A Legend of Manabozho

Manabozho made the land. The occasion of his doing so was this.

マナボゾは大地を造った。そのいきさつはこうである。

One day he went out hunting with two wolves. After the first day's hunt one of the wolves left him and went to the left, but the other continuing with Manabozho he adopted him for his son. The lakes were in those days peopled by spirits with whom Manabozho and his son went to war. They destroyed all the spirits in one lake, and then went on hunting. They were not, however, very successful, for every deer the wolf chased fled to another of the lakes and escaped from them. It chanced that one day Manabozho started a deer, and the wolf gave chase. The animal fled to the lake, which was covered with ice, and the wolf pursued it. At the moment when the wolf had come up to the prey the ice broke, and both fell in, when the spirits, catching them, at once devoured them.

ある日、マナボゾは二匹の狼と一緒に狩りに出かけた。最初の日の狩りのあと、狼の一匹はマナボゾのもとを離れて左へ去ったが、もう一匹はマナボゾと一緒にいたので、マナボゾはその狼を息子にした。そのころ湖には霊たちが住んでいて、マナボゾと息子は霊たちと戦った。二人はひとつの湖の霊をみな滅ぼし、それから狩りを続けた。けれどもあまりうまくいかなかった。狼が追う鹿はどれも別の湖へ逃げて、二人から逃れてしまうからである。ある日、たまたまマナボゾが鹿を一頭狩り出し、狼が追いかけた。獣は氷に覆われた湖へ逃げ、狼はそれを追った。狼が獲物に追いついたその瞬間、氷が割れて両方とも落ち、霊たちがつかまえて、すぐにむさぼり食ってしまった。

Manabozho went up and down the lake-shore weeping and lamenting. While he was thus distressed he heard a voice proceeding from the depths of the lake.

マナボゾは湖の岸を行ったり来たりして泣き嘆いた。こうして悲しんでいると、湖の深みから声が聞こえてきた。

"Manabozho," cried the voice, "why do you weep?"

「マナボゾ」と声は叫んだ。「どうして泣いているのだ。」

Manabozho answered--

マナボゾは答えた——

"Have I not cause to do so? I have lost my son, who has sunk in the waters of the lake."

「泣くわけがないとでもいうのか。わたしは息子を失ったのだ。息子はこの湖の水に沈んでしまった。」

"You will never see him more," replied the voice; "the spirits have eaten him."

「もう二度と会えないぞ」と声は答えた。「霊たちが食べてしまったのだ。」

Then Manabozho wept the more when he heard this sad news.

マナボゾはこの悲しい知らせを聞いて、いっそう泣いた。

"Would," said he, "I might meet those who have thus cruelly treated me in eating my son. They should feel the power of Manabozho, who would be revenged."

「こうしてわたしの息子を食べて、むごい仕打ちをした者たちに会えさえしたら」とマナボゾは言った。「仇を討とうとするマナボゾの力を思い知らせてやるのに。」

The voice informed him that he might meet the spirits by repairing to a certain place, to which the spirits would come to sun themselves. Manabozho went there accordingly, and, concealing himself, saw the spirits, who appeared in all manner of forms, as snakes, bears, and other things. Manabozho, however, did not escape the notice of one of the two chiefs of the spirits, and one of the band who wore the shape of a very large snake was sent by them to examine what the strange object was.

声は、霊たちが日に当たりに来るある場所へ行けば、霊たちに会えると教えた。そこでマナボゾはそこへ行き、身を隠して、霊たちを見た。霊たちはヘビや熊やそのほかあらゆる姿で現れた。けれどもマナボゾは霊たちの二人の頭の一人の目を逃れられず、たいそう大きなヘビの姿をした一団の者が、その見慣れないものが何なのか調べに遣わされた。

Manabozho saw the spirit coming, and assumed the appearance of a stump. The snake coming up wrapped itself around the trunk and squeezed it with all its strength, so that Manabozho was on the point of crying out when the snake uncoiled itself. The relief was, however, only for a moment. Again the snake wound itself around him and gave him this time even a more severe hug than before. Manabozho restrained himself and did not suffer a cry to escape him, and the snake, now satisfied that the stump was what it appeared to be, glided off to its companions. The chiefs of the spirits were not, however, satisfied, so they sent a bear to try what he could make of the stump. The bear came up to Manabozho and hugged, and bit, and clawed him till he could hardly forbear screaming with the pain it caused him. The thought of his son and of the vengeance he wished to take on the spirits, however, restrained him, and the bear at last retreated to its fellows.

マナボゾは霊がやって来るのを見て、切り株の姿になった。ヘビはやって来て幹に巻きつき、力いっぱい締めつけたので、マナボゾはもう少しで叫び声をあげそうになったが、そのときヘビはほどけた。けれどもほっとしたのは一瞬だけだった。ヘビはまたマナボゾに巻きつき、今度は前よりさらにきつく締めつけた。マナボゾはこらえて叫び声を漏らさなかった。ヘビは切り株が見たとおりのものだと納得して、仲間のところへすべり去った。けれども霊の頭たちは納得しなかったので、熊を遣わして、その切り株をどう見るか試させた。熊はマナボゾのところへ来て、抱きしめ、噛みつき、爪で引き裂いたので、マナボゾはその痛みに悲鳴をあげずにいるのがやっとだった。けれども息子のことと、霊たちに果たしたい仇討ちのことを思ってこらえ、熊はとうとう仲間のところへ引き上げた。

"It is nothing," it said; "it is really a stump."

「なんでもない」と熊は言った。「ほんとうに切り株だ。」

Then the spirits were reassured, and, having sunned themselves, lay down and went to sleep. Seeing this, Manabozho assumed his natural shape, and stealing upon them with his bow and arrows, slew the chiefs of the spirits. In doing this he awoke the others, who, seeing their chiefs dead, turned upon Manabozho, who fled. Then the spirits pursued him in the shape of a vast flood of water. Hearing it behind him the fugitive ran as fast as he could to the hills, but each one became gradually submerged, so that Manabozho was at last driven to the top of the highest mountain. Here the waters still surrounding him and gathering in height, Manabozho climbed the highest pine-tree he could find. The waters still rose. Then Manabozho prayed that the tree would grow, and it did so. Still the waters rose. Manabozho prayed again that the tree would grow, and it did so, but not so much as before. Still the waters rose, and Manabozho was up to his chin in the flood, when he prayed again, and the tree grew, but less than on either of the former occasions. Manabozho looked round on the waters, and saw many animals swimming about seeking land. Amongst them he saw a beaver, an otter, and a musk-rat. Then he cried to them, saying--

それで霊たちは安心して、日に当たると、横になって眠った。これを見るとマナボゾはもとの姿に戻り、弓矢を持って霊たちに忍び寄り、霊の頭たちを射殺した。そうするうちにほかの霊たちが目を覚まし、頭たちが死んでいるのを見てマナボゾに向かってきたので、マナボゾは逃げた。すると霊たちは大洪水の姿になってマナボゾを追いかけた。うしろにその音を聞いて、逃げる者は全速力で丘へ走ったが、丘はひとつまたひとつと沈んでいき、マナボゾはとうとういちばん高い山のてっぺんへ追いつめられた。ここでも水はマナボゾを取り巻いてかさを増してきたので、マナボゾは見つけられるかぎりいちばん高い松の木に登った。水はさらに上がった。するとマナボゾは木が伸びるよう祈り、木は伸びた。それでも水は上がった。マナボゾはまた木が伸びるよう祈り、木は伸びたが、前ほどではなかった。それでも水は上がり、マナボゾはあごまで水につかった。そこでまた祈ると、木は伸びたが、前の二度のどちらよりも少なかった。マナボゾは水の上を見わたして、たくさんの獣が陸を探して泳ぎまわっているのを見た。そのなかにビーバーとカワウソとマスクラットがいた。そこでマナボゾは獣たちに叫んで言った——

"My brothers, come to me. We must have some earth, or we shall all die."

「兄弟たち、わたしのところへ来てくれ。土を手に入れなければ、みな死んでしまう。」

So they came to him and consulted as to what had best be done, and it was agreed that they should dive down and see if they could not bring up some of the earth from below.

そこで獣たちはマナボゾのところへ来て、どうするのがいちばんよいか相談し、もぐって下から土を持ってこられないか見てみようと決めた。

The beaver dived first, but was drowned before he reached the bottom. Then the otter went. He came within sight of the earth, but then his senses failed him before he could get a bite of it. The musk-rat followed. He sank to the bottom, and bit the earth. Then he lost his senses and came floating up to the top of the water. Manabozho awaited the reappearance of the three, and as they came up to the surface he drew them to him. He examined their claws, but found nothing. Then he looked in their mouths and found the beaver's and the otter's empty. In the musk-rat's, however, he found a little earth. This Manabozho took in his hands and rubbed till it was a fine dust. Then he dried it in the sun, and, when it was quite light, he blew it all round him over the water, and the dry land appeared.

ビーバーがまずもぐったが、底に着く前に溺れてしまった。次にカワウソが行った。カワウソは土の見えるところまで行ったが、ひと口かじる前に気を失った。マスクラットがあとに続いた。マスクラットは底まで沈んで土をかじった。それから気を失って水面に浮かんできた。マナボゾは三匹が浮かんでくるのを待っていて、水面に上がってくると引き寄せた。爪を調べたが何もなかった。それから口のなかを見ると、ビーバーとカワウソの口は空だった。けれどもマスクラットの口に少し土があった。マナボゾはこれを両手に取って細かい塵になるまでこすった。それから日に当てて乾かし、すっかり軽くなると、まわりの水の上へ吹き散らした。すると乾いた陸が現れた。

Thus Manabozho made the land.

こうしてマナボゾは大地を造ったのである。