In Malta, ‘Dead Men’s Bones’ Are a Sweet, Spiritual Tradition馬耳他“亡靈骨頭”餅干：美味融合宗教傳統(tǒng)

The cookies are just one way that the island nation remembers the dead.

“亡靈骨頭”餅干是這個(gè)島嶼國(guó)家緬懷逝者的一種方式。

For more than 50 years， Baron Confectionery in ?a?-?abbar， Malta， has been crafting pastries. Often， they turn out flaky ricotta1-or-pea-filled pastizzi2 or figolli3， the colorful Easter-time sweets. But by the end of October， their treats take on a more macabre look.

50多年來(lái)，位于馬耳他扎巴爾的巴倫糕點(diǎn)店一直生產(chǎn)手工點(diǎn)心。他們通常制作酥脆的里科塔芝士餡或豌豆餡帕斯蒂奇，或是色澤鮮艷的復(fù)活節(jié)甜點(diǎn)菲戈拉。然而到了10月底，他們推出的糕點(diǎn)新樣式就有些可怖了。

G?adam tal-mejtin （dead men’s bones）， or alternatively， g?adam ta’ Novembru （November bones） are available not just here， but across the country throughout November. They are edible memento mori4， part of Malta’s longstanding Month of the Dead celebrations.

G?adam tal-mejtin（亡靈骨頭）又稱為g?adam ta’ Novembru（11月的骨頭）。整個(gè)11月間，這款餅干不僅此店有售，在整個(gè)馬耳他都能買到。這是一種銘記死亡的美食，在馬耳他歷史悠久的“亡靈月”慶?；顒?dòng)中必不可少。

The g?adam look like chunky sugar cookies. They’re typically large enough to share， and， traditionally， each one is uniquely knotty—though some bakers now use cookie cutters to make them more uniform. The creviced dough is smoothed out by shiny white royal icing on top.

這種骨頭餅干形如厚實(shí)的糖霜餅干，通常個(gè)頭很大，足夠與他人共享。按照傳統(tǒng)工藝，每塊餅干都是獨(dú)特的扭結(jié)造型，但現(xiàn)在也有糕點(diǎn)師傅使用餅干模具，讓形狀更加統(tǒng)一。蛋白糖霜覆在裂紋的面團(tuán)上，讓餅干的頂端平整光滑。

But the three-dimensional bone shapes hold a secret. The vanilla exterior gives way to a center that’s flavored with cardamom and clove， even aniseed in some versions. This second dough， made with almond flour， crumbles at the first chewy bite.

但這種立體的骨狀餅干內(nèi)有門道。外皮是香草風(fēng)味，內(nèi)餡則混有小豆蔻和丁香，甚至有些做法還會(huì)用到大茴香。作為餡料的第二層面團(tuán)由杏仁粉制成，入口酥脆。

These unexpected flavors owe much to Malta’s location. South of Sicily and flanked by Tunisia and Libya， the country has been a hotbed for both traders and invaders since time immemorial. That， coupled with the fact that Malta is not rich in its own natural resources， means that many Maltese flavorings have roots in the Arab world， North Africa， and mainland Europe. The one major exception is the homegrown almonds that make the central “marrow” of the cookie so compellingly different from the sugary “bone.”

這些出人意料的風(fēng)味很大程度上要?dú)w因于馬耳他的地理位置。這個(gè)國(guó)家位于西西里島以南，兩側(cè)是突尼斯和利比亞，自古以來(lái)就是商人和侵略者的溫床。加上馬耳他本身自然資源并不豐富，因此該國(guó)的很多調(diào)味香料來(lái)源于阿拉伯世界、北非和歐洲大陸。本土出產(chǎn)的杏仁則是個(gè)顯著的例外，它使餅干中心的“骨髓”風(fēng)味與加糖的“骨頭”截然不同。

Marlene Zammit grew up near Sydney， Australia. But the blogger behind A Maltese Mouthful can thank both her parents for introducing her to their native land’s rich culinary heritage. Her family considered Halloween， with its costumes and candy， “really more of a thing for the younger generation，” she says.

馬琳·扎米特在澳大利亞悉尼附近長(zhǎng)大。然而，這位主頁(yè)名為“A Maltese Mouthful”（“舌尖上的馬耳他”）的博主會(huì)感謝父母讓她接觸到了祖國(guó)豐富的烹飪傳統(tǒng)。她說(shuō)自己的家人認(rèn)為萬(wàn)圣節(jié)的節(jié)日服裝和糖果“實(shí)在更適合年輕人”。

Instead， they attended mass and prayed for the souls of the dead on All Souls Day， November 2. Though the Zammits were thousands of miles away from their family’s graves， people back in Malta celebrated by visiting loved ones’ resting places， neatening them up， and leaving flowers and other mementos.

她和家人們不過(guò)萬(wàn)圣節(jié)，而是在11月2日的“萬(wàn)靈節(jié)”參加彌撒，為亡靈祈禱。扎米特一家與家族墓地相隔數(shù)千英里，而身居馬耳他的人在這一天會(huì)回到親人的長(zhǎng)眠之地掃墓，并獻(xiàn)上鮮花和其他紀(jì)念物。

But Halloween has slowly become a presence in Malta. “People move on and traditions change. It’s a living situation. We feel that this shouldn’t take place at the detriment to what makes us Maltese，” says Kenneth Cassar. The senior curator of MU?A， Malta’s national art museum， is also a member of Taste History， a group of historians that works to preserve the country’s culinary traditions. The organization is part of Heritage Malta， the national agency that oversees the museums and cultural sites of the islands.

然而，萬(wàn)圣節(jié)也已逐漸在馬耳他流行起來(lái)。“人們會(huì)有新的變化，傳統(tǒng)也隨之改變，生活就是如此。我們認(rèn)為，這不能以犧牲我們馬耳他人的特色為代價(jià)?！瘪R耳他國(guó)家美術(shù)館的高級(jí)策展人，同時(shí)也是“品味歷史”組織成員的肯尼思·卡薩爾說(shuō)?！捌肺稓v史”組織由一群歷史學(xué)家組成，致力于保護(hù)馬耳他的烹飪傳統(tǒng)，隸屬于馬耳他遺產(chǎn)局，后者是負(fù)責(zé)管理島上博物館和文化遺址的國(guó)家機(jī)構(gòu)。

In Malta， November is unofficially considered the Month of the Dead. G?adam tal-mejtin are part of the festivities and available everywhere， from the bus station at the main island’s capital of Valletta to countryside pastry shops.

馬耳他民間將11月視為“亡靈月”。亡靈骨頭餅干在節(jié)慶中不可或缺，從主島上首都瓦萊塔的巴士站到鄉(xiāng)村的糕點(diǎn)鋪，隨處都能買到。

According to Cassar， it’s difficult to trace the precise origins of g?adam tal-mejtin， because historical references only appear in snippets， and there are very few historical books on Maltese food. However， Zammit says that her recipes for cheerful figolli and g?adam tal-mejtin are almost identical， save for the aromatic spices and bone shapes of the latter. Could they be siblings？ Cassar thinks this is likely， which means that g?adam tal-mejtin could date back as far as the 17th century， considering that the first mention he’s found of figolli is from 1660.

據(jù)卡薩爾說(shuō)，亡靈骨頭餅干的確切起源很難追溯，因?yàn)闅v史資料零零散散，且有關(guān)馬耳他食物的歷史書籍也很少。不過(guò)，扎米特表示，她制作的美味菲戈拉和亡靈骨頭餅干的食譜幾乎相同，唯一的區(qū)別是后者所用的香料和骨頭造型。二者可能本出同源嗎？卡薩爾認(rèn)為很有可能，因?yàn)樗l(fā)現(xiàn)菲戈拉最早的記載是在1660年，這說(shuō)明亡靈骨頭餅干的歷史可以追溯到17世紀(jì)。

But why were they created in the first place？ “It is very much typical to our way of life，” says Cassar. “It is tied in with fate.” In other words， memento mori are everywhere. Churches all over Malta are decorated with skulls and skeletons. The most famous， St. John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta， sports marble floors that depict skeletons doing everything from wielding scythes to reading scripture.

那么，這些點(diǎn)心最初是因何而產(chǎn)生的呢？“這很符合我們的生活方式?！笨ㄋ_爾說(shuō)，“與命運(yùn)密切相關(guān)。”換句話說(shuō)，銘記死亡無(wú)處不在。馬耳他各地的教堂都裝飾著頭骨和骷髏，其中最著名的要屬瓦萊塔的圣約翰大教堂，大理石地板上描繪著做出揮舞鐮刀、閱讀經(jīng)文等各種動(dòng)作的骷髏。

Christianity has had a hold on Malta since the dawn of the religion， evidenced by the many early Christian catacombs around the island nation， most notably St. Paul’s Catacombs in Rabat. Even during Arab rule， from the 9th century until the Norman invasion in 1091， Christianity was never fully erased.

自有宗教以來(lái)，基督教便影響著馬耳他，這一點(diǎn)可以通過(guò)這個(gè)島國(guó)上許多早期的基督教地下墓穴——尤其是拉巴特的圣保羅地下墓穴——得到印證。即使在9世紀(jì)至1091年諾曼人入侵前的阿拉伯人統(tǒng)治時(shí)期，基督教也從未被徹底抹去。

Cassar says that while the church always encouraged people from all walks of life to do good deeds， the pressure was stronger around November 2. Even children were traditionally called to pray for the spirits of the dead in purgatory， and were rewarded with sweets for their efforts. The existence of bone-shaped treats might have reflected local practices as well. Along with people visiting cemeteries， Cassar also recalls that churches once displayed empty coffins covered in black cloth in November to further remind attendees of the other side.

卡薩爾稱，盡管教會(huì)也一直勸誡各行各業(yè)的人們行善，但11月2日前后勸得更緊。按照傳統(tǒng)，連孩子們也會(huì)被要求為煉獄中的亡靈祈禱，并因此得到糖果作為獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)。骨頭形狀點(diǎn)心的存在或許也反映了當(dāng)?shù)氐牧?xí)俗。除了人們前來(lái)墓地祭祖，卡薩爾還回憶說(shuō)，教堂還曾在11月展示蓋著黑布的空棺，進(jìn)一步讓來(lái)訪者聯(lián)想到彼岸世界。

Cassar doesn’t believe that these rites have pre-Christian roots， as they are strongly linked to Catholic doctrine. In some ways， the rituals aren’t so different from the cemetery visits and Pan de Muerto5 of Mexico’s Día de los Muertos6 and the celebrations in other Catholic countries. But Malta’s version has evolved in unique ways， thanks to its separation from the mainland.

卡薩爾認(rèn)為，這類儀式并非源于前基督教時(shí)期，因?yàn)樗鼈兣c天主教教義息息相關(guān)。從某些方面來(lái)說(shuō)，這些風(fēng)俗與墨西哥亡靈節(jié)時(shí)的亡靈面包和去往墓地的風(fēng)俗，以及其他天主教國(guó)家的慶祝活動(dòng)相差無(wú)幾。然而，因?yàn)檫h(yuǎn)離大陸，馬耳他的風(fēng)俗經(jīng)歷了獨(dú)特的演變。

November food traditions weren’t limited to g?adam tal-mejtin. According to Cassar， as recently as the mid-20th century， some communities would let a pig run free with a bell around its neck. Each home in the neighborhood would feed it leftovers and scraps when they heard it approach. Once it had reached its desired weight， the pig would be slaughtered， roasted， and served to the less fortunate as il-?an?ira tal-erwie?， which roughly translates to “the sow of souls.”

11月的美食傳統(tǒng)不僅限于亡靈骨頭餅干。據(jù)卡薩爾說(shuō)，近到20世紀(jì)中葉，有的社區(qū)還會(huì)放養(yǎng)一只脖子上掛著鈴鐺的豬。聽(tīng)到豬靠近時(shí)，附近的人家都會(huì)拿些殘羹剩飯投喂。等豬長(zhǎng)到理想的體重后，就會(huì)被宰殺，然后烤熟，作為il-?an?ira tal-erwie?（大致可以翻譯為“靈豬”）分給那些不幸的人。

Cassar and his team are now bringing Month of the Dead traditions to delicious life in modern Malta. Heritage Malta plans to host a dinner on October 28. It will feature roasted pig; ma?luta， a bittersweet wine cocktail representing the joys and sorrows of life; and a kind of garlic bread， ftieti tal-g?a?a， that’s eaten when families are in mourning. Most importantly， there will be g?adam tal-mejtin， Malta’s bone-shaped cookies， to serve as a reminder that life is short， so it may as well be sweet.

卡薩爾及其團(tuán)隊(duì)正在將“亡靈月”的傳統(tǒng)融入現(xiàn)代馬耳他的美味生活中。馬耳他遺產(chǎn)局計(jì)劃于10月28日舉辦一場(chǎng)晚宴，主菜是烤豬、寓意人生悲喜交加的苦甜味葡萄酒雞尾酒ma?luta，以及家庭哀悼逝者時(shí)吃的一種蒜香面包ftieti tal-g?a?a。最重要的是，還會(huì)有馬耳他的骨形餅干“亡靈骨頭”，提醒人們?nèi)松虝海环吝^(guò)得甜蜜一些。

1里科塔奶酪，或譯歐芝撻奶酪，是源自意大利的一種乳清奶酪。" 2一種馬耳他傳統(tǒng)小吃，外皮為起酥面包，加入奶酪、豌豆、香腸等各種內(nèi)餡。" 3一種傳統(tǒng)的馬耳他復(fù)活節(jié)糕點(diǎn)。在兩片烘焙餅干間夾入杏仁餡料，再裹上糖霜或巧克力進(jìn)行裝飾，可以做出各種形狀和圖案。" 4 memento mori〈拉丁語(yǔ)〉，字面意思是“人終有一死”。

5 〈西班牙語(yǔ)〉，指墨西哥亡靈節(jié)的傳統(tǒng)美食“亡靈面包”。" 6 〈西班牙語(yǔ)〉，義為“亡靈節(jié)”。