陕北神木府谷的长脖子面人
Long-necked Dough Figurines of Shenmu and Fugu Counties in Shaanbei.
府谷和神木一带的过去是地广人稀的沟壑高原、梁峁草滩交错之地,是贫困和艰辛的苦寒之地,然而这里的人们又是生性浪漫,极喜好饮酒和唱歌的.与起伏的大山一起、与舞动的黄河一起生存着,令他们的表达不能止息于艰辛的生活,在他们表情深远的面容下包藏着一种无法抑制的创造的激情.长脖子面人,在经历这里的时间和空间所赋予的诸多象征意义的过程里,其实也就如他们的灵魂一样、是万能而多变的神和符咒,他们来自于天地自然和人.
Previously, the Shenmu and Fugu region was a vast and sparsely populated plateau with incised gullies, hill ridges and grass flat, a hardscrabble and bitterly cold land.However, the local people here are romantic in nature, very fond of drinking and singing. They live together with the undulating mountains and the meandering Yellow River, this has made their representation surpasses all the rigors of life, and hiding under their far-reaching facial expressions is a kind of unbridled creative zeal. After having gone through the various symbolic significances bestowed by the time and space here, the long-necked dough figurines are just like the souls of the local people, they are the almighty, variable deities and charms that come from universal nature and man.
从面人人身体的装饰上,我们可以看到人们对于土地的赞美,其上有花、有草、有飞鸟、有动物、有“红男”之彩亦有“绿女”之色,让这个人的身体上充满大地的无限生机.这里的人们一旦拥有这种人们认为具有神奇功效的语言,他们就会用它来建构安宁的家园或者布防与身体的内外.无论如何这种足有两三斤的面人, 最终是会落到孩子们手里的,这种情形在那些饥饿的年月里要胜过任何一种色香味美、造型别致的蛋糕!
We can detect praises of the land from the body ornaments of the dough figurines; the flowers, grasses, birds and animals, the colorful ‘red males’ as well as the ‘green females’, all these make the bodies of the figurines full of boundless vitality of the mother earth. Once the local people possess this kind of language which they consider having a magical effect, they will apply it to the construction of a serene homestead or the protection of their bodies internally and externally. In any event, these dough figurines which weigh about two to three pounds will be subsequently ended up in the hands of the children; during those starving years, this would be so much better than any type of aromatic, delicious and well-shaped cakes!
这种神圣的、沉甸甸的面人带给儿童的绝不仅仅是一顿美餐,它对孩子心灵和身体的影响是无比深远的,这无异于将一颗神话的种子埋进孩子的身体之中,在今后的成长中,任意一种机遇都将会触动他们神奇的萌发.而且在人们看来这种面人被孩子们吃掉,就像把这一符咒画入他们的身体内一样,之后的佑护是由内到外的,是每时每刻的,这会让这种符咒变得无比灵验.
These sacred and heavy dough figurines offer not merely just a sumptuous meal to the children, but also a very far-reaching effect on their minds and bodies. This is just like nothing short of burying a mythical seedling inside the body of a child, during his growth in the days to come, any opportunity will trigger its magical sprouting. Moreover, after the dough figurines have been eaten up by the children, people consider it like a charm has been placed inside the body, the protection is from the inside out at all times, and the charm will become highly efficacious.
制作面人的步骤：
Procedures of making dough figurines
多地方都有捏制面人的传统习俗,这显然是农耕文化发展过程里呈现出的一种较为普遍的现象,在以面食为主的黄河流域尤为盛行.陕西、青海、甘肃、河南、宁夏、山西、山东、河北都有不同样式的面花.陕西叫面花,陕北及内蒙一带叫“寒燕燕”；山东叫“兔子”、“面老虎”；山西叫“寒人寒马”；河北人叫“面羊”、“面虎”.总之这团面捏成什么就叫什么,时日一长叫“寒燕燕”时,捏什么都叫“寒燕燕”. 陕北的绥德、米脂以及延安一带是不做面人的,因为面塑通常还是用来吃的,而将面人蒸着吃了的事在他们看来是不可思议的!人怎么可以吃人呢?
The kneading of dough figurines is a traditional custom of many places. Obviously, this is a common phenomenon that emerges from the development process of farming culture, it is especially popular in the Yellow River basin where the staple food is prepared with wheat flour. There are different types of 'wheaten flowers' in Provinces of Shaanxi, Qinghai, Gansu, Henan, Ningxia, Shanxi, Shandong and Hebei. It is called ‘mianhua’ in Shaanxi, and ‘hanyanyan’ in the regions of Shaanbei and Inner Mongolia, in Shandong it is called ‘rabbit’ and ‘wheaten tiger', in Shanxi the name is‘hanren hanma’ and the people in Hebei call it ‘wheaten lamb’ and ‘wheaten tiger’. All in all, whatever shape the dough is kneaded into, it is called as such; but when a name is called for a long period of time, such as ‘hanyanyan’, then all the kneaded dough will be called ‘hanyanyan’ irrespective of the actual shapes. However, there are no dough figurines around the regions of Suide, Mizhi and Yanan in Shaanbei; the reason is that dough modeling is meant to be eaten, so the people there feel that steaming and eating dough figurines is inconceivable! How can you eat human beings?
但是地处陕北东北角一带的神木和府谷却另有一番讲究.神木和府谷两地捏面人的日子几乎都是在饥饿状态下完成的.人们对于面和面人的感觉是非常迫切的,他们不仅仅是为了吃掉这块面,而是他们觉得面比泥更让人动心.自从上天在人间不再设米面场无故下米下面之后,白面在天寒地冻的陕北的得之不易是别处所无法体会的.因此捏面人在这里从来都不是一种生日蛋糕式的抒情方式,而是一种神奇语言的叙述过程.
But the people in the areas of Shenmu and Fugu at the north-eastern part of Shaanbei are particular about it. As the kneading of dough figurines in these two regions are done in an acute hunger state, the people have a very eager feeling towards dough and dough figurines; other than wanting to eat this piece of dough, they also feel that dough is more alluring than mud. Ever since the Providence has spared no more rice and wheat freely on earth, the difficulty of getting wheat flour in the freezing weather of Shaanbei is impossible for people in other areas to understand. So the kneading of dough figurines here is never like the lyrical style of a birthday cake, but rather a narrating process of an amazing language.
【英语牛人团】
