人与神的角色转换 印度跨性别女神的节日

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　　印度德发南巴蒂南——在这个印度教的年度节日中，从跨性别女性向女神的转变，是在虔诚而凝重的气氛中进行的。笑容消失了，代之以无表情的面具。皮肤变成了石头。

　　As they prepared to perform in the Mayana Kollai festival in a fishing village in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, some of the dancers slipped into trances so deep it appeared they might have fainted. The photographs, taken over the past three years, are by Candace Feit.

　　在印度南部泰米尔纳德邦的一个小渔村，人们在准备“盗墓节”(Mayana Kollai)的表演，一些舞者进入重度的出神状态，以至于看上去像是晕厥了。这些照片是由坎德丝·费特(Candace Feit)在过去三年里拍摄的。

　　Indians who decide to live as kothis — also known as hijras, kinnars or aravani, depending on the region — are born male and typically have male lovers.

　　蔻蒂(kothi)在某些地区又称海吉拉(hijra)、金纳(kinnar)或阿拉瓦尼(aravani)，选择以这种方式生活的印度人的出生性别为男性，通常有男性情侣。

　　Unlike transgender people in the West, they leave a conservative mainstream⁵ culture for an equally conservative subculture. Some live in communes with a strict network of rules under the authority of leaders they refer to as “mothers” and “grandmothers.”

　　和西方的跨性别人士不同的是，她们脱离了保守的主流文化，加入了一种同样保守的亚文化。其中一些生活在有森严戒律的公社里，她们的领袖被称为“母亲”或“祖母”。

　　Others live with their parents or head heterosexual families. Many reveal their identities as teenagers and are met with years of taunts⁶, beatings and forced sex.

　　还有一些跟父母住，或成为异性恋家庭的家长。有许多人在少年时期就表露了身份，并因此遭受多年的奚落、殴打和受迫性交。

　　But during the festival, which takes place in either February or March each year, these troubles are impossibly distant. Any trace of human expression is lifted, and the kothis begin to resemble the deities⁷ they worship. The ordinary is tethered to the divine. — ELLEN BARRY但是，在每年2月或3月举行的节日期间，这些困扰会显得无比遥远。一切人类的表情都被消除，蔻蒂人开始变成她们膜拜的神灵的模样。凡人与神建立了连线。——ELLEN BARRYThe kothi performers were solemn as the festival approached. They had agreed not to drink alcohol or have sex for the duration of the 10-day festival. Men are not allowed in the dressing⁸ room for the preparations, which take place in hushed silence.

　　随着节日的临近，蔻蒂表演者的表情肃穆起来。在为期十天的节日中，她们承诺不饮酒，免房事。男人不可进入为表演做准备的更衣室，准备工作在一片肃静中进行。

　　The performers crowd into a small room near the temple to apply makeup⁹, a process that can take as long as two hours. By the time they finish, their faces have disappeared beneath a shell of color — half-person, half-goddess.

　　表演者挤在寺庙附近的一个小房间里化妆，全过程耗时可达两个小时。完成后，她们的脸会被遮盖在一层色彩之下——成为半人半神。

　　For those 10 days, the kothis are treated with reverence¹⁰ by the villagers, who flock to see them dance without any mention of their gender² identity. Walking the town’s streets, the kothis are invited into house after house to give blessings¹¹.

　　十天里，村民会对蔻蒂人毕恭毕敬，他们蜂拥前来观看她们的舞蹈，绝口不提她们的性别身份。蔻蒂人行走在小镇街道上，家家户户都会来请她们进门，求得她们的祝福。

　　Kavia Varshini, a traditional Indian dancer, is a celebrity¹² in this part of Tamil Nadu. When she walks through crowds after a performance, people rush to her side to have their picture taken. She is one of the lucky ones: There is no family expectation that she will marry.

　　传统印度舞者卡薇亚·瓦什尼(Kavia Varshini)是泰米尔纳德邦这一带的名人。每次表演后穿过人群离开时，人们会涌上来拍照。她相对幸运：家人并不指望她结婚。

　　Mogana, left, helps Navali put on her bra, as the two prepare to perform.

　　莫佳娜（左）帮助那瓦莉穿上胸罩，两人正在准备表演。

　　As kothis converge¹³ on the village, rivalries¹⁴ can flare¹⁵. Many gave the cold shoulder to a kothi one year because her name was the only one mentioned in the event’s printed program, which was seen as self-aggrandizing.

　　随着蔻蒂人在村里聚集，竞争也会激烈起来。有一年，一个蔻蒂人遭到了其他人的冷落，因为只有她一个人的名字出现在了那年印发的节目单上，而这被认为是一种自我炒作。

　　Mogana, shown helping¹⁶ another kothi prepare, is under intense pressure from her family to marry soon. Along with her partner, she is trying to figure out what to do. While the idea of marrying or having sex with a woman is alien to her, marriage would offer the comfort of family acceptance.

　　正在帮助另一位蔻蒂人的莫佳娜面临家人的巨大压力，要她尽快结婚。她正和自己的伴侣一起想办法。她没法想象自己和一个女人结婚或发生性关系，但通过婚姻获得家人的认可，可以给她一片清净。

　　At the end of the festival, their moment over, the kothis return to ordinary life. Jehada Guru, shown here as the goddess Amman, is one of the poorest people in his village: a day laborer¹⁷ and father of two, married to a woman who works in a bakery.

　　节日之后，她们的风光也告一段落，蔻蒂人将回归平凡的生活。扮成女神安曼(Amman)的耶哈达·古鲁(Jehada Guru)属于村里最穷的人之一：他在打散工，是两个孩子的父亲，跟一个在烘焙店打工的女人结了婚。

 

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