Lumabet

Bagobo (Mindanao)

バゴボ(ミンダナオ)

Soon after people were created on the earth, there was born a child named Lumabet, who lived to be a very, very old man. He could talk when he was but one day old, and all his life he did wonderful things until the people came to believe that he had been sent by Manama, the Great Spirit.

地に人が創られてほどなく、ルマベトという名の子が生まれ、そしてたいそう、たいそう年老いるまで生きた。生まれてまだ一日のときに話すことができ、そしてその生涯のあいだずっと不思議なことを行ったので、人々は彼が大いなる霊マナマに遣わされたのだと信じるようになった。

When Lumabet was still a young man he had a fine dog, and he enjoyed nothing so much as taking him to the mountains to hunt. One day the dog noticed a white deer. Lumabet and his companions started in pursuit, but the deer was very swift and they could not catch it. On and on they went until they had gone around the world, and still the deer was ahead. One by one his companions dropped out of the chase, but Lumabet would not give up until he had the deer.

ルマベトがまだ若者であったころ、彼は見事な犬を飼っていて、それを山へ連れて狩りをすることほど楽しいことはなかった。ある日、犬が白い鹿を見つけた。ルマベトとその連れは追い始めたけれども、鹿はたいそう速くて捕らえられなかった。二人はどこまでも進んで、とうとう世を一巡りした。それでもなお鹿は先にいた。連れたちは一人ずつ追うのをやめていったが、ルマベトは鹿を手に入れるまで諦めようとしなかった。

All the time he had but one banana and one camote (sweet potato) for food, but each night he planted the skins of these, and in the morning he found a banana tree with ripe fruit and a sweet potato large enough to eat. So he kept on until he had been around the world nine times, and he was an old man and his hair was gray. At last he caught the deer, and then he called all the people to a great feast, to see the animal.

そのあいだずっと、彼は食べ物としてバナナ一本と甘藷(サツマイモ)一つしか持っていなかった。けれども毎晩その皮を植え、そして朝には熟した実のなったバナナの木と、食べるのに十分な大きさの甘藷を見つけた。そうして世を九巡りするまで続け、そして彼は年老いて髪は白くなった。とうとう彼は鹿を捕らえ、そしてそれから人々をみな大きな宴に呼んで、その獣を見せた。

While all were making merry, Lumabet told them to take a knife and kill his father. They were greatly surprised, but did as he commanded, and when the old man was dead, Lumabet waved his headband over him and he came to life again. Eight times they killed the old man at Lumabet's command, and the eighth time he was small like a little boy, for each time they had cut off some of his flesh. They all wondered very much at Lumabet's power, and they were certain that he was a god.

みなが楽しんでいるあいだ、ルマベトは人々に、刃物を取って自分の父を殺せと告げた。人々はたいそう驚いたけれども、命じられたとおりにした。そしてこの老人が死ぬと、ルマベトはその上で鉢巻を振り、そして老人はまた生きた。八度、人々はルマベトの命でこの老人を殺し、そして八度めには小さな子のようになっていた。そのたびに肉を少し切り取っていたからである。人々はみなルマベトの力をたいそう不思議に思い、そして彼が神であると確かに思った。

One morning some spirits came to talk with Lumabet, and after they had gone he called the people to come into his house.

ある朝、霊たちがルマベトと話しに来た。そして霊たちが去ったあと、彼は人々に自分の家へ入るよう呼びかけた。

"We cannot all come in," said the people, "for your house is small and we are many."

「われらみなが入ることはできない」と人々は言った。「あなたの家は小さく、われらは数多いのだから。」

"There is plenty of room," said he; so all went in and to their surprise it did not seem crowded.

「場所はたくさんある」と彼は言った。そこでみなが入り、そして驚いたことに、混み合っているようには思えなかった。

Then he told the people that he was going on a long journey and that all who believed he had great power could go with him, while all who remained behind would be changed into animals and buso. [125] He started out, many following him, and it was as he said. For those that refused to go were immediately changed into animals and buso.

それから彼は人々に、自分は長い旅に出るのであり、自分が大きな力を持つと信じる者はみな一緒に来てよく、一方、後に残る者はみな獣とブソ [125] に変えられるだろうと告げた。彼は出かけ、数多くの者が従い、そしてそれは彼が言ったとおりであった。行くのを断った者はすぐに獣とブソに変えられたからである。

He led the people far away across the ocean to a place where the earth and the sky meet. When they arrived they saw that the sky moved up and down like a man opening and closing his jaws.

彼は人々を大海の向こうの、地と天が出会う場所へはるか導いていった。着くとみなは、天が顎を開いたり閉じたりする人のように上下に動いているのを見た。

"Sky, you must go up," commanded Lumabet.

「天よ、上がらなければならない」とルマベトは命じた。

But the sky would not obey. So the people could not go through. Finally Lumabet promised the sky that if he would let all the others through, he might have the last man who tried to pass. Agreeing to this, the sky opened and the people entered. But when near the last the sky shut down so suddenly that he caught not only the last man but also the long knife of the man before.

けれども天は従おうとしなかった。それで人々は通り抜けられなかった。とうとうルマベトは天に、ほかのみなを通すなら、通ろうとする最後の者を得てよいと約束した。これに承知して天は開き、そして人々は入った。けれども最後の者に近づいたとき、天はあまりに不意に閉じたので、最後の者だけでなく、その前の者の長い刃物まで捕らえてしまった。

On that same day, Lumabet's son, who was hunting, did not know that his father had gone to the sky. When he was tired of the chase, he wanted to go to his father, so he leaned an arrow against a baliti tree and sat down on it. Slowly it began to go down and carried him to his father's place, but when he arrived he could find no people. He looked here and there and could find nothing but a gun made of gold. [126] This made him very sorrowful and he did not know what to do until some white bees which were in the house said to him:

その同じ日、狩りをしていたルマベトの息子は、父が天へ行ったことを知らなかった。追うのに疲れると、父のもとへ行きたくなり、そこでバリティの木に矢を立てかけてその上に腰を下ろした。矢はゆっくり下り始めて彼を父の場所へ運んだ。けれども着くと人が誰も見つからなかった。あちらこちら探しても、黄金で作られた銃 [126] のほかには何も見つからなかった。これは彼をたいそう悲しませ、そしてどうしたらよいか分からなかった。すると家にいた白い蜜蜂が彼に言った。

"You must not weep, for we can take you to the sky where your father is."

「泣いてはいけない。われらがあなたを、父のいる天へ連れていってやろう。」

So he did as they bade, and rode on the gun, and the bees flew away with him, until in three days they reached the sky.

そこで彼は言われたとおりにして銃に乗り、そして蜜蜂は彼とともに飛び去り、そして三日のうちに天に着いた。

Now, although most of the men who followed Lumabet were content to live in the sky, there was one who was very unhappy, and all the time he kept looking down on the land below. The spirits made fun of him and wanted to take out his intestines so that he would be like them and never die, but he was afraid and always begged to be allowed to go back home.

さて、ルマベトに従った者のほとんどは天に住むことで満ち足りていたけれども、一人はたいそう不幸で、いつでも下の地を見下ろしていた。霊たちは彼をからかい、自分たちのようになって決して死なないように、その腸を取り出したがった。けれども彼は恐ろしくて、いつでも家へ帰らせてくれと願った。

Finally Manama told the spirits to allow him to go, so they made a chain of the leaves of the karan grass and tied it to his legs. Then they let him down slowly head first, and when he reached the ground he was no longer a man but an owl. [127]

とうとうマナマが霊たちに、行かせてやるようにと告げた。そこで霊たちはカランの草の葉で鎖を作り、それをその脚に結んだ。それから頭を先にしてゆっくりと下ろし、そして地に着いたとき、彼はもう人ではなく梟であった。[127]