MYTHS IN THE MAKING · VOL.03 · 36 PHOTOGRAPHS

走過七道門

《神話未完成》第三冊|Through Seven Gates

36 張 · 6 章 · 圖片可點開放大,用左右鍵逐張看 · 每張都附 Flickr 連結

史旺姬《走過七道門》第7幅,第2章「留下憑據」

創作理念 · STATEMENT

她把能證明自己的東西,一件件穿戴整齊。

蘇美的〈伊南娜下冥界〉裡,女神每過一道門,就被取下一件服飾或權能之物。這裡是七組物件:窄冠、串珠、雙圓章、領片、戒指、量尺與細繩,以及深藍披風,那是青金石的顏色。

門框起初高大,人很小;物件一件件離身,鏡頭一步步靠近她的手。到了低矮的大廳,她只剩一身白衣,坐在地上看高窗落下的光。

原典裡,回到地上需要有人替代。這裡有人在門外敲板求援,有人端來一碗水,兩個人一起拉起閘門;她把空白的名牌推了回去,不讓等待落到另一個名字上。

交出去的東西仍收在七個托盤裡。兩個人走出去,門前仍有人在等。

Read the statement in English

One by one, she puts on everything that proves who she is.

In the Sumerian "Inana's descent to the nether world", the goddess is stripped of a garment or an emblem of power at each gate. Here there are seven sets of objects: a narrow crown, beads, twin round badges, a collar plate, a ring, a measuring rule and cord, and a deep-blue cape, the colour of lapis lazuli.

At first the doorways tower and she is small; as each object leaves her, the camera moves closer to her hands. In the low hall she wears only white, sitting on the floor beneath the light of a high window.

In the old text, coming back requires a substitute. Here someone knocks at the outer door for help, someone brings a bowl of water, and two people raise the gate together; she pushes the blank name tag back, so the waiting does not fall to another name.

What she gave up stays on seven trays. Two people walk out, and someone is still waiting at the gate.

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01帶著名字Signs of a Name

出發以前,她以為每一件東西都能替自己說話。

Before she arrives, she believes each object can speak on her behalf.

02留下憑據What the Gates Keep

她留下的愈多,門外等候的人就愈安靜。

The more she leaves behind, the quieter the waiting becomes.

03沒有刻度Without a Measure

手裡不再有刻度,仍要試著知道下一步。

With no measure left in her hands, she must still find her next step.

04留在下面Those Who Come Down

她坐下以後,才看見有人為她走進來。

Only after she sits down does she see others coming in for her.

05誰替誰等待Whose Turn to Wait

空白的牌被推回去,等待沒有交給另一個名字。

The blank tablet is pushed back. The waiting is not passed to another name.

06帶走未完Leaving It Unfinished

兩個人走出去,門前仍有人等著。

Two people leave. Others are still waiting at the entrance.

STORY · 故事與改寫

故事與改寫

這一冊從哪一則神話出發,又改寫了什麼。

故事從蘇美文學作品〈伊南娜下冥界〉的七門結構出發。依牛津大學蘇美文學電子文本庫(ETCSL 1.4.1)的英譯,伊南娜每過一道門,就被取下一件服飾或權能之物。侍從 Nincubura(ETCSL 轉寫,一般作 Ninšubur)依她事先的囑咐求援,Enki 安排救援。她的復返需要替代者,後文牽涉 Dumuzid 與其姊妹的輪替,原文也有殘缺段落。這不是一個沒有代價的成長故事。

本書的七組物件,依原典七道門所卸下之物改寫造型。史旺姬、檔案宮殿、空白名牌、拒絕指定替代者與兩人合作開閘,都是本作的改寫。人物全程衣裝完整,本書不重演原典的死亡段落,也不重建古代 Uruk。較晚的阿卡德語〈伊什塔爾下冥界〉情節相近,但門前的威脅、救援者與結尾都不同,本書不混用。

來源與參考

本書依 ETCSL 英譯閱讀原典,未據楔形文字原文校讀。

The story begins with the seven-gate structure of the Sumerian literary composition Inana’s descent to the nether world. In the English translation of the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL 1.4.1), Inana has a garment or an attribute of power taken from her at each gate. Her minister Nincubura (the ETCSL spelling of Ninšubur) seeks help as instructed, and Enki arranges a rescue. Her return requires a substitute, followed by the alternating fate of Dumuzid and his sister, and the text contains damaged passages. It is not a story of growth without cost.

The seven object groups in this book are reimagined from what Inana gives up at the seven gates. Swanky Ji, the archive-palace, the blank tablet, the refusal to name a substitute and the gate lifted by two people together are inventions of this adaptation. The character remains fully clothed; the book neither reenacts the death episode nor reconstructs ancient Uruk. The later Akkadian Descent of Ishtar tells a related story, but its threat at the gate, its rescuer and its ending differ; it is not drawn on here.

Sources

The composition was read in the ETCSL English translation, not checked against the cuneiform text.

史旺姬 × SWANKY · MYTHS IN THE MAKING

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36 張依定稿的 6 章順序排列;可以到 Flickr 逐張看,也可以接著讀系列的其他冊。