想要战胜怪物就要了解成为怪物的过程 弗里德里希·尼采
Animated corpses appear in stories all over the world
有历史记载以来 僵尸出现在
throughout recorded history.
世界各地的故事里
But zombies have a distinct lineage—
但是僵尸有一个独特的族系
one that traces back to Equatorial and Central Africa.
可以追溯到非洲中部赤道附近地区
The first clue is in the word “zombie” itself.
第一条线索在于“僵尸”这个词本身
Its exact etymological origins are unknown,
它的确切词源未知
but there are several candidates.
但是有几种可能
The Mitsogho people of Gabon, for example, use the word “ndzumbi” for corpse.
如 加蓬的米特加嘎哈人 用“”ndzumbi”一词表示尸体
The Kikongo word “nzambi” refers variously to the supreme being,
刚果语”nzambi”有几个不同的意思 上帝
an ancestor with superhuman abilities, or another deity.
具有超自然能力的祖先 或其他神灵
And, in certain languages spoken in Angola and the Congo,
同时 在安哥拉和刚果使用的某些语言中
“zumbi” refers to an object inhabited by a spirit,
“zumbi”是指灵魂居住的物体
or someone returned from the dead.
或者死而复生的人
There are also similarities in certain cultural beliefs.
某些文化信仰也有相似之处
For example, in Kongo tradition, it’s thought that once someone dies,
例如 刚果传统观念认为 人一旦死去
their spirit can be housed in a physical object
他们的灵魂就可以被安置在一个实物内
which might bring protection and good luck.
那可能会带来庇佑和好运
Similar beliefs about what might happen to someone’s soul
非洲许多地方的人对死后灵魂
after death are held in various parts of Africa.
可能经历的事情持有相似的信念
Between 1517 and 1804,
在1517年至1804年间
France and Spain enslaved hundreds of thousands of African people,
法国和西班牙奴役了几十万非洲人民
taking them to the Caribbean island
把他们押去了 现在海地和
that now contains Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
多米尼加共和国所在的加勒比岛
There, the religious beliefs of enslaved African people
在那里 被奴役的非洲人民的宗教信仰
mixed with the Catholic traditions of colonial authorities
与殖民当局的天主教传统混合
and a religion known as “vodou” developed.
发展出了被称为“伏都教”的新宗教
According to some vodou beliefs, a person’s soul can be captured and stored,
根据伏都教教义 人的灵魂可以被捕获 储存
becoming a body-less “zombi.”
成为一具没有躯体的“僵尸”
Alternatively, if a body isn’t properly attended to soon after death,
或者 若死后短时间内 尸体没有得到合适的照料
a sorcerer called a “bokor” can capture a corpse
那么叫做“波哥”的巫师就可以捕获尸体
and turn it into a soulless zombi that will perform their bidding.
然后把它变成执行巫师命令的行尸走肉
Historically, these zombis were said to be put to work as laborers
从历史上看 这些僵尸据说被当作一种特殊的苦力
who needed neither food nor rest and would enrich their captor’s fortune.
这种苦力无需食物也不用休息 还能增加捕尸人的财产
In other words, zombification seemed to represent the horrors of enslavement
换句话说 僵尸化似乎就象征着
that many Haitian people experienced.
很多海地人被奴役的可怕经历
It was the worst possible fate:
这是最糟糕的命运：
a form of enslavement that not even death could free you from.
至死都无法摆脱的奴役
The zombi was deprived of an afterlife and trapped in eternal subjugation.
僵尸被剥夺了来世 陷入了永恒的臣服
Because of this, in Haitian culture,
因此 在海地文化中
zombis are commonly seen as victims deserving of sympathy and care.
僵尸通常被视为值得同情和照顾的受害者
The zombie underwent a transformation after the US occupation
在1915年美国开始占领海地后
of Haiti began in 1915—
通过西方流行文化的镜头
this time, through the lens of Western pop culture.
僵尸经历了一次转型
During the occupation, US citizens propagated many racist beliefs
占领期间 美国人传播了许多关于海地黑人
about Black Haitian people.
的种族主义信仰
Among false accounts of devil worship and human sacrifice,
在许多恶魔崇拜和人祭的虚构报道中
zombie stories captured the American imagination.
僵尸的故事 让美国人着迷
And in 1932, zombies debuted on the big screen
1932年 僵尸在名为“白魔鬼”的电影中
in a film called “White Zombie.”
首次亮相大银幕
Set in Haiti, the film’s protagonist must rescue his fiancée
故事发生在海地 男主必须从邪恶的伏都教大师手里
from an evil vodou master who runs a sugar mill using zombi labor.
营救未婚妻 伏都教大师用僵尸作劳工 经营了一家糖厂
Notably, the film’s main object of sympathy isn’t the enslaved workforce,
值得注意的是 电影的主要同情对象不是被奴役的劳工
but the victimized white woman.
而是受害的白人妇女
Over the following decades, zombies appeared in many American films
在接下来的几十年里 僵尸出现在很多通常带有
usually with loose references to Haitian culture,
海地文化元素的美国电影中
though some veered off to involve aliens and Nazis.
不过 其中有些电影 转向了外星人和纳粹主题
Then came the wildly influential 1968 film “Night of the Living Dead,”
接着是1968年影响甚广的电影“活死人之夜”
in which a group of strangers tries to survive an onslaught
电影中一群陌生人 奋力在一群
of slow-moving, flesh-eating monsters.
行动迟缓的食肉怪物袭击中幸存下来
The film’s director remarked that he never envisioned his living dead as zombies.
电影的导演说 他从未想过他的活死人是僵尸
Instead, it was the audience who recognized them as such.
相反 是观众把它们认作僵尸
But from then on, zombies became linked to an insatiable craving for flesh—
此后 僵尸就与对人肉的嗜欲联系在一起
with a particular taste for brains added in 1985′s “The Return of the Living Dead.”
1985年的活死人归来”又增添了对人脑的偏爱
In these and many subsequent films, no sorcerer controls the zombies;
在前述以及后续许多电影里 没有巫师控制僵尸
they’re the monsters.
僵尸本身就是怪物
And in many iterations, later fueled by 2002′s “28 Days Later,”
2002年的电影“惊变28天” 推动
zombification became a contagious phenomenon.
僵尸化成为一种传染性现象
For decades now, artists around the world have used zombies
几十年来 全球艺术家都在利用僵尸
to shine a light on the social ills and anxieties of their moment—
来反映社会弊病及其担忧
from consumer culture to the global lack of disaster preparedness.
从消费文化到全球防灾准备欠缺
But, in effect, American pop culture also initially erased the zombies origins—
但实际上 美国流行文化最初也抹去了僵尸的起源
cannibalizing its original significance
蚕食其原始意义
and transforming the victim into the monster.
并将受害者变成了怪物