The King and the Ju Ju Tree

Udo Ubok Udom was a famous king who lived at Itam, which is an inland town, and does not possess a river. The king and his wife therefore used to wash at the spring just behind their house.

ウド・ウボク・ウドムは、イタムに住んでいた名高い王だった。イタムは内陸の町で、川がない。そこで王と妃は、家のすぐ裏の泉で水浴びをするのが常だった。

King Udo had a daughter, of whom he was very fond, and looked after her most carefully, and she grew up into a beautiful woman.

ウド王には娘がいて、たいそうかわいがり、このうえなく大事に育てたので、娘は美しい女に育った。

For some time the king had been absent from his house, and had not been to the spring for two years. When he went to his old place to wash, he found that the Idem Ju Ju tree had grown up all round the place, and it was impossible for him to use the spring as he had done formerly. He therefore called fifty of his young men to bring their matchets[8] and cut down the tree. They started cutting the tree, but it had no effect, as, directly they made a cut in the tree, it closed up again; so, after working all day, they found they had made no impression on it.

しばらくのあいだ王は家を留守にしていて、二年ものあいだ泉へ行っていなかった。昔からの場所へ水浴びに行ってみると、イデム・ジュジュの木があたり一面に生い茂っていて、以前のように泉を使うことができなくなっていた。そこで王は若者を五十人呼んで、山刀[8]を持ってきて木を切り倒すよう言いつけた。若者たちは木を切りはじめたが、何の効き目もなかった。木に切り込みを入れるそばから、それがまた閉じてしまうのである。そこで一日じゅう働いたあげく、若者たちは木に何の跡もつけられなかったことを知った。

[Footnote 8: A matchet is a long sharp knife in general use throughout the country. It has a wooden handle; it is about two feet six inches long and two inches wide.]

[脚注 8: 山刀とは、この国じゅうで広く使われている長く鋭い刃物である。木の柄がついていて、長さは二フィート六インチ、幅は二インチほどである。]

When they returned at night, they told the king that they had been unable to destroy the tree. He was very angry when he heard this, and went to the spring the following morning, taking his own matchet with him.

夜になって戻ると、若者たちは王に、木を倒すことができなかったと告げた。王はこれを聞いてたいそう腹を立て、翌朝、自分の山刀を持って泉へ出かけた。

When the Ju Ju tree saw that the king had come himself and was starting to try to cut his branches, he caused a small splinter of wood to go into the king's eye. This gave the king great pain, so he threw down his matchet and went back to his house. The pain, however, got worse, and he could not eat or sleep for three days.

ジュジュの木は、王自身がやって来て自分の枝を切ろうとしはじめたのを見ると、小さな木の破片を王の目に飛び込ませた。これに王はひどい痛みを覚え、山刀を投げ捨てて家へ帰った。けれども痛みはひどくなるばかりで、王は三日のあいだ食べることも眠ることもできなかった。

He therefore sent for his witch men, and told them to cast lots to find out why he was in such pain. When they had cast lots, they decided that the reason was that the Ju Ju tree was angry with the king because he wanted to wash at the spring, and had tried to destroy the tree.

そこで王は魔術師たちを呼び寄せて、どうしてこんなに痛むのか、籤を投げて突き止めるよう言いつけた。籤を投げると、魔術師たちは、王が泉で水浴びをしたがって木を倒そうとしたので、ジュジュの木が王に怒っているのだと決めた。

They then told the king that he must take seven baskets of flies, a white goat, a white chicken, and a piece of white cloth, and make a sacrifice of them in order to satisfy the Ju Ju.

それから魔術師たちは王に、蠅を七籠と白い山羊と白い鶏と白い布を用意して、ジュジュをなだめるためにそれを生贄に捧げねばならないと告げた。

The king did this, and the witch men tried their lotions on the king's eye, but it got worse and worse.

王はそのとおりにして、魔術師たちは王の目に薬を試したが、目はますます悪くなるばかりだった。

He then dismissed these witches and got another lot. When they arrived they told the king that, although they could do nothing themselves to relieve his pain, they knew one man who lived in the spirit land who could cure him; so the king told them to send for him at once, and he arrived the next day.

そこで王はこの魔術師たちを退けて、別の一団を呼んだ。新しい者たちは着くと、自分たちには王の痛みを和らげることはできないが、霊の国に住む男が一人いて、その者なら治せると告げた。そこで王はすぐにその男を呼びにやり、男は翌日やって来た。

Then the spirit man said, "Before I do anything to your eye, what will you give me?" So King Udo said, "I will give you half my town with the people in it, also seven cows and some money." But the spirit man refused to accept the king's offer. As the king was in such pain, he said, "Name your own price, and I will pay you." So the spirit man said the only thing he was willing to accept as payment was the king's daughter. At this the king cried very much, and told the man to go away, as he would rather die than let him have his daughter.

すると霊の男は言った。「あなたの目に手を下す前に、わたしに何をくださいますか」そこでウド王は言った。「わが町の半分を、そこに住む人々ごとやろう。それに牛を七頭と金もやろう」けれども霊の男は王の申し出を断った。王はひどく痛んでいたので言った。「望みの値を言え。払ってやる」すると霊の男は、支払いとして受け取る気のあるものはただ一つ、王の娘だけだと言った。これに王はひどく泣いて、娘を渡すくらいなら死んだほうがましだから帰れ、とその男に言った。

That night the pain was worse than ever, and some of his subjects pleaded with the king to send for the spirit man again and give him his daughter, and told him that when he got well he could no doubt have another daughter but that if he died now he would lose everything.

その夜、痛みはこれまでになくひどくなり、家来の何人かが王に、もう一度霊の男を呼んで娘を渡すよう懇願した。よくなればきっとまた娘をもうけられるが、今死んでしまえば何もかも失うのだ、というのである。

The king then sent for the spirit man again, who came very quickly, and in great grief the king handed his daughter to the spirit.

そこで王はまた霊の男を呼びにやり、男はたいそう早くやって来た。そして王は深く嘆きながら、娘を霊の男に渡した。

The spirit man then went out into the bush, and collected some leaves, which he soaked in water and beat up. The juice he poured into the king's eye, and told him that when he washed his face in the morning he would be able to see what was troubling him in the eye.

それから霊の男は藪へ出ていって、葉を集め、水に浸して叩きつぶした。その汁を王の目に注ぎ、朝に顔を洗えば、目を悩ませていたものが見えるだろうと告げた。

The king tried to persuade him to stay the night, but the spirit man refused, and departed that same night for the spirit land, taking the king's daughter with him.

王は一晩泊まるよう説き伏せようとしたが、霊の男は断り、その同じ夜に王の娘を連れて霊の国へ発っていった。

Before it was light the king rose up and washed his face, and found that the small splinter from the Ju Ju tree, which had been troubling him so much, dropped out of his eye, the pain disappeared, and he was quite well again.

明るくなる前に王は起きて顔を洗うと、あれほど悩ませていたジュジュの木の小さな破片が目から落ちて、痛みは消え、王はすっかり元気になっていた。

When he came to his proper senses he realised that he had sacrificed his daughter for one of his eyes, so he made an order that there should be general mourning throughout his kingdom for three years.

正気に返ると、王は自分の目一つのために娘を犠牲にしたことに気づいた。そこで王は、王国じゅうで三年のあいだ喪に服すよう命じた。

For the first two years of the mourning the king's daughter was put in the fatting house by the spirit man, and was given food; but a skull, who was in the house, told her not to eat, as they were fatting her up, not for marriage, but so that they could eat her. She therefore gave all the food which was brought to her to the skull, and lived on chalk herself.

喪の最初の二年のあいだ、王の娘は霊の男によって肥やし小屋に入れられ、食べ物を与えられていた。けれどもその小屋にいた髑髏が、食べてはいけない、この者たちは結婚のためではなく、食べるためにお前を太らせているのだと告げた。そこで娘は運ばれてくる食べ物をみな髑髏にやり、自分は白亜を食べて生きていた。

Towards the end of the third year the spirit man brought some of his friends to see the king's daughter, and told them he would kill her the next day, and they would have a good feast off her.

三年目の終わりごろ、霊の男は友だちを何人か連れて王の娘を見に来て、明日この娘を殺すから、みなでうまいごちそうにありつけると告げた。

When she woke up in the morning the spirit man brought her food as usual; but the skull, who wanted to preserve her life, and who had heard what the spirit man had said, called her into the room and told her what was going to happen later in the day. She handed the food to the skull, and he said, "When the spirit man goes to the wood with his friends to prepare for the feast, you must run back to your father."

朝、娘が目を覚ますと、霊の男はいつものように食べ物を運んできた。けれども娘の命を救ってやりたいと思い、霊の男の言ったことを聞いていた髑髏は、娘を部屋に呼んで、その日のうちに何が起こるかを告げた。娘が食べ物を髑髏に渡すと、髑髏は言った。「霊の男が友だちと一緒にごちそうの支度に森へ行ったら、お前は父さんのもとへ走って帰りなさい」

He then gave her some medicine which would make her strong for the journey, and also gave her directions as to the road, telling her that there were two roads but that when she came to the parting of the ways she was to drop some of the medicine on the ground and the two roads would become one.

それから髑髏は、旅のあいだ力が出るようにと薬を娘にやり、道筋も教えて、道は二つあるけれど、分かれ道に来たら薬を少し地面に落とせば二つの道は一つになると告げた。

He then told her to leave by the back door, and go through the wood until she came to the end of the town; she would then find the road. If she met people on the road she was to pass them in silence, as if she saluted them they would know that she was a stranger in the spirit land, and might kill her. She was also not to turn round if any one called to her, but was to go straight on till she reached her father's house.

それから髑髏は、裏口から出て森を抜け、町のはずれまで行けば道が見つかると言った。道で人に会っても黙って通り過ぎること、挨拶をしたら霊の国のよそ者だと知られて殺されるかもしれないから、と言った。また、誰かに呼ばれても振り返らず、父の家に着くまでまっすぐ行くようにとも言った。

Having thanked the skull for his kind advice, the king's daughter started off, and when she reached the end of the town and found the road, she ran for three hours, and at last arrived at the branch roads. There she dropped the medicine, as she had been instructed, and the two roads immediately became one; so she went straight on and never saluted any one or turned back, although several people called to her.

髑髏の親切な助言に礼を言って、王の娘は出発した。町のはずれに着いて道を見つけると、娘は三時間走り、とうとう分かれ道にたどり着いた。そこで教えられたとおり薬を落とすと、二つの道はたちまち一つになった。そこで娘はまっすぐ進み、何人もの人に呼びかけられたけれど、誰にも挨拶せず、振り返りもしなかった。

About this time the spirit man had returned from the wood, and went to the house, only to find the king's daughter was absent. He asked the skull where she was, and he replied that she had gone out by the back door, but he did not know where she had gone to. Being a spirit, however, he very soon guessed that she had gone home; so he followed as quickly as possible, shouting out all the time.

そのころ霊の男は森から戻ってきて家へ行ったが、王の娘がいないことに気づいた。霊の男が髑髏に娘はどこかと尋ねると、髑髏は裏口から出ていったが、どこへ行ったかは知らないと答えた。けれども霊であるから、まもなく娘が家へ帰ったのだと察した。そこで霊の男はできるかぎり急いで追いかけ、そのあいだじゅう叫び続けた。

When the girl heard his voice she ran as fast as she could, and at last arrived at her father's house, and told him to take at once a cow, a pig, a sheep, a goat, a dog, a chicken, and seven eggs, and cut them into seven parts as a sacrifice, and leave them on the road, so that when the spirit man saw these things he would stop and not enter the town. This the king did immediately, and made the sacrifice as his daughter had told him.

娘はその声を聞くとできるかぎりの速さで走り、とうとう父の家に着いて、すぐに牛と豚と羊と山羊と犬と鶏と卵七個を用意して、七つに切り分けて生贄にし、道に置くよう父に言った。そうすれば霊の男はそれを見て立ち止まり、町に入ってこないから、というのである。王はすぐにそのとおりにして、娘の言ったとおり生贄を捧げた。

When the spirit man saw the sacrifice on the road, he sat down and at once began to eat.

霊の男は道に置かれた生贄を見ると、腰を下ろしてすぐに食べはじめた。

When he had satisfied his appetite, he packed up the remainder and returned to the spirit land, not troubling any more about the king's daughter.

食欲が満たされると、霊の男は残りをまとめて霊の国へ帰り、それ以上は王の娘のことを気にかけなかった。

When the king saw that the danger was over, he beat his drum, and declared that for the future, when people died and went to the spirit land, they should not come to earth again as spirits to cure sick people.

王は危険が去ったのを見ると太鼓を打ち鳴らし、これから先、人が死んで霊の国へ行っても、病人を治すために霊として地上へ戻ってきてはならないと宣したのである。