The Lucky Fisherman

In the olden days there were no hooks or casting nets, so that when the natives wanted to catch fish they made baskets and set traps at the river side.

昔は釣り針も投網もなかったので、土地の人々は魚を捕りたいときには籠をこしらえて、川べりに罠を仕掛けた。

One man named Akon Obo, who was very poor, began to make baskets and traps out of bamboo palm, and then when the river went down he used to take his traps to a pool and set them baited with palm-nuts. In the night the big fish used to smell the palm-nuts and go into the trap, when at once the door would fall down, and in the morning Akon Obo would go and take the fish out. He was very successful in his fishing, and used to sell the fish in the market for plenty of money. When he could afford to pay the dowry he married a woman named Eyong, a native of Okuni, and had three children by her, but he still continued his fishing. The eldest son was called Odey, the second Yambi, and the third Atuk. These three boys, when they grew up, helped their father with his fishing, and he gradually became wealthy and bought plenty of slaves. At last he joined the Egbo society, and became one of the chiefs of the town. Even after he became a chief, he and his sons still continued to fish.

アコン・オボという名の、たいそう貧しい男が、竹椰子で籠と罠をこしらえはじめた。そして川の水が引くと、罠を淵へ持っていって、椰子の実を餌にして仕掛けた。夜になると大きな魚が椰子の実のにおいをかぎつけて罠に入り、たちまち戸が落ちた。そして朝になるとアコン・オボが行って魚を取り出すのだった。アコン・オボの漁はたいそううまくいき、魚を市場で売ってたくさんの金を得ていた。結納を払えるようになると、オクニ生まれのエヨンという名の女と結婚し、三人の子どもをもうけたが、それでも漁を続けた。長男はオデイ、次男はヤンビ、三男はアトゥクといった。この三人の男の子は、大きくなると父親の漁を手伝い、父親はだんだん豊かになって、奴隷をたくさん買った。とうとうアコン・オボはエグボ結社に入り、町の首長の一人になった。首長になってからも、アコン・オボと息子たちはまだ漁を続けた。

One day, when he was crossing the river in a small dug-out canoe, a tornado came on very suddenly, and the canoe capsized, drowning the chief. When his sons heard of the death of their father, they wanted to go and drown themselves also, but they were persuaded not to by the people. After searching for two days, they found the dead body some distance down the river, and brought it back to the town. They then called their company together to play, dance, and sing for twelve days, in accordance with their native custom, and much palm wine was drunk.

ある日、小さな丸木舟で川を渡っていると、突然大風が起こって舟が転覆し、首長は溺れてしまった。息子たちは父親が死んだと聞くと、自分たちも溺れて死のうとしたが、人々に説き伏せられて思いとどまった。二日探したあと、息子たちは川をかなり下ったところでなきがらを見つけ、町へ運んで帰った。それから息子たちは仲間を呼び集めて、土地のしきたりに従って十二日のあいだ演奏し、踊り、歌った。椰子酒もたくさん飲まれた。

When the play was finished, they took their father's body to a hollowed-out cavern, and placed two live slaves with it, one holding a native lamp of palm-oil, and the other holding a matchet. They were both tied up, so that they could not escape, and were left there to keep watch over the dead chief, until they died of starvation.

祝いが終わると、息子たちは父親のなきがらをうがった洞に運び、生きた奴隷を二人一緒に置いた。一人は椰子油の土地のランプを持ち、もう一人は山刀を持っていた。二人とも逃げられないように縛られ、飢えて死ぬまで死んだ首長の番をするためにそこに残された。

When the cave was covered in, the sons called the chiefs together, and they played Egbo[9] for seven days, which used up a lot of their late father's money. When the play was over, the chiefs were surprised at the amount of money which the sons had been able to spend on the funeral of their father, as they knew how poor he had been as a young man. They therefore called him the lucky fisherman.

洞がふさがれると、息子たちは首長たちを呼び集めて、七日のあいだエグボ[9]を催した。これには亡き父親の金がたいそう使われた。祝いが終わると、首長たちは、息子たちが父親の葬儀にこれほどの金を使えたことに驚いた。首長たちは、その父親が若いころどれほど貧しかったかを知っていたからである。そこで首長たちは、その父親を「運のよい漁師」と呼んだのである。

[Footnote 9: The Egbo society would meet together and would be provided with palm wine and food, as much as they could eat and drink, which frequently cost a lot of money. Dancing and singing would also be kept up and a band would play, consisting of drums made of hollowed-out trunks of trees, beaten with two pieces of soft wood, native made bells and rattles made of basket work, with stones inside, the bottom consisting of hard dried skin, and covered all over with long streamers of fibre. Other drums are also played by hand; these are made out of hollow wood, covered at one end with dried skin, the other end being left open. The drummer usually sits on two of these drums, which have a different note, one being a deep sound, and the other slightly higher.]

[脚注 9: エグボ結社は集まって、食べきれず飲みきれないほどの椰子酒と食べ物をふるまわれ、それにはたびたび多くの金がかかった。踊りと歌も続けられ、楽隊が演奏した。楽隊には、木の幹をうがってこしらえ、柔らかい木片二本で叩く太鼓や、土地でこしらえた鈴や、中に石を入れた籠編みのがらがらがあった。がらがらの底は乾かした固い皮でできていて、全体が長い繊維の吹き流しで覆われていた。手で叩く太鼓もあり、これはうがった木でできていて、一方の端を乾かした皮で覆い、もう一方の端は開いたままにしてある。太鼓打ちはたいてい、音のちがうこの太鼓二つの上に座る。一方は低い音、もう一方は少し高い音が出るのである。]