In many world cultures, menstruation has traditionally been seen as a source of intense female spiritual power, sometimes feared, sometimes revered. Here are 10 views on menstruation from throughout history.
在世界各地文化中，"大姨妈"历来被视为女性强大的精神力量源泉，人们有时害怕它，有时又崇拜它。纵观历史，我们来看看以下10种对"大姨妈"的不同观点。
10.石头怪
Blood is an important part of the traditional Cherokee belief system, symbolizing life. Beliefs about procreation assert that a baby's flesh and blood are contributed by the mother, while the father's sperm becomes the basis of the skeleton. Menstrual blood was considered particularly powerful, symbolic of female strength, and could be channeled against an enemy in sorcery, warfare, and ball-game rituals.
鲜血是切罗基人传统信仰中重要的组成部分，象征着生命。关于生育的信仰，他们断言，新生儿的血肉是由母亲提供的，而父亲的精子则成为了骨架的主要部分。他们认为经血是特别强大的，象征着女性力量，并能在巫术、战争以及球赛中用来对付敌人。
A Cherokee legend tells of a cannibalistic monster named Nun'yunu'wi, or Stoneclad. He was virtually invulnerable to attack due to his stone-like skin, and no warrior could ever hope to defeat him. He would lurk in the mountains, with a magical stick guiding him like a dog, where he would track, kill, and eat hapless hunters whom he stumbled across. His one weakness was that he could not bear to look at a menstruating woman. Though no Cherokee warrior could defeat him, he was destroyed in an encounter with seven menstruating virgins. One by one, they stood in his path and sapped his strength, and he crumbled into dust.
切罗基人有个传说，讲述的是关于一个叫做奴尤诺维或者石头怪的食人怪物。由于这个怪物拥有岩石般坚硬的皮肤，所以他几乎是无懈可击的，没有任何一个勇士有希望能够打败他。他隐居深山，有一根专属魔杖，这魔杖拥有像狗一样灵敏的嗅觉，引导他追踪、杀害并吃掉那些被他绊倒的倒霉猎人们。这个怪物唯一的弱点就是无法忍受看到一个来"大姨妈"的女性。尽管没有一个切罗基族勇士可以打败他，但面对7个处于经期的处女时，这个"石头人"却能被瓦解。这7个处女一个接一个地站在怪物所处的道路上，削弱他的力量，使他碎成粉末。
9.布须曼少女的初潮仪式
The Kung people of southern Africa believe that menstrual blood is a powerful life force, and a girl's first menstruation is believed to contain powerful num, or spiritual energy. When a girl first menstruates, she must go through the menarcheal rite, which involves isolation from others and avoiding certain activities. When a girl becomes aware of her first menstruation, she must crouch low with her eyes downcast until a woman mentor assists her. This mentor is not her mother, as the spiritual energy of first menstruation and childbirth are dangerous to combine.
非洲南部的布须曼人认为，经血是一种强大的生命力，一个女孩的初潮也被认为是牵制敌军的有力武器，或者精神能量。女孩第一次来"大姨妈"时，她必须经历初潮仪式，其中包括与他人隔离及避免某些活动。当一个女孩意识到她的初潮到来，她必须蹲下，低垂双眼，直到有一个女性导师来帮助她。该导师不能是这个女孩的母亲，因为初潮和分娩两者精神能量的结合是一件很危险的事情。
A seclusion shelter is built for the girl, close to but separated from the community. As her spiritual energy is dangerously high, she must avoid affecting the environment. If the girl looks at the Sun, it would become hotter and destroy Earth plants; if she looks at the clouds, they would give no rain. She must be protected from touching the ground or rainwater. Also, she must be kept away from hunting men, as her powerful energy would reduce the power of their weapons and poison arrows and make the hunters lazy and lethargic.
少女初潮的精神能量具有高风险，为了避免对环境造成影响，为她们建的隔离场所离部落不远但又是完全隔开的。如果正处于初潮期的女孩看了太阳，太阳就会变得更热，地球上的植物也会因此遭到毁坏；如果她看了云层，就不会下雨了。她也不能接触地面或雨水。此外，她还必须离猎人们远远的，因为她强大的能量会降低他们武器和毒箭的力量，让猎人们变得懒惰、昏昏欲睡。
8.Beheading The Red Dragon
8."赤龙"截流
In ancient Taoist thought, menstrual blood is called chilong, or Red Dragon, and is the source of female energy. (Semen, meanwhile, is the source of male energy and is called White Tiger.) Women lose their qi energy through menstruation as men lose it through ejaculation. In alchemical gynecology, there were techniques to reduce a woman's menses to a yellow flow before disappearing altogether, allowing women to maintain their energy.
在古代道家的理念里，经血也叫"赤龙"，是女性能量的来源。（精液，也叫"白虎"White Tiger，是男性能力的来源。）女性在经期流失了"气"，男性则通过射精失掉气。古代炼金术中有一门关于妇科的技术——在女性的月经完全停止之前，把经血弄成一种黄色的流体，这样一来，经血带来的能量就能持续。
An ancient story tells of a young woman called Perfected Guan who fled into the mountains to escape an arranged marriage. There, she met an old man with thick eyebrows and blue eyes who drew a line on her stomach and said, "I have beheaded the red dragon for you. Now you can join the Dao." The methods were known as "transmuting blood and returning it to whiteness" and "refining the form of the Great Yin." Preventing menses required sexual purity, allowing women to "behead the Red Dragon." It was also meant to have the side effect of causing the breasts to retract. Taoist gynecologists recommended cultivating inner concentration and controlled stimulation of sexual energy through massaging the breasts.
传说有一个叫Perfected Guan的女人为了逃婚跑进了一座山里。在那里，她遇到了一个浓眉蓝眼的老人，老人在她的肚子上划了一道线，对她说："我已经停止了你的月经，现在你可以加入道教了。" 这个方法以让血进行内化作用变回纯白以及调整阴阳结构闻名。"性纯洁"是停经的前提，只有保证性纯洁才能"截断赤龙"。这样也就意味着还会存在胸部"缩水"的副作用。道教的"妇科医生"建议增强内在精力专注度以及通过胸部按摩控制性能量刺激。
7.禁忌
In Maori beliefs, tapu is the most important personal spiritual attribute, said to derive from the gods. It is both intensely personal and a universal force. Blood is said to be extremely tapu, and thus so are menstruating women. Therefore, this spiritual power means that restrictions of safety had to be placed on them. Menstruating women were not allowed to enter the sea, as sharks can smell the blood, nor were they allowed to ride horses, which can also smell blood.
在毛利人看来，禁忌是由上帝赋予的最重要的个人精神属性。一方面它是非常私人的，另一方面它也是普罗大众的权利。人们极度忌讳血，对经期的女性也如此。因此，这种精神的强制力就会给经期女性一些安全上的限制。她们不能靠近海洋，因为鲨鱼会嗅到血腥味；也不能骑马，马也会闻到。
Some claimed that menstruation was linked to the Moon, said to be the husband of all women, and that menstrual discharge was so tapu because it was considered as a kind of immature or undeveloped human being. Chiefs and other men of rank were said to avoid women, as contact with places polluted by menstrual power could rob them of clairvoyant power. Some have claimed that menstrual blood was considered "unclean," but others have said that this is a misconception based on the conflation of Maori mythological concepts with Christian ideas.In 2010, Te Papa Museum in Wellington, New Zealand, caused controversy when an installation of Maori jade artworks included a warning for "wahine (women) who are either hapu (pregnant) or mate wahine (menstruating)" to stay away, as the tapu of the objects and the tapu of menstruating women would be dangerous to put together.
有些人认为经期是和月亮联系在一起的，据说月亮是所有女性的丈夫，他们还认为，人们之所以如此忌讳月经，是因为他们将尚未停经的女性看作不成熟或是未发育完全的人类。据说首领和一些等级较高的都不接近女人，因为待在被经期的女性能量污染的地方会使他们失去洞察力。一些人认为月经血是不干净的，但也有人认为这种说法是建立在毛利神话概念和基督教理念结合之上的谬论。2010年，位于新西兰惠灵顿的蒂帕帕国家博物馆，在安装玛雅翡翠工艺品时引起了争议，因为该工艺品上有"孕妇和经期女性应远离"的警告，而物体禁忌和经期女性禁忌放在一起是很危险的。
6.女神之血
The Maya believe that menstruation and childbirth were linked to the Moon Goddess, sometimes known as Lady Blood or Ixchel. The Quiche Maya referred to menstruation as "the blood that stems from the moon," while the Itzaj Maya say "her moon is lowered" when a woman menstruates. The Tzotzil believed that the Moon itself was menstruating during the new moon.
玛雅人相信月经和分娩都与月亮女神——又名血娘和Lxcil有关。玛雅人把月经视为月亮流出的血液，当一个女人来例假时，玛雅伊特撒人会说"她的月亮降落了"。而索西族人则认为是月经是月亮自己在新月形成时流血。
Menstrual blood was considered a source of gendered power. Penile blood was the equivalent for men and was released in ritual ceremonies involving needles to allow them to be closer to the gods. In the case of women, it was seen as largely out of their control. One word for menstruation, yilic, derived from the word ilah or ilmah, translated as both "to menstruate" and "to see." Menstruation was seen as a form of sight, emanating not from the eyes but from the womb and the blood. Another Maya word for menstruation, u, also referred to the Moon and a month in the lunar calendar.
女人的经血被视为性功能的来源。与之相似的是男人的精液，在正常的性生活中受到刺激被释放出来，给男人带来一种仿佛置身天堂的幸福感。但女人的月经在很大程度上就不受控制了。有一个关于月经的词，yilic，来源于单词"航空（ilah)或（ilmah）"，被译为"月经来潮"或"看见"。月经被视为视线的一种，不同的是，它不是从眼睛里放射出来的，而是来源于子宫和血液。另一个关于月经的玛雅论断认为月经也涉及到月亮和农历中的某个月。
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