纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 070复活节岛雕像（7）

 

So, a populous¹ island, effectively organised, practising religion in a carefully structured, competitive way, and then, quite suddenly, around 1600, the monolith-making stopped. No-one has a very clear idea why. Certainly all islands like this are fragile ecosystems², and this one was being pushed beyond what was comfortably sustainable. The islanders had gradually cut down most of the trees, and had hunted land birds almost to extinction³. The sea birds moved away, to nest on safer offshore⁴ rocks and islands. It must have seemed as if the favour of the gods was being withdrawn⁵.

The islanders responded by changing their religious practices, turning to a ritual that, not surprisingly, was all about the scarce resources. The Birdman cult⁶ focused on an annual competition to collect the first egg of the migrating sooty tern from a neighboring islet. The man who pulled off the feat⁷ of bringing an egg back, unbroken, through the sea and over the cliffs, would for a year become the Birdman. Invested with sacred power, he would live in isolation⁸, grow his nails like bird talons⁹, and wield¹⁰ a ceremonial paddle as a symbol of prestige. And surprisingly, we can tell this story too, through our sculpture. Rather than being abandoned along with the other monoliths, Hoa Hakananai'a was moved, placed in a hut, and entered a new phase of his life, now part of the Birdman cult.

如此说来，这个岛屿人丁兴旺，组织有效，还有精心架构、充满活力的宗教仪式。但到了公元一千六百年左右，雕像制作突然停止了。没有人知道具体原因。不过有一点很明显，所有类似岛屿的生态系统都十分脆弱，而复活节岛上的状况已经恶化到了无法让人类舒适生活的地步。岛上居民逐渐把植被砍伐殆尽，将鸟类捕杀绝迹。而海鸟，尤其是乌燕鸥则迁到了更安全的岩石和岛屿上筑巢。在他们看来，这一切必定是因为神灵收回了眷顾。

当君士坦丁堡人通过回顾古老的宗教事件来应对眼前的危机时，拉帕努伊的居民发明了一种新的宗教尝试，自然转向了一种完全与稀缺资源有关的仪式，后世称为“鸟人崇拜”。这种仪式以一年一度的竞赛为主，参赛者要去邻近的岛屿收集迁居的乌燕鸥本年下的第一枚鸟蛋。能够穿过海洋和峭壁将鸟蛋完整带回来的男人便成为这一年的鸟人，被赋予神圣的能力，必须独自居住，将指甲留长模仿鸟爪，并挂一根仪式用的船桨作为地位的象征。我们现在能讲出这个故事以及岛上宗教仪式的变迁，全靠我们的何瓦何卡纳奈阿。它没有像其他雕像一样被遗弃，而是参与了鸟人仪式，被搬到一间棚屋中放置，从此进入了生命的新篇章。

1 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

2 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

3 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

4 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

5 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

6 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。

7 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

8 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

9 talons   

n.（尤指猛禽的）爪( talon的名词复数 )；（如爪般的）手指；爪状物；锁簧尖状突出部

参考例句：

• The fingers were curved like talons, but they closed on empty air. 他的指头弯得像鹰爪一样，可是抓了个空。 来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命
• The tiger has a pair of talons. 老虎有一对利爪。 来自辞典例句

10 wield   

vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)

参考例句：

• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
• People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。