印度人如何爲孩子祈福 把他們從房頂拋下

How far would you go to show your religious faith? Some families in rural India — both Hindus and Muslims — are willing to let their babies be tossed off the roof of a shrine, to be caught in a stretched bedsheet about 30 feet below.

爲了展現對宗教信仰的虔誠，你會走多遠？印度鄉間的一些家庭——不論是印度教徒還是穆斯林——都樂於讓他們的嬰兒被人從一座神廟的屋頂拋下，再用一張攤開的牀單在下方約30英尺（約合9.1米）處接住。

The ritual, long popular in Maharashtra and Karnataka States, dates back almost 700 years, to a time when infant mortality was high, medical knowledge was scant and families had few places to turn for help.

這種儀式在馬哈拉施特拉邦和卡納塔克邦流行已久，可以追溯到大約700年前。那時，嬰兒的死亡率很高，醫療知識匱乏，人們求助無門。

Legend has it that a saint advised people whose babies were dying to build a shrine and drop the ailing infants from the roof to show their trust in the almighty. When they did so, the story goes, the babies were miraculously cradled to safety in a hammock-like sheet that appeared in midair.

相傳有一位聖人建議家有瀕死嬰兒的人建一座神廟，再把病嬰從屋頂拋下，用以展示他們對萬能之神的信仰。據說當他們這樣做的時候，半空中出現了一張吊牀狀的牀單，奇蹟般地把嬰兒安全接住。

From then on, prayers for the birth of a healthy baby in the region have included a promise to toss the baby as an offering to the god who granted the prayers. Villagers believe that the ritual brings the child long life and good luck, and maintain that it does no harm.

從那時起，當地祈求生下健康寶寶的人便發願，如果他們夢想成真，就把寶寶從屋頂拋下，作爲對神的供奉。村民們認爲這種儀式會給孩子帶來長壽和好運，並且堅信它沒有任何危害。

The practice came under fire in 2009, when a widely circulated video recorded at the Baba Umer Dargah, a shrine in Solapur, Maharashtra, prompted the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to intervene. The commission investigated and ordered that the baby-tossing be stopped.

這種做法在2009年遭到了抨擊。當時，在馬哈拉施特拉邦肖拉普爾一座名爲巴巴烏默爾達加(Baba Umer Dargah)的神廟錄製的一段視頻廣爲流傳，招致印度國家兒童權益保護委員會(National Commission for Protection of Child Rights)的介入。該委員會展開了調查，並勒令不得再舉辦拋嬰儀式。

“We do not support this superstitious practice,” said G. Mohanty, a media adviser at the commission. “It is against the interest of the children. They may be really scared, and nobody knows how it affects their psyche.”

“我們不支持這種迷信的做法，”該委員會媒體發言人G•莫漢蒂(G. Mohanty)說。“它危害了相關兒童的利益。他們可能非常害怕，而且沒人知道他們的心理會受到怎樣的影響。”

Officials say the practice is illegal under India’s children’s rights law, and the local police authorities in Solapur say they have not received any reports of baby-tossing since 2010. Even so, witnesses say it continues on a small scale in some villages, including in Mangasuli, where the Lord Khandoba, an avatar of Shiva, is worshiped by Hindus as the deity of the family.

官員們說，根據印度的兒童權益法，這種做法是非法的；肖拉普爾當地警方表示，自從2010年起，他們就沒再接到過關於拋嬰的警情。儘管如此，仍有目擊者稱，一些村落裏依然少量存在這種現象，其中包括曼阿蘇裏村，在那裏，印度教徒把溼婆(Shiva)的化身勘都巴神(Lord Khandoba)當成家庭守護神來供奉。

“The practice continues throughout the year, and babies are tossed within two months of being born, come rain or shine — it’s tradition,” said Javed Fardin Akhtar, a resident of the nearby city of Sangli who said he witnessed the ritual in Mangasuli in April.

“這種儀式一年到頭都在舉行，嬰兒出生不超過兩個月便會被拋下屋頂，風雨無阻——這是一種傳統，”曼阿蘇裏村附近城市桑格利的居民賈韋德•法爾漢•阿赫塔爾(Javed Fardin Akhtar)說。今年4月，他在曼阿蘇裏村親眼目睹了拋嬰儀式。

Mr. Akhtar said that the actual tossing was done not by the parents, but by experienced devotees of the shrine. After one bounce on the bedsheet, the babies are swiftly returned to the arms of parents waiting anxiously in the cheering crowd below.

阿赫塔爾說，把嬰兒拋下屋頂的實際上並不是嬰兒的雙親，而是神廟裏經驗豐富的虔誠信徒。落在牀單上的嬰兒被彈起來以後，會在人們的歡呼聲中被迅速送回焦急等待的父母的懷抱。