In the Beginning

Bilaan (Mindanao)

ビラアン(ミンダナオ)

In the beginning there were four beings, [131] and they lived on an island no larger than a hat. On this island there were no trees or grass or any other living thing besides these four people and one bird. [132] One day they sent this bird out across the waters to see what he could find, and when he returned he brought some earth, a piece of rattan, and some fruit.

初めのころ、四人の者がいて、[131] そして帽子ほどの大きさもない島に住んでいた。この島には木も草もほかのどんな生きものもなく、この四人と一羽の鳥のほかには何もいなかった。[132] ある日、四人はこの鳥を水の向こうへ送って、何が見つかるか見に行かせた。そして帰ってくると、鳥は土と籐の一片といくつかの実を持ってきた。

Melu, the greatest of the four, took the soil and shaped it and beat it with a paddle in the same manner in which a woman shapes pots of clay, and when he finished he had made the earth. Then he planted the seeds from the fruit, and they grew until there was much rattan and many trees bearing fruit.

四人のうちで最も偉大なメルはその土を取って形づくり、女が粘土の壺を形づくるのと同じやり方で羽子板で叩いた。そして終えたとき、彼は地を作り終えていた。それから実の種を植え、そして種は育って、たくさんの籐と実をつける数多くの木になった。

The four beings watched the growth for a long time and were well pleased with the work, but finally Melu said:

四人はその育つのを長いあいだ見て、その出来にたいそう満足した。けれどもとうとうメルが言った。

"Of what use is this earth and all the rattan and fruit if there are no people?"

「人がいないなら、この地も籐も実もみな、何の役に立つのだ。」

And the others replied, "Let us make some people out of wax."

そしてほかの者は答えた。「蝋で人を作ろう。」

So they took some wax and worked long, fashioning it into forms, but when they brought them to the fire the wax melted, and they saw that men could not be made in that way.

そこで四人は蝋を取って長く働き、それを形に整えていった。けれども火に近づけると蝋は溶け、そしてそのやり方では人は作れないと分かった。

Next they decided to try to use dirt in making people, and Melu and one of his companions began working on that. All went well till they were ready to make the noses. The companion, who was working on that part, put them on upside down. Melu told him that the people would drown if he left them that way, but he refused to change them.

次に四人は人を作るのに土を使ってみることに決め、そしてメルとその連れの一人がそれに取りかかった。鼻を作る用意ができるまで何もかもうまくいっていた。その部分に取りかかっていた連れは、鼻を上下逆さまにつけた。メルはその者に、そのままにしておくと人々は溺れると告げたけれども、その者は変えるのを断った。

When his back was turned, however, Melu seized the noses, one by one, and turned them as they now are. But he was in such a hurry that he pressed his finger at the root, and it left a mark in the soft clay which you can still see on the faces of people.

けれどもその者が背を向けているあいだに、メルは鼻を一つずつ摑んで、いまのように向け直した。けれどもあまりに急いでいたので根のところを指で押してしまい、そしてそれがやわらかい粘土に跡を残した。その跡は、いまでも人の顔に見ることができる。