The Election of the King Bird (the black-and-white Fishing Eagle)

Old Town, Calabar, once had a king called Essiya, who, like most of the Calabar kings in the olden days, was rich and powerful; but although he was so wealthy, he did not possess many slaves. He therefore used to call upon the animals and birds to help his people with their work. In order to get the work done quickly and well, he determined to appoint head chiefs of all the different species. The elephant he appointed king of the beasts of the forest, and the hippopotamus king of the water animals, until at last it came to the turn of the birds to have their king elected.

カラバルのオールド・タウンには、かつてエシヤという名の王がいた。昔のカラバルの王のほとんどがそうであったように、エシヤは豊かで力があった。けれどもそれほど裕福でありながら、奴隷はあまり持っていなかった。そこで王は、獣や鳥を呼んで民の仕事を手伝わせるのが常だった。仕事を早く上手にさせるために、王はそれぞれの種の頭領の首長を任じることにした。象を森の獣の王に、カバを水の獣の王に任じ、とうとう鳥たちの王を選ぶ番になった。

Essiya thought for some time which would be the best way to make a good choice, but could not make up his mind, as there were so many different birds who all considered they had claims. There was the hawk with his swift flight, and of hawks there were several species. There were the herons to be considered, and the big spur-winged geese, the hornbill or toucan tribe, and the game birds, such as guinea-fowl, the partridge, and the bustards. Then again, of course, there were all the big crane tribe, who walked about the sandbanks in the dry season, but who disappeared when the river rose, and the big black-and-white fishing eagles. When the king thought of the plover tribe, the sea-birds, including the pelicans, the doves, and the numerous shy birds who live in the forest, all of whom sent in claims, he got so confused, that he decided to have a trial by ordeal of combat, and sent word round the whole country for all the birds to meet the next day and fight it out between themselves, and that the winner should be known as the king bird ever afterwards.

エシヤは、どうすればいちばんよい選び方ができるかとしばらく考えたが、決めかねた。あまりにたくさんのちがう鳥がいて、どれも自分に資格があると思っていたからである。すばやく飛ぶ鷹がいて、鷹にもいくつもの種がいた。サギたちのことも考えねばならず、大きな蹴爪のあるガンや、サイチョウの仲間や、ホロホロチョウやヤマウズラやノガンのような狩りの鳥もいた。それからもちろん、乾季には砂州を歩きまわるが川が増水すると姿を消す大きなツルの仲間や、大きな白黒の魚を捕る鷲もいた。王がチドリの仲間や、ペリカンを含む海の鳥や、鳩や、森に住むたくさんの臆病な鳥のことを考えると、どれもが申し出をしてきたので、王はすっかり混乱してしまった。そこで王は、力比べの試練で決めることにして、国じゅうに、翌日すべての鳥が集まって自分たちのあいだで戦い、勝った者がこれから先ずっと鳥の王として知られるようにせよとお触れを出した。

The following morning many thousands of birds came, and there was much screeching and flapping of wings. The hawk tribe soon drove all the small birds away, and harassed the big waders so much, that they very shortly disappeared, followed by the geese, who made much noise, and winged away in a straight line, as if they were playing "Follow my leader." The big forest birds who liked to lead a secluded life very soon got tired of all the noise and bustle, and after a few croaks and other weird noises went home. The game birds had no chance and hid in the bush, so that very soon the only birds left were the hawks and the big black-and-white fishing eagle, who was perched on a tree calmly watching everything. The scavenger hawks were too gorged and lazy to take much interest in the proceedings, and were quietly ignored by the fighting tribe, who were very busy circling and swooping on one another, with much whistling going on. Higher and higher they went, until they disappeared out of sight. Then a few would return to earth, some of them badly torn and with many feathers missing.

次の朝、何千という鳥がやって来て、けたたましい鳴き声と羽ばたきの音がした。鷹の仲間はまもなく小さな鳥たちをみな追い払い、大きな渉禽類をさんざん悩ませたので、渉禽類はたちまち姿を消し、そのあとをガンたちが大きな音を立てて、「まねっこ遊び」でもしているかのように一直線に飛び去った。人目を避けて暮らすのが好きな大きな森の鳥たちは、まもなく騒ぎと混乱にうんざりして、二、三度しわがれ声やそのほか奇妙な声を上げてから家へ帰った。狩りの鳥たちには勝ち目がなく藪に隠れたので、まもなく残ったのは鷹たちと、木にとまって落ち着いて何もかも眺めている大きな白黒の魚を捕る鷲だけになった。腐肉をあさる鷹たちは腹がふくれて怠けていたので、成り行きにあまり関心がなく、戦う仲間たちからも静かに無視されていた。戦う鷹たちは、しきりに笛のような声を上げながら、輪を描いては互いに急降下するのに忙しかった。鷹たちはどんどん高く上っていき、とうとう見えなくなった。それから何羽かが地上に戻ってきたが、なかにはひどく引き裂かれて、羽をたくさんなくした者もいた。

At last the fishing eagle said--

とうとう魚を捕る鷲が言った——

"When you have quite finished with this foolishness please tell me, and if any of you fancy yourselves at all, come to me, and I will settle your chances of being elected head chief once and for all;" but when they saw his terrible beak and cruel claws, knowing his great strength and ferocity, they stopped fighting between themselves, and acknowledged the fishing eagle to be their master.

「この愚かなことがすっかりすんだら教えてくれ。そして自分に自信のある者がいるなら、わたしのところへ来い。首長に選ばれる見込みを、きっぱり片づけてやろう」けれども鳥たちは、鷲の恐ろしい嘴と残忍な爪を見て、その大きな力と獰猛さを知っていたので、自分たちのあいだで戦うのをやめ、魚を捕る鷲を主と認めた。

Essiya then declared that Ituen, which was the name of the fishing eagle, was the head chief of all the birds, and should thenceforward be known as the king bird.[13]

そこでエシヤは、魚を捕る鷲の名であるイトゥエンがすべての鳥の頭領の首長であり、これから先は鳥の王として知られるべきだと宣した。[13]

[Footnote 13: As the king bird is always very difficult to shoot with a bow and arrow, owing to his sharp and keen sight, the young men, when they want his feathers, set traps for him baited with rats, which catch him by the foot in a noose when he seizes them. Except when they are nesting the king birds roost on very high trees, sometimes as many as twenty or thirty on neighbouring trees. They fly many miles from where they get their food, and arrive at their roosting-place just before the sun sets, leaving the next morning at dawn for their favourite haunts. They are very regular in their habits, and you can see them every night at the same time coming from the same direction and flying over the same trees, generally fairly high up in the air. There is a strong belief amongst many natives on the Cross River that the king bird has the power of influencing the luck or the reverse of a canoe. For example, when a trader, having bought a new canoe, is going to market and a king bird crosses the river from right to left, then if he is unlucky at the market that day, whenever the king bird again crosses that particular canoe from right to left he will be unlucky, and the bad luck will stick to the canoe. If, on the other hand, the bird for the first time crosses from left to right, and he is fortunate in his dealings that day at the market, then he will always be lucky in that canoe the day he sees a king bird flying across the river from the left to the right-hand side.]

[脚注 13: 鳥の王はその鋭く冴えた目のために、弓矢で射止めるのがいつもたいそう難しい。そこで若者たちはその羽が欲しいとき、ねずみを餌にした罠を仕掛けて、鳥の王がねずみをつかむときに輪縄で足をとらえる。営巣のとき以外、鳥の王はたいそう高い木をねぐらにし、ときには隣り合う木々に二、三十羽もとまっている。餌を取る場所から何マイルも飛んできて、ちょうど日が沈む前にねぐらに着き、翌朝は夜明けにお気に入りの場所へ発っていく。その習いはたいそう規則正しく、毎晩同じ時刻に同じ方角から来て、同じ木々の上を、たいていかなり高いところを飛んでいくのが見られる。クロス川の土地の人々のあいだには、鳥の王が丸木舟の運不運を左右する力を持っているという強い信仰がある。たとえば、商人が新しい丸木舟を買って市場へ行くとき、鳥の王が川を右から左へ横切ったとする。その日市場で運が悪ければ、それから先、鳥の王がその丸木舟を右から左へ横切るたびに運が悪くなり、その悪運はその舟につきまとう。逆に、その鳥が初めて左から右へ横切って、その日市場での商いがうまくいけば、川を左から右へ飛び渡る鳥の王を見た日には、その舟でいつも運がよいのである。]

From that time to the present day, whenever the young men of the country go to fight they always wear three of the long black-and-white feathers of the king bird in their hair, one on each side and one in the middle, as they are believed to impart much courage and skill to the wearer; and if a young man is not possessed of any of these feathers when he goes out to fight, he is looked upon as a very small boy indeed.

そのときから今日まで、国の若者たちは戦いに行くとき、いつも鳥の王の長い白黒の羽を三枚、両側に一枚ずつ、まんなかに一枚、髪に挿していく。その羽は身につける者に大きな勇気と技をもたらすと信じられているからである。そして若者が戦いに出るときにこの羽を一枚も持っていなければ、その者はまったくの小僧っ子とみなされるのである。