Keeping the Memory Alive 緬懷祖先 全球面面觀
精英翻譯社轉自http://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0059/277531/web/
The ancient Egyptians had a strong belief in the afterlife and buried valuables and servants for the deceased along with the body. However, the most important detail was to remember the departed in rituals or simply by speaking their name, for to be forgotten meant falling into the terrifying void. Similar traditions are present in nearly every culture today. Remembering the dead is an integral part of many African societies' worldviews. Small everyday gestures include throwing a libation for the ancestors from each newly opened bottle of rum into the northeast corner of the room. The Malagasy people of Madagascar exhume ancestral bones, rewrap them in fresh silks and dance them among the whole extended family in a celebration of kinship called Famadihana.
古埃及人對來世深信不疑，因此會將貴重物品與僕人跟著死者一起下葬。不過，最重要的細節是在葬禮中悼念逝者，或純粹叫喚他們的名字，因為被遺忘就代表落入可怕的虛無裡。今日幾乎所有的文化都有類似的傳統。緬懷死者是許多非洲社會世界觀中不可或缺的一部分。小小的日常動作包括獻酒給祖先，做法是將每一瓶新開的蘭姆酒灑一些在室內東北方的角落。馬達加斯加的馬拉加斯人則是挖出祖先的骸骨，用新的絲布重新包裹，並且由整個家族共舞，藉此頌揚親屬關係——此儀式稱為翻屍節。
Another joyful festival celebrating the departed is Dia de los Muertos, Mexican Day of the Dead. Families have picnics and play music around familial gravestones, welcoming their relatives' spirits among them once again. The atmosphere is far from solemn, with costumes, face make-up and charming death-themed decorations, such as skull-shaped candy placed on altars with flowers and ribbons.
另一個頌揚死者的歡樂節慶為墨西哥的亡靈節。家家戶戶都會在家族墓碑周圍野餐或彈奏音樂，歡迎親人的靈魂再度回到他們身邊。亡靈節的氣氛一點都不嚴肅死板，大家會穿上戲服、在臉上化妝，並進行有趣的死亡主題布置，例如把骷髏頭形狀的糖果連同鮮花與彩帶擺設在祭壇上。
African diasporans consider ancestors to be messengers to the gods who can intercede on their descendants' behalf. North American graveyards are quiet places where people come to pray, sometimes asking for guidance from those who've gone beyond the mortal coil.
散居各地的非洲人認為祖先是神明的信差，可以為自己的後代求情。北美洲的墓園則是安靜的處所，人們可前去祈禱，有時也會向那些已超脫塵世煩擾的死者們尋求引導。
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