らせないのだ?」

Soon these murmurs reached the ears of the old Wirreenun. He said nothing, but the young fellows noticed that for two or three days in succession he went to the waterhole in the creek and placed in it a willgoo willgoo--a long stick, ornamented at the top with white cockatoo feathers--and beside the stick he placed two big gubberah, that is, two big, clear pebbles which at other times he always secreted about him, in the folds of his waywah, or in the band or net on his head. Especially was he careful to hide these stones from the women.

まもなくこの呟きは年老いたウィリーヌンの耳に届いた。ウィリーヌンは何も言わなかった。けれども若者たちは、ウィリーヌンが二日三日と続けて小川の水たまりへ行き、そこにウィルグー・ウィルグー——先を白いオウムの羽根で飾った長い棒——を立て、そのかたわらに二つの大きなグバラー、すなわち二つの大きな澄んだ石を置くのに気づいた。その石はふだんはいつも身に隠していて、ウェイワーの襞の中か、頭に巻いた帯か網の中に入れていた。とりわけ女たちからは念入りに隠していた。

At the end of the third day Wirreenun said to the young men: "Go you, take your comeboos and cut bark sufficient to make dardurr for all the tribe."

三日目の終わりに、ウィリーヌンは若者たちに言った。「行って、コンボを取り、一族全員のダルルを作るに足るだけの樹皮を切って来い。」

The young men did as they were bade. When they had the bark cut and brought in Wirreenun said: "Go you now and raise with ant-bed a high place, and put thereon logs and wood for a fire, build the ant-bed about a foot from the ground. Then put you a floor of ant-bed a foot high whereever you are going to build a dardurr."

若者たちは言われたとおりにした。樹皮を切って運び入れると、ウィリーヌンは言った。「さあ今度は行って、蟻塚の土で高い台を築き、その上に薪と焚き物を積め。蟻塚の土は地面から一フィートほど積み上げよ。それからダルルを建てるところにはどこでも、蟻塚の土で一フィートの高さの床を張れ。」

And they did what he told them. When the dardurr were finished, having high floors of ant-bed and water-tight roofs of bark, Wirreenun commanded the whole camp to come with him to the waterhole; men, women, and children; all were to come. They all followed him down to the creek, to the waterhole where he had placed the willgoo willgoo and gubberah. Wirreenun jumped into the water and bade the tribe follow him, which they did. There in the water they all splashed and played about. After a little time Wirreenun went up first behind one black fellow and then behind another, until at length he had been round them all, and taken from the back of each one's head lumps of charcoal. When he went up to each he appeared to suck the back or top of their heads, and to draw out lumps of charcoal, which, as he sucked them out, he spat into the water. When he had gone the round of all, he went out of the water. But just as he got out a young man caught him up in his arms and threw him back into the water. This happened several times, until Wirreenun was shivering. That was the signal for all to leave the creek. Wirreenun sent all the young people into a big bough shed, and bade them all go to sleep. He and two old men and two old women stayed outside. They loaded themselves with all their belongings piled up on their backs, dayoorl stones and all, as if ready for a flitting. These old people walked impatiently around the bough shed as if waiting a signal to start somewhere. Soon a big black cloud appeared on the horizon, first a single cloud, which, however, was soon followed by others rising all round. They rose quickly until they all met just overhead, forming a big black mass of clouds. As soon as this big, heavy, rainladen looking cloud was stationary overhead, the old people went into the bough shed and bade the young people wake up and come out and look at the sky. When they were all roused Wirreenun told them to lose no time, but to gather together all their possessions and hasten to gain the shelter of the bark dardurr. Scarcely were they all in the dardurrs and their spears well hidden when there sounded a terrific clap of thunder, which was quickly followed by a regular cannonade, lightning flashes shooting across the sky, followed by instantaneous claps of deafening thunder. A sudden flash of lightning, which lit a pathway, from heaven to earth, was followed by such a terrific clash that the blacks thought their very camps were struck. But it was a tree a little distance off. The blacks huddled together in their dardurrs, frightened to move, the children crying with fear, and the dogs crouching towards their owners.

人々は言われたとおりにした。蟻塚の土の高い床と、水を通さない樹皮の屋根を備えたダルルができ上がると、ウィリーヌンは野営地じゅうの者に一緒に水たまりへ来るように命じた。男も女も子どもも、みな来るようにと。一同はウィリーヌンについて小川へ下り、ウィルグー・ウィルグーとグバラーを置いたあの水たまりへ行った。ウィリーヌンは水に飛び込み、一族にも続けと命じ、みなそうした。そこでみなは水しぶきを上げて遊んだ。しばらくすると、ウィリーヌンは一人の背後へ、それからまた別の一人の背後へと回り、とうとう全員を回って、それぞれの後頭部から炭の塊を取り出した。一人ひとりのところへ行くたびに、その後頭部か頭のてっぺんを吸うようにして炭の塊を引き出し、吸い出しては水に吐き出すように見えた。全員を回り終えると、水から上がった。ところが上がったとたん、一人の若者が抱え上げて水へ投げ戻した。これが何度も繰り返され、とうとうウィリーヌンは震え出した。それが小川を離れる合図だった。ウィリーヌンは若い者をみな大きな枝の日よけの中へ入らせ、眠るように命じた。自分と二人の老人、二人の老女は外に残った。四人は持ち物をすべて背に積み上げ、ダユールの石まで担いで、まるでいつでも移れる支度のようだった。この年寄りたちは、どこかへ出発する合図を待つかのように、じりじりと枝の日よけのまわりを歩き回った。まもなく地平線に大きな黒い雲が現れた。はじめは一つだったが、すぐにまわりじゅうから雲が湧き上がった。雲は素早く昇り、とうとう頭上で一つに合わさって、大きな黒い塊になった。この重く雨を孕んだ大きな雲が頭上に止まるとすぐ、年寄りたちは枝の日よけに入り、若い者を起こして外へ出て空を見るように言った。みなが起き出すと、ウィリーヌンは、ぐずぐずせず持ち物をみなまとめて樹皮のダルルの屋根の下へ急げと言った。全員がダルルに入り、槍をしっかりしまい終えるか終えないかのうちに、恐ろしい雷鳴が轟いた。それに続いてまるで砲撃のような音が続き、稲妻が空を走り、耳をつんざく雷鳴が間髪を入れずに続いた。天から地へ道を照らすような閃光が走り、それに続く凄まじい炸裂に、人々は自分たちの野営地が打たれたと思った。けれども打たれたのは少し離れた木だった。人々はダルルの中で身を寄せ合い、怖くて動けず、子どもは怯えて泣き、犬は飼い主の方へ身を伏せた。

"We shall be killed," shrieked the women. The men said nothing but looked as frightened.

「殺されてしまう」と女たちは金切り声を上げた。男たちは何も言わなかったが、同じように怯えた顔をしていた。

Only Wirreenun was fearless. "I will go out," he said, "and stop the storm from hurting us. The lightning shall come no nearer."

ただウィリーヌンだけが恐れなかった。「わしが外へ出て」とウィリーヌンは言った。「嵐がわれらを害さぬように止めよう。稲妻はこれ以上近づかせぬ。」

So out in front of the dardurrs strode Wirreenun, and naked he stood there facing the storm, singing aloud, as the thunder roared and the lightning flashed, the chant which was to keep it away from the camp

そう言ってウィリーヌンはダルルの前へ大股に出て、裸のままそこに立って嵐に向かい、雷が轟き稲妻が走るなか、それを野営地から遠ざけるための唱えを声高に歌った。

"Gurreemooray, mooray, Durreemooray, mooray, mooray," &c.

「グリームーレイ、ムーレイ、ドゥリームーレイ、ムーレイ、ムーレイ」云々。

Soon came a lull in the cannonade, a slight breeze stirred the trees for a few moments, then an oppressive silence, and then the rain in real earnest began, and settled down to a steady downpour, which lasted for some days.

まもなく砲撃のような音が止み、しばらく微風が木々を揺らし、それから重苦しい静けさが来て、それから本降りの雨が始まった。雨は落ち着いた降りようになり、それが幾日も続いた。

When the old people had been patrolling the bough shed as the clouds rose overhead, Wirreenun had gone to the waterhole and taken out the willgoo willgoo and the stones, for he saw by the cloud that their work was done.

年寄りたちが頭上に雲が湧くあいだ枝の日よけのまわりを巡っていたとき、ウィリーヌンは水たまりへ行って、ウィルグー・ウィルグーと石を取り出していた。雲を見て、その務めが終わったと分かったからである。

When the rain was over and the country all green again, the blacks had a great corrobboree and sang of the skill of Wirreenun, rainmaker to the Noongahburrah.

雨が上がって国じゅうがまた緑になると、人々は大きなコロボリーを開き、ヌーンガーブラーの雨を降らせる者ウィリーヌンの腕前を歌った。

Wirreenun sat calm and heedless of their praise, as he had been of their murmurs. But he determined to show them that his powers were great, so he summoned the rainmaker of a neighbouring tribe, and after some consultation with him, he ordered the tribes to go to the Googoorewon, which was then a dry plain, with the solemn, gaunt trees all round it, which had once been black fellows.

ウィリーヌンは、呟かれていたときと同じように、褒め言葉にも心を動かさず静かに座っていた。けれども自分の力が大きいことを示そうと心に決め、隣の一族の雨を降らせる者を呼んで、しばらく相談した。そして一族の者たちに、グーグーレウォンへ行くよう命じた。そこは当時は乾いた平原で、まわりをぐるりと、厳かにやせ細った木々が取り巻いていた。かつて人であった木々である。

When they were all camped round the edges of this plain, Wirreenun and his fellow rainmaker made a great rain to fall just over the plain and fill it with water.

一同がこの平原の縁に野営すると、ウィリーヌンと相手の雨降らしは、この平原の上にだけ大雨を降らせて、そこを水で満たした。

When the plain was changed into a lake, Wirreenun said to the young men of his tribe: "Now take your nets and fish."

平原が湖に変わると、ウィリーヌンは一族の若者たちに言った。「さあ網を取って魚を捕れ。」

"What good?" said they. "The lake is filled from the rain, not the flood water of rivers, filled but yesterday, how then shall there be fish?"

「何になります」と若者たちは言った。「この湖は雨で満ちたので、川の出水で満ちたのではありません。昨日満ちたばかりで、どうして魚がいましょう。」

"Go," said Wirreenun. "Go as I bid you; fish. If your nets catch nothing then shall Wirreenun speak no more to the men of his tribe, he will seek only honey and yams with the women."

「行け」とウィリーヌンは言った。「命じたとおりに行って、魚を捕れ。網に何もかからなければ、ウィリーヌンは二度と一族の男たちに口をきかず、女たちとともに蜜とヤムイモだけを探すとしよう。」

More to please the man who had changed their country from a desert to a hunter's paradise, they did as he bade them, took their nets and went into the lake. And the first time they drew their nets, they were heavy with goodoo, murree, tucki, and bunmillah. And so many did they catch that all the tribes, and their dogs, had plenty.

砂漠だった国を狩人の楽園に変えてくれた人を立てようという気持ちもあって、若者たちは言われたとおり網を取って湖に入った。そして最初に網を引いたとき、網はグードゥー、マリー、タッキー、バンミラーで重かった。あまりにたくさん捕れたので、一族みなも、犬たちも、たっぷりありついた。

Then the elders of the camp said now that there was plenty everywhere, they would have a borah that the boys should be made young men. On one of the ridges away from the camp, that the women should not know, would they prepare a ground.

そこで野営地の長老たちは、いまやどこにも食べ物が満ちているのだから、少年たちを若者にするボーラを開こうと言った。女たちに知られぬよう、野営地から離れた尾根の一つに場所をしつらえようと。

And so was the big borah of the Googoorewon held, the borah which was famous as following on the triumph of Wirreenun the rainmaker.

こうしてグーグーレウォンの大ボーラが開かれた。雨を降らせる者ウィリーヌンの勝利に続くものとして名高い、あのボーラである。