Before the world of humans began, there was the world of the gods, made of fields, plains and gardens. Four brothers wandered this celestial realm. They had no family other than each other— they didn’t even know who their parents were. One of the brothers, Deminan, looked different from the others. His skin was covered in painful scabs, and he wondered why he alone had been marked with this affliction.
在人類的世界開始之前, 是神的世界, 由田野、平原,和花園組成。 四位兄弟在這神仙的王國中徘徊。 他們的家人就只有彼此—— 他們甚至不知道自己的父母是誰。 其中,戴米南的外表 和其他兄弟不同。 他的皮膚表面都是痛苦的疥癬,
One day, while the supreme spirit Yaya was out in his gardens, Deminan and his brothers snuck into Yaya’s house. After feasting and exploring, they spotted a giant gourd hanging in the corner. But as they tried to look inside the gourd, they dropped it. The gourd broke apart, releasing a deluge that swept the brothers away, separating them from the celestial lands forever.
他很納悶為什麼 只有他要受這種折磨。 有一天,當至高的精靈雅雅 外出到他的花園中時, 戴米南和他的兄弟 偷溜進雅雅的房子。 在飽餐一頓又探索完之後, 他們注意到有個巨葫蘆掛著角落。 但當他們試圖看向葫蘆 內部時,葫蘆掉落了。 葫蘆破裂後釋出洪水, 沖走這些兄弟, 讓他們與神仙之地永遠分離。
The waters from the gourd formed a new world. This realm was covered in seas, which didn’t exist in the gods’ world. The waters were full of fish and other creatures, and dotted with islands and caves. This world of seas was also cut off completely from the celestial realm, and the brothers wandered aimlessly, even more lost than they had been before.
葫蘆的水形成了一個新世界。 這個王國被海洋覆蓋, 在神的世界中沒有海洋。 水中滿是魚類及其他生物, 還有島嶼和洞穴的點綴。 這個海洋世界 也與神仙王國完全切開, 這些兄弟漫無目的地遊走, 從來沒有這麼迷失過。
One day, three of the brothers stumbled upon a house. In the house lived an elder named Bayamanacao, and he invited them in. When Deminan caught up slightly later, he followed them into the house. Bayamanacao told the brothers he was their grandfather and gave them a gift of special cassava bread. He revealed their family lineage to them: their mother had been the Earth Mother Goddess Itibi Cahubaba and had died when they were born. The brothers were grateful for his hospitality and insight into their past.
有一天,三位兄弟 偶然發現一間房子。 房子中住了一位老人, 名叫拜亞曼納冠亞, 他邀請他們入內。 當戴米南稍後跟上來時, 他跟著他們進入屋內。 拜亞曼納冠亞告訴這些兄弟, 他是他們的祖父, 並給了他們一個禮物, 特殊的木薯麵包。 他解答了他們的世系之謎: 他們的母親是地球之母女神, 伊提比卡胡巴巴, 在他們出生時便過世了。 這些兄弟很感謝他的好客 以及對他們過去的見解。
But then Bayamanacao turned on Deminan, blowing tobacco spittle from his nose onto Deminan’s back. The spot where the spittle landed immediately began to swell and sting.
但拜亞曼納冠亞轉向戴米南, 將香菸唾泡沫從他的鼻子 吹向戴米南的背。 泡沫接觸到的地方馬上 開始腫起來且有刺痛感。
Soon Deminan was delirious and his back was so swollen his brothers feared he would die. Not knowing what else to do, they cut open the welt. A turtle emerged from the wound and swam away, alternating easily between sea and land as she went.
很快地,戴米南便精神錯亂了, 他的背腫得很厲害, 他的兄弟都怕他會死亡。 不知道該如何是好, 他們把凸起處切開。 一隻烏龜從傷口冒出來並游走, 一路上,能在海洋 和陸地間自在地轉換。
When Deminan recovered from his delirium, he finally understood what the curse of his disease meant: he was a caracaracol, able to communicate with the gods. He was the link between the celestial realm and the earthly realm.
當戴米南從他的精神錯亂恢復時, 他終於了解了他的疾病 詛咒有什麼意義: 他是一名能與神溝通的 「caracaracol」。 他是神仙王國 和地球王國之間的連結。
Deminan was the first in a long lineage of caracaracols. The world of seas he and his brothers had created when they dropped the gourd became the world of humans, where the caracaracols who followed Deminan maintained the delicate balance between people and gods. But their unique power came at a price: Deminan and all the caracaracols who followed him continued to suffer from the illness that had first marked Deminan as special. Represented in Taino carvings and figurines with a swollen back and emaciated arms, the caracaracol is both cursed and blessed to be a conduit between worlds.
戴米南是 caracaracols 世世代代中的第一人。 他和他的兄弟在打破葫蘆之後 所創造的海洋世界, 變成了人類的世界, 在人類的世界中,戴米南 之後的 caracaracol 都繼續 維持著人和神之間的脆弱平衡。 但他們的獨特能力也有代價: 戴米南以及他之後的 所有 caracaracol 都繼續受到讓戴米南 如此獨特的疾病所苦。 泰諾族的雕刻和小雕像 會用腫起的背部消瘦的手臂 來呈現 caracaracol, caracaracol 身為 兩個世界之間的管道,