中国以外的甲骨占卜

yong321

一篇关于甲骨文的通俗文章，题目直译为《如何像肩胛骨占卜术士那样读骨》。虽然中国的甲骨多数使用的是乌龟背骨，少数用牛骨，文章一律用scapulimancy统称，该词直译为“肩胛骨占卜术”。

How to Read the Bones Like a Scapulimancer
作者Jacob Mikanowski，大概是加州伯克利分校历史系博士研究生。文章大部分讲述中国商代甲骨，文末有两段与其他文明的比较，对国内读者有一定意义。兹摘录并翻译如下，括弧中文字是我的。


原文：What is certain is that the Shang elevated the art of divination by bone to its greatest heights. They were, however, not the only ones to practice it. Everywhere from Yamato, Japan, to the Arabian Peninsula, people practiced scapulimancy. A scapula warned Attila about his defeat at the battle of Châlons, while Genghis Khan used scorched sheep bones as a check on the reports of his astrologers. One of the most intriguing uses of scapulimancy comes from the Naskapi, an Algonquian-speaking tribe who lived in the tundra lands of Canada’s Labrador Peninsula. The pattern of cracks in a caribou shoulder blade contained their prophecies. The most important question was always this: What direction should the hunters go in search of game? This was a matter of life and death. First, the hunters would try to find the answer in a dream. When they woke up, the bone would hold the key to interpreting what they saw while they were asleep.
翻译：可以肯定的是，（中国的）商将兽骨占卜的艺术提升到极点。然而，他们并非（世界上）唯一做这件事的人。从日本大和国到阿拉伯半岛，人们都从事（动物）肩胛骨占卜术。一块肩胛骨警告（进攻东西罗马帝国的匈人）阿提拉（在今法国的）沙隆之战的失利，而成吉思汗用烧焦的羊骨检查他的占星师的报告。肩胛骨占卜术最有趣的用途之一来自纳斯卡皮人，他们是讲（北美印第安）阿尔冈琴语言、居住于加拿大拉布拉多半岛冻土带的部落。驯鹿肩胛骨的裂缝图案包含有某种预言。最重要的问题总是这样的：猎人应该向什么方向去寻找猎物？这是生死攸关的问题。首先，猎人会尝试在梦中寻找答案。当他们醒来时，兽骨提供给他们睡着时所见到的事情进行解析

（首发）