博爾赫斯：智利的動物是由想象力孵化的

∞《想象中的動物》，1969

The Book of Imaginary Beings

博爾赫斯和瑪格麗特·格雷羅 合著

智利的動物

在智利，有關由想象力所孵化的動物，胡裡奧·維庫納·西弗恩提斯是首席權威，其《神話和迷信》一書蒐集了眾多口口相傳的傳奇。除了卡喬納的故事，以下摘錄的所有片斷都來自該作品。卡喬納則是記載於佐羅巴貝爾·羅德裡格斯所著的《智利主義辭典》，1875年在智利的聖地亞哥出版。

金銀鳥阿里坎托是種在黃金或白銀礦脈中覓食的夜行鳥類。以金為食的一類可根據其奔跑（因它不會飛）時張開的翅膀上閃爍的金光辨認；以銀為食的阿里坎托則如你所料，可由泛起的銀光識別1。這種鳥之所以不能飛並非緣於它那對翅膀——那是對再正常不過的翅膀，而是得歸咎於那些沉重到把嗉囊都撐得下垂了的金屬食物。

金銀鳥阿里坎托 By Christian Olivares

探礦人或采礦工程師們相信，如果他們運氣好到能有一隻阿里坎托鳥做向導，那就發大財了，因為這隻鳥或許會帶著他們發現隱秘的礦藏。不過，探礦人得小心翼翼，如果阿里坎托發現自己被人跟蹤，它會收起光亮並在黑暗中遁去。它也可能會突然改道而行，然後把追趕的人帶向歧路2。

卡喬納類屬某種紐芬蘭犬，身上有比未剪毛的公綿羊更濃密的卷毛，也有比公山羊更旺盛的胡須。卡喬納通體白色3，會選擇在黑夜時分出現在山區旅行者面前，搶走他們的午餐籃子，並發出陰沉的咕嚕聲以示威脅；它也會恐嚇馬群，窮追亡命之徒，並且無惡不作。

卡喬納 Calchona Via youtube

Pancho Marambio Sotelo導演作品

窮穹長著人面；有一雙極大的耳朵，充當作它在月黑之夜飛行的兩翼。窮穹被認為天生具有巫師的所有本事4。若被騷擾，它們會是危險的家夥，有大量寓言故事提到了它們。

窮穹 Chonchon By Arsenicko

當窮穹哼著它們那不祥的“啾，啾，啾”聲——這是暴露窮穹蹤跡的唯一破綻，不然，除了巫師以外的所有人都看不見它們——飛過人們頭頂時，有幾種方法可以把這種飛行動物打下來。正如以下忠告所明智提示的：背誦或唱念一段只有少數人知曉並頑固地拒不外泄的禱詞；吟詠某一組十二個詞語兩遍以上；在地上畫一個所羅門封印；最後一招是，鋪開一件馬甲並以某種特別的方式展示。窮穹會跌落塵埃，狂暴地撲打著它的兩翼，但無論它怎麽努力都沒法再飛起來，除非有另一隻窮穹前來施以援手。一般來說，這事至此還不算完，蓋因窮穹遲早會報復那些捉弄它的人，不論是誰。

可信的目擊者講述了下面這個故事。某夜，在利馬切的一個房子裡，客人們歡聚一堂，忽然聽到外面傳來了窮穹嘈雜的叫聲。有人畫了個所羅門封印，然後有個重物就掉進了後院；那是隻火雞大小的鳥，頭下面還長著紅色的肉髯。人們把它的腦袋砍下來，扔給了一條狗，接著又把無頭軀體拋到了屋頂上。旋即一陣震耳欲聾的窮穹咶噪驟然響起，與此同時人們發現那條狗的肚皮也漲大起來，就仿佛這畜生剛才生吞下去的是一顆人頭。次日早上，這幫人徒勞無功地搜尋窮穹的屍身，它已經在屋頂上憑空消失了。不多時，城裡的掘墓工報告說，就在同一天，有幾個陌生人趕來安葬一個人。等這些人離去後，他發現這竟是具無頭屍。

海得是棲息於海中的章魚，其大小和外表有如一張平攤開來的牛皮。它身體的外緣分布著無數的眼睛，而在看上去像頭的部位，則長著另外四隻更大的眼睛。人或動物只要一踏進海得所在的水域，它就會浮上水面，以不可抗拒之力一口吞噬，片刻之間把他們吃得乾乾淨淨。

章魚

via issuu.com/stephanz/docs/neotropica_2

花勒賓5乃是種性情凶猛、強悍又羞怯的兩棲動物。它身高不到三英尺，長著個牛犢的腦袋和綿羊的身體。它要來了興致就會和母羊或母牛交尾，作為父親在對方體內種下和母方同一種類的子嗣；但這些後代可由扭曲的蹄子、有時則是扭曲的鼻口來加以鑒別。如果孕婦看到了花勒賓或者聽到了它的咆哮，抑或連續三個晚上夢到花勒賓，就會生下一個畸形兒。倘若她看到了由花勒賓所繁衍的動物，後果也是一樣。

花勒賓HuallepénBy rivliex

作為想象中的動物，金剛蟾蜍和其他蟾蜍的區別在於它背上覆蓋著一個有如龜甲的甲殼。這種蟾蜍在黑暗中會像螢火蟲般發光，它如此頑強以致殺死它的唯一辦法就是把它化骨揚灰。金剛蟾蜍得名於其注目凝視的強大力量，它就用這凝視吸引或驅逐任何進入其視線的眾生。

The Strong Toad 金剛蟾蜍 Via abookofcreatures.com

譯注：

1、另據傳說，阿里坎托鳥的眼睛也會發光。

2、另有傳說指出，阿里坎托鳥會把貪婪的追蹤者引向懸崖令後者墜下深淵。

3、另據傳說，卡喬納前世為一女巫，而且她無法變回人的部分是隻黑色的綿羊身體。

4、馬普切傳說指出，窮穹是由馬普切教派的巫師變身而來。

5、在馬普切語中，花勒賓的意思就是“綿羊-牛犢”。它生活於智利境內水域，有像海豹一樣的鰭狀四肢。

作為想象中的動物，金剛蟾蜍和其他蟾蜍的區別在於它背上覆蓋著一個有如龜甲的甲殼。這種蟾蜍在黑暗中會像螢火蟲般發光……

——博爾赫斯

—Reading and Rereading—

Fauna of Chile

Translated by

Norman Thomas di Giovanni

Our chief authority on animals incubated by the Chilean imagination is Julio Vicuna Cifuentes, whoseMythsandSuperstitionscollects a number of legends drawn from oral tradition. All of the following extracts but one are taken from this work.The Calchonais recorded in Zorobabel Rodriguez'Dictionary of Chileanisms, published in Santiago de Chile in 1875.

TheAlicantois a nocturnal bird that seeks its food in veins of gold and silver. The variety that feeds on gold may be identified by the golden light that gleams from its wings when it runs with them open (for it cannot fly); the silver-feeding Alicanto is known, as one might expect, by a silvery light.

The fact that the bird is flightless is not due to its wings, which are perfectly normal, but to the heavy metallic meals that weigh down its crop. When hungry it runs swiftly; when gorged it is hardly able to crawl.

Prospectors or mining engineers believe their fortune is made if they are lucky enough to have an Alicanto for a guide, since the bird may lead them to the discovery of hidden ore. Nevertheless, the prospector should be very careful, for, if the bird suspects it is being followed, it dims its light and slips away in the dark. It may also suddenly change its path and draw its pursuers toward a chasm.

TheCalchonais a kind of Newfoundland dog woollier than an unshorn ram and more bearded than a billy goat. White in colour, it chooses dark nights to appear before mountain travelers, snatching their lunch baskets from them and muttering sullen threats; it also scares horses, hunts down outlaws, and works all sorts of evil.

TheChonchónhas the shape of a human head; its ears, which are extremely large, serve as wings for its flight on moonless nights.Chonchónes are supposed to be endowed with all the powers of wizards. They are dangerous when molested, and many fables are told about them.

There are several ways to bring these flying creatures down when they pass overhead intoning their ominous tue, tue tue, the only sign that betrays their presence, since they are invisible to anyone not a wizard. The following are judiciously advised: to recite or sing a prayer known only to a few who stubbornly refuse to divulge it; to chant a certain twelve words twice over; to mark a Solomon’s seal on the ground; and lastly, to spread open a waistcoat and lay it out in a specified way. The Chonchón falls, flapping its wings furiously, and cannot lift itself again no matter how hard it tries until another Chonchon comes to its aid. Generally, the incident does not conclude here, for sooner or later the Chonchon wreaks its vengeance on whomever has mocked at it.

Creditable witnesses have told the following story. In a house in Limache where visitors had gathered one night, the disorderly cries of a Chonchon were suddenly heard outside. Someone made the sign of Solomon’s seal, and a heavy object fell into the backyard; it was a large bird the size of turkey and had a head with red wattles. They cut the head off, gave it to a dog, and threw the body up on the roof. At once they heard a deafening uproar of Chonchones, at the same time noting that the dog’s belly had swollen as though the animal had gulped down the head of a person. The next morning they searched in vain for the Chonchon’s body; it had disappeared from the roof. Somewhat later the town gravedigger reported that on that same day several unknown persons had come to bury a body which, when they had gone away, he found to be headless.

TheHideis an octopus that lives in the sea and has the dimensions and appearance of a cowhide stretched out flat. Its edges are furnished with numberless eyes, and, in that part which seems to be its head, it has four more eyes of a larger size. Whenever persons or animals enter the water, the Hide rises to the surface and engulfs them with an irresistible force, devouring them in a matter of moments.

TheHuallepénis an amphibious animal that is fierce, powerful, and shy; under three feet tall, it has a calf’s head and sheep’s body. On the spur of the moment it mounts sheep and cows, fathering in them offspring of the same species as the mother but which can be spotted by their twisted hooves and sometimes by their twisted muzzles. A pregnant woman who sees a Huallepen, or hears its bellow, or who dreams of it three nights in a row, gives birth to a deformed child. The same happens if she sees an animal begotten by the Huallepen.

TheStrong Toadis an imaginary animal different from other toads in that its back is covered with a shell like that of a turtle. This Toad glows in the dark: like a firefly and is so tough that the only way to kill it is to reduce it to ashes. It owes its name to the great power of its stare, which it uses to attract or repel whatever is in its range.

題圖：金銀鳥阿里坎托

By Felipe Veloso，智利

behance.net/felink