花與椰葉 / Flowers and Coconut Leaves

花與椰葉 金雨田	Flowers and Coconut Leaves Jin Yu Tian
花和椰葉，為巴厘人生活中不可或缺的素材。巴厘，祭獻之島，大之不說，小至每天，都得在門前祭供，花、椰葉、米飯，即為供品。	FLOWERS and coconut leaves are daily necessities in Balinese life. Along with cooked rice, they are normal gifts to gods as the natives of Bali, “Island of Sacrifices”, set offerings in front of their houses every day, not to mention on special dates.
巴厘人的悠閒，從青青稻田中，卸下鋤頭的農夫，三五閑談聚集可看出一斑。導遊說，他們蹲個三幾個鐘頭，等閒事。	You get a glimpse of the islanders’ carefree lifestyle from the common scene of small clusters of farmers enjoying a leisurely chat by the green paddy fields, having laid down their hoes. A recess could easily last two or three hours, according to our guide.
這回見到車子前端，皆掛著椰葉編織的圖案，原來安全之祭甫過。旅遊業興旺，車輛日增，交通事故頻繁，“駕駛安全”已被島民列入祭曆。	On my recent visit, I noticed automobiles festooned with designs woven out of coconut leaves on their fronts. It turned out that sacrifices had just been offered with a prayer for road safety. The fast growth of tourism and traffic had brought about frequent accidents on the island, prompting the natives to add “safe driving” to their sacrificial calendar.
巴厘人，一切托佑，當地導遊說，設若家居着火，只餘半間，他們會慶幸，還好沒燒盡，凡事往好處著眼，為巴厘人樂天知命的根本。	The Balinese entrust everything in life to divine providence. Even when a house is virtually burnt down, our local guide told us, people would celebrate their good fortune if any part of it were spared by the fire. Such contentment is what leads the islanders through life in their peculiar happy-go-lucky manner.
入晚，走過旅館游泳池畔，着傳統服飾的巴厘舞蹈員正整妝。少女們小心翼翼，從花圃裏摘花，別上髮梢，予索予取，自自然然，天養的花，心靈的葉子，叮叮琴音，淙淙流泉，裝飾了巴厘人的現實，也為巴厘人的來世，添長了翅膀。	Once at nightfall, when passing the swimming-pool at my hotel, I caught sight of some Balinese dancers in ethnic costumes getting ready for their performance. With delicate care, the girls picked their head adornments from the flower-bed and fixed the blossoms on to their hair. What grows in Nature comes natural to them as needs arise. Presumably, flowers bloom from Heaven and leaves sprout from Man’s heart. To the accompaniment of the jingling lutes and babbling brooks, they embellish this world for the Balinese, and lend wings to their imagination for an even sweeter next world. (Translated by Allen Zhuang)
參見 See alao：先別笑 / Don't Laugh Yet [原載新加坡《聯合早報》(2000)；收入《不著地族 / A Lift-Off People》(潘正鐳著、Allen Zhuang 英譯；Singapore: All Publishing House, 2002)]