2010年6月29日 星期二

[0060] Taragui, Union, La Merced, Mananita 四種品牌的差異



前陣子有個 Y Mall 的行銷人員說我的產品很少,『只有四十多種』。看到這句話真的讓人有種想要跌倒的感覺,但是我的MSN上表情符號裡沒有跌倒的圖,所以沒有即時的回應她。以一個瑪黛茶專賣店來說,四十多種真的很多,多到讓人很難選。

能夠有這些不同種類也是要感謝上游 Las Marias 的支持,願意讓我去嘗試這一個市場,所以提供給我全系列不同的產品來做實驗,尋找看哪一種商品適合這地方的消費者。所以也間接的變成了這間小店的特色。

最常看到的問題就是問說應該要買哪一種好,希望能夠提供一些建議。

Las Marias 主要有四種不同的外銷品牌 Taragui, Union, La Merced, Mananita,這四種的特色都有不同,但是能夠達到的效果都是相同的,主要只是口感跟風味的差異。就像同樣是買烏龍茶,但是不同的產製過程有不同的風味一樣。





Taragui 系列是 Las Marias 最主要的系列,同時也是阿根廷內銷市場最大的領導品牌,圖案中的地圖就是阿根廷 Correnties 省,也是 Las Marias 的所在地,而 Taragui = Correnties 省的土語。

這一系列的特色是它傳承了最原始傳統的南美風味,口感非常厚實濃郁,味道也比較強,澀味也會比較重。完全不需要去細細品嚐,因為一入口就可以感受到那種瑪黛茶濃醇的感覺。

如果喜歡重口味的人,是比較適合 Taragui 這一系列的產品。




La Merced 有機瑪黛茶系列是 Las Marias 為了高階瑪黛茶消費者所提供的產品系列。這一個品牌所強調的特性就是純天然有機栽種,不使用任何的化學農藥跟化學肥料,以保護土壤以及環境為主要的目標。

其中的分支系列 Campo, Monte, Barbacua 又提供了不同風味的產品,其中 Campo 入口較為溫和柔順,Monte 口感較為濃醇芳香, Barbacua 具有厚重的煙燻風味。

除了 Monte 和 Barbacua 這兩個產品以外,La Merced 系列的產品的風味較為溫和,適合慢慢品嚐享受,比較不適合大口下肚,其中之一的原因也是因為這一系列的價位相對而言也比較貴。因為它是有機栽種,能夠生產的面積跟產量比較少。

La Merced 有機系列,比較適合喜歡有機產品而且又愛細細品嚐瑪黛茶的消費者。





Union 系列是 Las Marias 為了喜歡瑪黛茶但又不喜歡太厚重口感的消費者而製作的產品,有些人喜歡瑪黛茶的芳香口感,但是卻對那強烈的口感感到卻步。所以,為了滿足這一部份的消費者的需求,他們將瑪黛茶中強烈濃厚的部位去除,只留下甘醇的風味和口感,而且還更加的回甘。

Union Suave 這一系列的產品不會有澀味,相反的,入口之後喉頭會漸漸回甘,舌頭會有甜甜的感覺,瑪黛茶特有的香氣也完全不減。

跟 Taragui 系列比起來的話,Union 的口感會稍淡較柔順,而且風味也較持久。

這一系列適合喜歡瑪黛茶,但又不希望太過濃厚風味,喜歡慢慢泡茶的消費者。




Mananita 這一系列是這四種品牌中最後才引進,目前也只有引進原味而已。這一系列的訴求是最佳的 C/P 值。所謂的最佳 C/P 值就是指它的單價較低,可以買到便宜又大碗的瑪黛茶。

雖然它的單價比較低,但並非表示它所使用的茶葉比較差,絕對不會像便宜的茶葉那種粗糙品質。這一系列的產品沒有太濃厚的味道,也不會有太強烈的口感。

它所具有的風味會比 Union 系列更加溫和,泡出來的味道也較淡,反而很適合對於瑪黛茶風味並不熟悉的人。

因為有人並不喜歡瑪黛茶濃厚的風味,所以清淡的瑪黛茶風味更加適合這一群消費者。


基本上這四種不同的品牌,最大的差異是在於不同的口感跟風味,有人喜歡超濃口感,有人喜歡淡淡清香,不同系列就是為了要滿足不同消費者的需求。

就像既使是不同種類的咖啡,但是都會有相似的效果。當然,瑪黛茶也是如此。


引用請註明來源
Also Post @
http://blog.yerbamate.tw/
http://www.wretch.cc/blog/yerbamate75

2010年6月11日 星期五

[0059] 瑪黛茶與高喬人 Yerba Mate & Gaucho

瑪黛茶的歷史發展中,除了瓜拉尼人,耶穌會成員之外,跟瑪黛茶最密切相關的第三群人就是居住在 Pampas 彭巴草原的 Gaucho 高喬人。

如果你還記得曾經學過的南美洲地理,彭巴草原的範圍包含了阿根廷北部,巴西南部,巴拉圭全境。

而 Gaucho 高喬人就是泛指居住在這一片 Pampas 彭巴草原以及 Patagonia Grassland 巴塔哥尼亞草原的南美洲牛仔,不一定是指巴西或阿根廷的高喬人,因為這一群人的生活範圍其實沒有太明顯的國界。

(這個阿伯真的拍的很藝術。)

高喬人的祖先來自於葡萄牙和西班牙的早期拓荒者,當然也包含了當地的印地安原住民。他們擁有自己特殊的文化,以游牧生活為主。

他們最主要的食物有兩種,牛肉,以及瑪黛茶。

(這個帥哥拿著那一杯濃不拉機的瑪黛茶,還真有那個FU。)


瑪黛茶已經完全的融入了高喬人的生活與文化之中,甚至也已經變成了一種象徵性的食物,談到 Gaucho 高喬人一定會出現 Yerba Mate 瑪黛茶,談到瑪黛茶就不能忽略高喬人。

他們將瑪黛茶視為『液體的蔬菜 Liquid Vegetable』 ,牛肉跟瑪黛茶便成為了非常完美搭配的食物組合。

(連木頭的雕像也不忘把瑪黛茶具的放上,真的完全已經融入了他們的生活。)

可以在Flickr上找到很多高喬人在馴牛馴馬的照片,他們所代表的是一種剽悍的精神,自由的價值,以及對抗腐敗制度的象徵。

如果搜尋 Gaucho 的話,第二多的照片就是他們在飲用瑪黛茶的景象。

(這位大叔,你的瑪黛茶茶杯也未免太大一杯了吧!)

這幾張照片就是從 Flickr 上擷取下來,全部都是 CC授權。所謂的 Creative Common 授權簡單的說就是在非商業用途上,你可以拿來使用,但是要註明來源。


(可愛的小弟弟也在喝瑪黛茶,由此可知,小孩也能喝。)



因為有人反應最近的文章字太多,圖太少,雖然文字並不難讀,但是一樣看的會很累。所以這篇就看圖說故事囉。

2010年6月5日 星期六

[0058] 瑪黛茶的歷史 - 瑪黛茶與耶穌會 Yerba mate and the Jesuits



如果你還記得聯考考過的歷史,那一定會記得遠從歐洲來到中國的義大利傳教士利瑪竇,之後被清朝順治康熙皇帝重用的湯若望和南懷仁,他們都是耶穌會的成員。

如果聯考已經太遠,那麼神劍闖江湖的島原之亂篇,救世主天草翔伍是日本少數的天主教徒,如果沒有耶穌會的出現,也不會有這一段歷史的痕跡,緋村劍心也不用跟他打一架。

耶穌會的足跡遍及了亞洲跟美洲新大陸,對各地的歷史進程都有相當多的影響,其中跟瑪黛茶也有相當密不可分的關連。

耶穌會曾經強力抵制瑪黛茶,但是最後不僅以失敗告終,甚至還造成了消費市場的大幅度增加。

但它卻也是第一個成功地建立了人工栽植的瑪黛茶樹園,成了這產業的最大的推手,間接的讓南美洲的瑪黛茶市場有了爆炸性的成長。

圖為耶穌會的標誌,充滿華麗的風格
CC授權圖片來源 http://www.flickr.com/photos/pelegrino/344701858/





(為了文章通順,沒有逐字翻譯。如果有翻錯要跟我說耶。)

excerpt from Ross W. Jamieson's The Essence of Commodification: Caffeine dependencies in the early modern world. Journal of Social History, Winter 2001

Yerba mate and the Jesuits

瑪黛茶與耶穌會

Not all the caffeine drinks encountered in the course of European colonial expansion came to be accepted for consumption in Europe. In the Americas there were several plants besides cacao that contained caffeine and were known to the indigenous inhabitants, none of which ever reached commercial distribution in Europe. The most economically important of these exclusively New World caffeine drinks was yerba mate. This is a tea made from the leaves of a holly (Ilex paraguariensis) harvested in prehispanic times along the Parana-Paraguay river system.

並非所有的咖啡因飲料都跟著海權時代的殖民擴張而進入了歐洲的消費市場,大部分在美洲所發現的含咖啡因農作物並沒有在歐洲達到商業規模。而這些與歐洲無緣的植物,其中在經濟上最為重要的新大陸產品就是瑪黛茶。

在西班牙人還沒有抵達巴拉那河流域以前,瑪黛茶已經被原住民所開採並且飲用,它是從一種神聖的樹葉所泡製而成的茶飲,

(巴拉那河是南美洲第二大河,南美第一大河是亞馬遜河。)

Early Spanish settlers along this river system had taken up the pre-Columbian practice of drinking wild yerba mate as a tea. As with cacao, they acquired the habit from the people they had conquered. Unlike cacao and coffee, yerba mate was not a domestic plant when first encountered by Europeans. Instead it was harvested from wild stands. Initial Spanish colonization of the Parana-Paraguay system was tied closely to Jesuit missionization efforts.

Jesuit policy encouraged large-scale plantation agriculture on the seventeenth century South American missions, as a method of using indigenous labor to produce marketable commodities, and make the missions both self-sufficient and profitable. The Jesuits realized the great economic potential of yerba mate, and from the 1650s to 1670s successfully founded yerba mate plantations at their missions.

在巴拉那河流域的早期西班牙移民,將這野生的巴拉圭茶(瑪黛茶)當作平日飲用的茶水。就如同可可豆一樣,他們從這些被征服的原住民身上學習到了這些日常生活習慣。但是不同於可可跟咖啡這些已經被廣泛種植的農作物,瑪黛茶的來源仍然是來自於野生的茶樹。

早期在巴拉那河流域的移民和當時的耶穌會有相當緊密的關連。在十七世紀,當時的耶穌會的政策就是積極的在南美洲大規模的種植農作物,他們利用當地的原住民來生產這些作物,除了能夠自給自足以外,也將這些產品作為獲利的來源。

而當耶穌會發現了瑪黛茶樹具有相當大的商業潛力之後,在 1650 ~ 1670年代成功的以人工種植瑪黛茶樹。

When Europeans arrived in the Parana-Paraguay there was no existing market for yerba mate beyond the local region. With the domestication of the plant as a plantation crop the Jesuits also contributed to the creation of a commercial market for it.

By 1700 the drink was popular throughout the Andes and the Rio de la Plata. As with cacao, yerba mate was developed as a plantation crop to serve a consumer market within the colonies, rather than for shipment to Europe. The product was shipped down the Parana-Paraguay system, then either to Santa Fe, where it was hauled overland to Chile, Upper Peru, and Lima or continued by river to markets in Buenos Aires and Montevideo.

當歐洲人來到了巴拉那河流域時,當時除了這些產茶地區以外,瑪黛茶並沒有擴展到其他範圍。

但隨著耶穌會成功的種植了瑪黛茶樹之後,這個經濟作物便幫助了整個南美洲商業市場的建立。

到西元 1700年代,在整個安第斯山脈和拉普拉塔河最流行的飲料就是瑪黛茶。當時的瑪黛茶的主要市場不是在歐洲,而是在南美的殖民地。

瑪黛茶產製後被運到巴拉那河流域,到聖菲再沿著陸路轉運到智利,秘魯,和利馬,沿著水路到阿根廷的布宜諾斯愛麗斯和烏拉圭的蒙德維的亞。

Yerba mate was never introduced to the European market--perhaps because it only gained commercial prominence in Spanish America after 1700, long after tea, coffee and cacao had become available in Europe. The expulsion of the Jesuits from the Spanish colonies in 1767 ended the cultivation of yerba mate on the mission plantations.

The European Enlightenment criticism of the Jesuits that led to their expulsion was in itself partly based on their successful plantation economies worldwide. When they were expelled from all Spanish dominions their missions on the Parana-Paraguay were abandoned. This caused huge changes in yerba mate production, as the missions were transferred into royal and private hands. Massive exploitation and near-slavery of the local Guarani population led to their abandonment of the missions, and the temporary end of yerba mate as a plantation crop.

瑪黛茶在當時並沒有被引進至歐洲市場,也許是因為直到 1700年代之後才開始在拉丁美洲獲得了顯著的商業利益,遠遠落後於茶,咖啡,和可可在歐洲市場上的價值。

在 1767年,隨著耶穌會被驅逐出西班牙殖民地後,瑪黛茶的人工耕種事業也跟著結束。歐洲啟蒙運動關於耶穌會的評論,他們被驅逐的部分原因也就是因為成功的在全世界推展了他們的農作物經濟。

當耶穌會被西班牙人驅走之後,在巴拉那河流域的瑪黛茶種植計畫也被廢棄了。這樣的改變造成了瑪黛茶市場的巨大變化,這些計畫被轉移到皇家和私人的手中。

但是因為大規模的開發和奴役瓜拉尼人的事件,導致了這個計畫的結束,並且暫時停止了繼續人工種植瑪黛茶樹。

It was fairly simple for commercial growers to transplant cacao and coffee to new plantations, but yerba mate proved to be a finicky crop. Spaniards apart from the Jesuits had little success in growing it, so production after the Jesuit expulsion came largely from the harvest of wild stands in Paraguay.

The town of Concepcion, founded in 1773, became the northern mate port, with land access to the stands of wild plants in the hinterland. Yerba mate was the only caffeine crop ever harvested commercially from wild stands in large quantities. Harvesting of the plant was a speculative enterprise, with Indian debt peons spending months in the forest harvesting, drying and bailing the crop. Many members of these work parties died.

瑪黛茶樹是一種相當難以種植的作物。對於當地的農民而言,耕種可可和咖啡就容易了許多。

西班牙人中除了耶穌會之外,很少有人能夠成功的將瑪黛茶樹移植。所以當耶穌會被趕走之後,瑪黛茶的主要來源便移往了巴拉圭的野生叢林中。

建造於 1773 年康塞普西翁鎮, 成為了北方瑪黛茶的交易港口,也是進入叢林產地的一個重要門戶。(到今天這個城鎮仍舊盛產著瑪黛茶)

瑪黛茶是當時唯一的一種大規模藉由野生茶樹所採集的咖啡因作物。

(另一個文章是 1783年,這裡的 Concepcion town 是在阿根廷,不是前陣子大地震的智利 Concepcion City。)

採收野生瑪黛茶是一種高風險的事業,因為它必須要耗費掉相當多的時間和人力,為了採收和處理這些茶葉,被雇用(被奴役)的印地安人必須在森林中呆上數個月,以致於相當多的人因而死亡。

The crop was sold regionally in South America, never gaining European markets. The Bourbon reforms massively increased the volume of the yerba mate trade in South America, as it did with the cacao trade from the Guayas region. The creation of the Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata in 1776 meant that the merchants of Buenos Aires took control of both the yerba mate production zones in Paraguay, and one of the major consumer markets, in Alto Peru. Free trade and tax reforms in 1778 and 1780 made exports far more profitable.

瑪黛茶主要都在南美地區銷售,一直沒有進入過歐洲市場。十八世紀的 The Bourbon reforms 讓南美洲瑪黛茶的交易量大幅的增加,就如同對於 Guayas 地區的可可一樣。

(The Bourbon reforms 波旁改革 http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Bourbon_Reforms 在十八世紀西班牙的政經改革,這個影響也遠至中南美洲西班牙的殖民地。
拉丁美洲的歷史中,Bourbon Reforms 造成的影響可以參考這篇http://www.emayzine.com/lectures/bourbo~1.htm

1776年在拉普拉塔河建立了總督轄區,這意謂著在布宜諾斯艾利斯(阿根廷)的商人控制了巴拉圭的瑪黛茶產地以及位於秘魯高地的廣大消費市場。

在1778年和1780年間,因為自由貿易和稅收改革使得出口更為有利可圖。

By the 1770s yerba mate was a popular social drink throughout the Andes, served at all hours of the day. The tea (or yerba) was traditionally drunk from a gourd (or mate), sipped through a straw known as a bombilla. By the 1770s this market had penetrated as far north as Cuenca, where the traditional gourd with silver straw began to appear on elite tables in this tertiary northern Andean city. Several examples of mate gourds mounted in silver with a silver straw have been encountered in late eighteenth century inventories from Cuenca.

在1770年代,整個安第斯山脈周邊的世界,瑪黛茶成為最流行的茶飲,在每天的任何時間都可以看見它的蹤跡。

到了1770 瑪黛茶市場的擴展,已經遠至北部厄瓜多爾的昆卡,在那個北方的安地斯城市,銀製的吸管和傳統的葫蘆杯已經出現在上流社會的場合中。

在這18世紀末的時代,在昆卡這個城市,出現了一些銀飾葫蘆杯和銀製吸管的樣品。

(安地斯山脈是地球上最長的山脈,在南美洲的西邊,範圍從巴拿馬到智利。)

There was a female association with this form of Andean consumption, a contemporary observer stating that "... there is no house, rich or poor, where there is nor always mate on the table, and it is nothing short of amazing to see the luxury spent by women on mate utensils."

在當時,出現了一個由女性組成的一種安地斯流的協會,當代觀察家指出,“...無論有沒有房子,不論貧富,只要瑪黛茶杯一直在桌子上,一定有機會能看到願意花上大把的金錢在這些瑪黛茶具上的女人。“

(在當時,瑪黛茶具變成一種精品,而不只是工具而已。)

The gendered nature of the consumption of caffeine drinks in the early modern world has not been extensively studied outside Europe, but in the case of yerba mate in the Andes the association is with female, and domestic, consumption.

除了歐洲以外的地區,對於性別跟咖啡因飲料的關連,在近代並沒有被廣泛的研究。然而這種安地斯流的聚會,主要都是當地的女性為主。

Yerba mate thus provides us with an example of a caffeine beverage crop with a unique historical trajectory. Developed as a plantation crop by the Jesuits to supply a South American market, it reverted to a system of commercial harvesting of wild plants after the Jesuit expulsion.

瑪黛茶的發展過程,在歷史刻下了一種特殊的文化和軌跡。

耶穌會成功的移植栽種了瑪黛茶樹,大量生產足夠的茶葉來供應南美的市場。而隨著耶穌會的被驅逐,瑪黛茶產業又回到了開採野生叢林的時代。

The difficult transplantation of the wild plants meant that domestic plantations were not easily founded, and the wild plant harvest remained important for much of the commercial history of yerba mate. This situation continued until the 1890s, when large yerba mate plantations were successfully developed in the southern Mato Grosso to serve the modern regional market.

難以移植的瑪黛茶樹意謂著要建立人工栽植的茶園並不容易,這也使得野生茶樹對於它的商業進程非常重要。

這個狀態只有持續到了 1890年代後就結束了,大量的瑪黛茶樹被成功的移植到馬托格羅索(巴西的一個州)之後,人工栽植的瑪黛茶便又重新開始供應了南美洲的市場。

英文文章來源 http://www.yerba-mate.com/yerba_mate_history.htm

引用請註明來源
Also Post @
http://blog.yerbamate.tw/
http://www.wretch.cc/blog/yerbamate75

[0057] 瑪黛茶由來的歷史故事 (下)


每翻完一篇文章,總是又會帶出許多未知的文章,也許這些瑪黛茶由來的故事對於我們來說並不重要,但是知道瞭解這個地球上發生過的故事,也未嘗不是好事,畢竟幻想出來的阿凡達故事,都看得這麼開心了。

日落的黃昏,總是會帶出金黃色的光芒,不知道這暫停的一瞬間,能不能滿足無盡的慾望。
CC 授權圖片 by vibrant_art
Source:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vibrant_art/3308296896/

(為了文章的通順,所以沒有逐字翻譯。)

Informed about its supposed virtues and magical origins the confirmed the indisputable effect it had on their physical welfare. The surprising renewal of body and spirit brought by the native decoction but not only restored their health but inflamed their commercial instincts – and an industry was soon born.

好客的瓜拉尼人告訴了這些來自遠方的西班牙探險家們有關瑪黛茶的一切,包括它的好處,還有背後那些神秘又美麗的傳說。

而瑪黛茶最神奇的功效是在於它不只能回復身體的能量,更能洗滌靈魂的疲憊。

這一個從天然植物所製成的原生茶湯,不僅補充了這些西班牙人足夠的能量,更點燃了他們心中的商業本能,於是,一個全新的瑪黛茶產業便從此開展。

Two centuries later, the Argentine gauchos of the great Pampean plains and the effete oligarchs of Buenos Aires would share the daily habit of drinking mate with thousands of Paraguayans, Uruguayans, Brazilians, Bolivians, and people as far north as Peru.

兩個世紀後,從住在彭巴草原上的阿根廷高喬人,到住在布宜諾斯愛麗斯的政客,所有的人已經將飲用瑪黛茶視為生活習慣的一環。

就如同千百萬的巴拉圭人,烏拉圭人,巴西人,玻利維雅人,甚至遠到秘魯的人們,瑪黛茶已經變成了生活中不可或缺的茶飲。

(高喬人是指住在彭巴草原的早期歐洲移民,他們擁有自己的特殊文化跟特色。)

By the end of the 20th century, the Guaraní herb would be cultivated for worldwide consumption by a $400 million agricultural industry producing more than 300,000 tons of the processed plant every year.

到20世紀底,瑪黛茶 - 瓜拉尼人的藥草 - 的全球消費量已達到 4億美元,每年的生產超過 30萬噸。

A Vilified, and Vindicated, Brew Even though yerba mate is relatively unknown in the United States, people throughout South America, Europe, and the Middle-East have long appreciated its healthy attributes and epicurean appeal.

雖然瑪黛茶在美國的知名度相對而言並不高(這篇文章是在1999年),但是南美洲,歐洲,甚至是中東地區,早已經瞭解瑪黛茶對於健康的幫助,以及它特有的天然滋味。

A letter written in 1628 by the Jesuit priest Nicaolás del Techo sheds light on the health benefits being touted centuries ago.

在西元1628年,有個耶穌會教士 Nicaolás del Techo 寫了一封信,信中揭示了瑪黛茶對於健康的好處。而這封信在數百年前便成為了一個行銷工具。

“Too many virtues are attributed to the herb,” he complained. “It acts as a soporific at the same time as it stimulates; calms the appetite at the same time it aids digestion.

『瑪黛茶實在是有太多的優點,』他抱怨著說, 『它竟然可以在安定情緒的同時也達到刺激精神的效果。不僅如此,它還可以抑制食慾又幫助消化。

It restores strength, brings happiness, and cures many diseases. All I see is that those who develop the habit can’t seem to get along without it.”

『它能恢復力量,帶來幸福的感覺,並治愈許多疾病。我所看到的是,誰一旦喜愛上瑪黛茶,似乎無法再離開它。』

Considering its mythical origin and seemingly magical properties, the early Jesuits’ mistrust of this powerful Guaraní herb was understandable.

考慮到瑪黛茶神秘的起源和神奇的特性,早期的耶穌會對於瓜拉尼藥草的強烈不信任感,是可以預期的。。

(事實上早期的耶穌會對於瑪黛茶產業的發展有非常大的影響,之後會提到這兩者之間緊密的關係。)

They voiced opposition to its use, deeming it a “demonic” pagan beverage given to the “tribal witches” by Tupá – none other than Lucifer himself.

耶穌會強烈表示反對人們使用瑪黛茶,認為它是“魔鬼”異教徒所給予的飲料。

他們認為瓜拉尼人的神靈 Tupá 就是魔鬼撒旦。

(這樣類似的故事過程其實在很多電影都有演過。)

They forbade its consumption in their territories and decreed the worst of all punishments for those who disobeyed, excommunication.

耶穌會禁止在其領土上所有瑪黛茶的飲用與消費行為,並且頒布的違反者的懲罰條文。誰不服從,就處罰。

This had a disastrous effect, because the use of mate had become so widespread that the church found itself confronting the possibility of losing almost all the faithful.

這條法令卻造成了災難性的影響,因為飲用瑪黛茶已經變得如此普遍,教堂發現自己將會面臨到失去所有信徒的窘境。
In spite of the harsh decree, people continued sipping their favorite beverage. To make matters worse, a Dominican priest branded the herb an aphrodisiac.
儘管禁止的法令被頒佈,但是人民繼續喝著自己喜愛的飲料。

結果整件事情變的更糟糕的狀況發生了,一個多米尼加的神父,將瑪黛茶妖魔化為春藥。

Contrary to his intentions, this caused the use of mate to spread like Viagra, until it reached a level of nearly 345 kilos per person every day!

原本他希望大家不要飲用瑪黛茶,沒想到卻出現了反效果。

他讓瑪黛茶傳播的速度就像威而剛的出現一樣,直到每人每天的平均消耗達到了將近 345 公斤的水準!

This explosion in popularity marked, unfortunately, the beginning of a sad chapter in mate’s history.

這爆炸性的傳播在歷史上留下了記錄,但是不幸的是,同時也帶來了瑪黛茶歷史故事中最為悲慘的一章。

As consumption spread throughout South America, a mate gold-fever resulted in the virtual enslavement of thousands of Guaraní Indians, exploited by Spanish encomenderos (contractors) in the most brutal fashion.

由於整個南美洲的廣大消費市場,瑪黛茶,這個綠色黃金熱導致成千上萬的瓜拉尼印第安人被奴役,被欺凌,被剝削。

西班牙的瑪黛茶承包商使用了最野蠻的方式壓榨了瓜拉尼人。

The Guaraní were forced to open paths through the rainforest with machete blows from the Paraguayan capital of Asunción to the heart of the mate groves in Guairá Marazón, Iraí, and Alto Uruguay.


瓜拉尼人被迫開鑿了穿過雨林的捷徑,他們使用大砍刀一路的從『巴拉圭』首都『亞松森』開路到瑪黛茶的主產地 『Marazón, Iraí, and Alto Uruguay』。

These paths were watered by the sweat and blood of thousands of aborigines, and paved with their bones. In the annals of New World exploitation no single industry brutalized its labor force more than those first encomenderos of yerba mate.

這些捷徑的路面是由百千萬瓜拉尼原住民的汗水和血水所澆灌,並且由他們的屍骨所鋪成。

在新世界的開發歷史中,沒有任何一段原住民奴役史會比這些瓜拉尼印地安人更為悲慘。

(之後的文章也會提到瓜拉尼人的介紹。)

For their part, the Jesuits by now had realized the failure of their attempts to discourage mate , and began to embrace it instead.

此時對耶穌會來說,他們已經意識到自己對於瑪黛茶無知而造成的失敗,進而開始接受接受它。

They sanitized its pagan origin by substituting Santo Tomé (Saint Thomas) for Tupá in the myth of its inception, and became so closely associated with the drink that many still know the plant as yerba missionera, the missionary herb.

耶穌會為了自圓其說,消滅了原本瑪黛茶異教的起源,以 Santo Tomé(聖湯馬斯)代替了 Tupá ,創造了一個基督教下的神話來源。

於是之後原本瓜拉尼人的 Caá - Yerba Mate 瑪黛茶成為了傳教士的 Yerba Missionera 草本植物。

Happily, their change of heart helped attenuate, somewhat, the plight of the Guaraní.

故事的最後,由於耶穌會改變了對於瑪黛茶的看法,以致於在一定程度上幫助了陷入困境的瓜拉尼印地安人。

(最後這段原本不想翻,因為完全是屁話,但是後來想想,還是翻出來好了。)

-Dr Myrtha Elba Ruiz de Pagés and Fernando Pagés

2010年6月2日 星期三

[0056] 瑪黛茶由來的歷史故事(上)


El Dorado 黃金城,驅使了大量的歐洲冒險家前往南美洲探險。雖然到現在都還只是停留在傳說階段,沒有人發現過,但是這一個大秘寶的傳說卻影響了後世幾百年發展。

其中也間接的造成了瑪黛茶 Yerba Mate 被西班牙人發現進而傳播於全世界,雖然它不是惡魔果實能夠讓人有超能力,但卻也能讓人活力充沛。

也許這一瞬間的落日,就是傳說中的黃金城。

CC授權圖片 by NEME G.
來源
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24004386@N06/2988794395/


前面那三篇瑪黛茶由來的傳說 Legend of Tupi Brothers , Legend of the Guarani, Legend of Yari ,這三個故事都是經由千百年的口耳相傳而流傳至今,所以故事上都有相似卻也有出入的地方。但是這些故事都有一個共同點,瓜拉尼人將瑪黛茶視為天神所賜予的茶飲。

這個神有可能是 『遠來的神 Pa'i Shume』, 或 『精神領袖 Tupa』 , 或者是『天上的月神 Yari 和雲神 Arai』, 由天而降教導他們關於瑪黛茶的知識。

故事中同樣也有老人跟女孩。這些主要角色的構成並沒有太大的差異,不同的是事情演變的流程。這樣的傳說也許曾經真正的發生過,只是因為時代的久遠,而讓傳說產生變化。

當15 ~ 16世紀大航海時代開啟,歐洲人跨過大西洋抵達了美洲之後,這些故事便成為了有文字記載的歷史,而不再是傳說。

下面這篇就是有歷史記載之後的故事。

The Story of Yerba Mate

瑪黛茶的故事


From The Herb Quarterly Summer 1999

When the adventurer Sebastian Gaboto sailed up the Paraná river in 1526, he believed that at the fountainhead of its brutal waters he would find Eldorado, the fabled land of silver and gold that drove the ambitions of early European explorers. Gaboto was certain the inexhaustible cache of precious metals would transform all of the lands down river (in the area now occupied by Paraguay) into the richest and most powerful region in South America.

西元 1526年,冒險家 Sebastian Gaboto 航行抵達了南美洲的巴拉那河時 (Paraná river, 南美洲第二大河) ,他相信,在這艱險河流的盡頭,他將會找到傳說的黃金國 El Dorado (有一部卡通《勇闖黃金城 Road to El Dorado》就是在描寫這傳說的故事)。 黃金城的傳說不斷的驅使著歐洲冒險家前來南美洲探險。

Gaboto 確信此處蘊含著取之不盡的貴重金屬,能夠讓這塊地方(如今的巴拉圭領土)成為南美洲最為富庶也最有強大的地區。

He was wrong. But in the area Gaboto pioneered, Mother Nature hid a treasure, not aureate, but green in color, which would both reward those lands with commerce and burden them with a history of human tragedy no less appalling than that caused elsewhere by the discovery of gold. The verdant gift concealed in her bosom was a stout evergreen of the holly family known to the aborigines as Caa, but eventually christened by the Spaniards: yerba mate (Ilex Paraguariensis).

最後發現,他錯了。

但是 Gaboto 所探險的地區並非沒有價值,大自然確實在這塊土地上蘊藏了更重要的寶藏,只不過它是綠色,而非金色。

雖然這綠色寶藏創造了更多的商業活動,為這塊土地帶來了繁榮,但是也同時帶來許多的悲劇,而這些悲慘的故事並不亞於發現黃金般的慘烈。

(其中受害者就是當地的 Guarani 瓜拉尼人,他們沒有那美人的好運氣。就如同所有悲慘的原住民一樣,土地被侵佔,人民被殺害。之後會提到這一支南美洲印地安族群。)

這個蘊藏在大地懷裡的翠綠禮物被瓜拉尼人稱為 Caá (=Yerba 樹木或森林),最後由西班牙人給予了它一個流傳至今的名字,叫做 Yerba Mate 瑪黛茶。

The Spaniards were disillusioned by their failure to find precious metals, and exhausted from the travails of jungle survival. A small break-off group decided to settle along the Paraná River, in an area where they found abundant food and friendly reception among the Guaraní Indians.

這群西班牙人非常的失望,因為他們並沒有找到傳說中的黃金城,也沒有發現貴重金屬。而這一路上旅程上的艱辛更是讓他們精疲力竭。

其中有一小群人決定繼續沿著巴拉那河,前往 Guaraní Indians 瓜拉尼印地安人的居住地,這裡除了有非常豐富的食物,並且當地的土著非常好客。

(因為瓜拉尼人的 Tupa 神,要他們款待訪客。故事在前一篇 Legend of Yari 有提到。)

These hospitable Native Americans were well-built, vigorous, and healthy. They seemed gifted with good character and abounding joy. Naturally the Spaniards wanted to know why. The secret, they were told, was to drink an infusion of dried leaves from the Caa bush, a gift from the spirit Tupá.

這些熱情好客的印第安人身形強壯,充滿活力,並且非常健康。他們似乎天生就被賦予了純真善良的品德和常保愉悅的心情。

當然,這群西班牙人很想知道究竟是為什麼。

好客的瓜拉尼人無私的分享了這個秘密,他們平常都飲用一種 Caa 樹木的樹葉所沖泡的飲品,而這個禮物是他們的神 Tupa 所賜予。


英文文章來源 http://guayaki.com/mate/1894/Legends-of-Yerba-Mate-Origins.html

引用請註明來源

Also Post @
http://blog.yerbamate.tw/
http://www.wretch.cc/blog/yerbamate75

[0055] 瑪黛茶由來的傳說 - Legend of Yarí


如果不是因為瑪黛茶,我也不會去瞭解瓜拉尼人的故事。
這個遠在中南美洲的原住民部落,就像這世界所有的原住民一樣,正在消失當中。

在巴西的 Guarani 小女孩
CC圖片來源 http://www.flickr.com/photos/xav/4031690252/



(為了文章通順,沒有逐字照翻)



Legend of Yarí

月神 Yarí 的傳說



Yarí, the moon, curiously looked at the deep woods with which Tupá, the powerful god of the Guaranies, had covered the earth. And little by little her desire to come down to earth was getting stronger. So Yarí called Araí, the pinkish cloud of dusk, to ask her to go down to Earth with her.

月神 Yarí 正在好奇的看著地球,這個由瓜拉尼神 - Tupá 所掌管的大地。看著看著祂的好奇心越來越強,終於有一天決定要下凡塵,於是在粉紅色的雲層之中,呼叫了雲神 Araí 一起到地面上看個究竟。



The following day as they were walking along the woods, they turned into two beautiful ladies...but they were getting tired when, in the distance, they saw a cottage and they went towards it to relax. Suddenly they heard a noise and it was a jaguar that was about to jump on them, when an arrow shot by an old Guarani hurt the beast on its side.


隔天祂們化身成為兩個美麗的女人,前往了樹林中漫步。結果走著走著越來越累,剛好發現了遠處有個小屋,她們於是打算前往這個小屋稍作休息。



就在前往小屋的路上,突然有一隻美洲虎跳到了她們面前,說時遲那時快,一支箭射進這隻野獸的身上,一個年長的瓜拉尼人出現在她們身旁。



The furious animal fell on its wound, at the same time that a new arrow went through its heart. Once the fight had finished, the Guarani offered the ladies hospitality so they went to his hut. He lived with his wife and daughter who treated them kindly and told them that Tupá does not like the ones who do not offer hospitality to their visitors.



這隻毛茸茸的怪物隨即受傷而倒地,但是就在同一時間,另一支箭又射進了牠的心臟,很快的就結束了這一場戰鬥。

這位年長的瓜拉尼人帶領了她們倆到了他所居住的小屋,並且提供了豐盛的款待。他跟妻子與女兒一起住在這個遠離村莊的地方。

他跟這兩位女士說,『 如果他們不豐盛的款待遠來的訪客,Tupá 神會不高興。』

The following day Yarí announced that it was time to leave. The woman and the daughter saw the two adventurous ladies to the door and the Guarani went with them a little while. He told them why he lived in isolation: when his daughter grew up, uneasiness, anxiety and fright invaded her spirit, so he decided to get far away from the community where he lived so that his daughter, in isolation, could keep the virtues that Tupá had given her.

隔天,Yarí 說,『現在應該要離開了。』於是這個老爹就送這兩位女士到了門口,並且跟她們稍微聊了一下。

他解釋了為何他們需要離群索居的原因,他說,當他的女兒越來越大之後,沒想到不安,焦慮,和恐懼不斷的侵入了她的靈魂。所以決定要離開部落,來到了與世隔絕的地方,在這裡,她能夠繼續保有 Tupá 神賜予她那純淨的心。

When Yarí and Araí were alone, they lost their human shapes and went up to heaven, where they looked for an appropriate prize. One night they guided the three people in the hut into a deep dream. While they were asleep, Yarí sowed light blue seeds in front of the house, and from the dark sky she lit up the place.


當 Yarí 和 Araí 來到了四下無人的地方,她們褪去了人類的外形往天空升去。她們決定給予這個瓜拉尼人一些適當的獎賞。

有一個晚上,祂們再次來到了他們家,並且讓他們一家三口進入熟睡狀態。Yarí 在門口灑下了藍色的種子,並且在黑暗的天空中,點亮了光芒照耀著這塊土地。


At the same time, Araí poured a sweet and soft rain that wetted the ground. Morning came and in front of the hut there were short unknown trees, and their white, thick flowers appeared shyly among the dark green leaves. When the Guarani woke up and went out to go to the forest, he got astonished to see the marvel that appeared in front of his house.

同時間 Araí 從天空中灑下了陣陣微微的細雨,逐漸的將土地潤濕。當黎明來臨後,小屋的前方長了一些不知名的矮樹,深綠色的葉片中夾藏著厚實的白色花朵。


當老爹醒來之後,一如往昔的要到森林,他卻驚奇地發現了奇蹟的景象出現在他家門前。

He called his wife and daughter and when the three of them saw what had happened, they fell onto their knees on the wet ground. Yarí, in the shape of the woman that they had met, came down and told them: "I am Yarí, the goddess who lives in the moon and I am here to give you a prize for your goodness.

他叫醒老婆和女兒,當他們發現了外面奇蹟般的變化之後,雙腿不由自主的跪到了潮濕的地面。

Yarí 又變回了之前熟悉的模樣來到了他們的面前,她說,『我是 Yarí 來自月亮的神,為了鼓勵你的善行義舉,我再次回到了這裡來賜予獎賞。』

This new plant that you see is the yerba-mate, and from now on it will be, for you and for all the men of this region, the symbol of friendship. Your daughter will live forever and she will never loose the goodness and innocence of her heart. She will be the owner of the yerba." After saying this, the goddess made them stand up and taught them how to toast the yerba and to drink the mate.

『現在你看到的這株植物就是瑪黛茶,從今開始,它在你們人類中將代表著友誼的象徵。』

『你的女兒將會永生不死,並且成為擁有善良純真靈魂的精靈,守護著瑪黛茶樹林。』

說完之後,Yarí 就站了起來,繼續教導他要如何烘焙樹葉以及飲用瑪黛茶的方式。


After several years, time of death came for the old couple. Then, once their daughter had fulfilled her ritual obligations, she disappeared from earth. From time to time, it is possible to see among the Paraguayian yerba fields a beautiful blonde girl whose eyes reflect the innocence and candidness of her soul.


數年之後,這對老夫婦不敵歲月的流逝,離開了人世,而他們的女兒在完成了後事之後,便隨即從地面上消失。

既使到今日在巴拉圭的瑪黛茶樹林中,仍能不時的能夠看到一個美麗的金髮女孩,並且會在她的眼神中,看見她那天真無邪的靈魂。


英文文章來源 http://guayaki.com/mate/1894/Legends-of-Yerba-Mate-Origins.html


引用請註明來源
Also Post @
http://blog.yerbamate.tw/
http://www.wretch.cc/blog/yerbamate75