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O AKONDO DE SUAU

THE AKOND OF SWAT         

(de Edward Lear / tradução: Cecilia Silva Furquim Marinho)

O AKONDO DE SUAU

Quem, por quê, o quê, ou qual é o Akondo de Suau?

Ele é alto ou baixo, preto ou branco?

Ele senta em sofá bem macio ou banco                       

                                                                                      de PAU

                                                                               O Akondo de Suau?

O café ele bebe frio ou quente?

Ele é idoso ou jovem, tolo, demente                    

                                                                                   ou GENIAL

                                                                               O Akondo de Suau?

Ele trota, galopa, cai ou levanta?

Ele declama ou fala, assobia ou canta                   

                                                                                   no CORAL

                                                                               O Akondo de Suau?

Põe turbante, um fez ou um sombrero?

Dorme numa esteira ou em cama solteiro           

                                                                                    ou CASAL,

                                                                               O Akondo de Suau?

Quando ele copia ou escreve um conto

Ele cruza os Ts, e coloca ponto                                

                                                                                      FINAL,

                                                                              O Akondo de Suau?

Ele pode desenhar uma figura

Sem nenhuma mancha, borrão, rasura                     

                                                                                    ou SINAL,

                                                                             O Akondo de Suau?

Seu povo tem por ele veneração

Ou, se podem, tramam uma rebelião                      

                                                                                     GERAL

                                                                     Contra o Akondo de Suau?

Se ele os pega, com saúde boa ou fraca,

Ele enforca, atira ou golpeia com faca             

                                                                                  ou PUNHAL                               

                                                                              O Akondo de Suau? 

Seu povo rouba por detrás do muro?

Ou às vezes até provoca, no escuro                 

                                                                                um FUNERAL

                                                                            Ao Akondo de Suau?

Ele estuda as carências do seu domínio?

Ou nem liga se o acusam de latrocínio               

                                                                                  no JORNAL,

                                                                              O Akondo de Suau?

Para diverti-lo lhe ofertam, como lema,

Figuras ou, de alguém, seu último poema               

                                                                                    AUTORAL

                                                                              Ao Akondo de Suau?

`A noite, se ele grita ou acorda,

Eles trazem muito ou pouca torta                       

                                                                                  ou MINGAU

                                                                              Ao Akondo de Suau?

Ele consome tripas, chá ou avelã?

Ele gosta de roupas feitas com lã                    

                                                                               ou com PERCAL,

                                                                              O Akondo de Suau?

Ele gosta de, deitado, olhar os astros

Como o homem, que do céu seguiu os rastros,       

                                                                                    NICOLAU

                                                                               O Akondo de Suau?

É quieto ou está sempre fazendo alvoroço?

Seu zelador é da França, Mato Grosso,              

                                                                                 ou SENEGAL

                                                                             O Akondo de Suau?

Relaxa ouvindo as ondas, sem uniforme?

Ou roncando numa caverna, dorme                         

                                                                                        MAL,

                                                                              O Akondo de Suau?

Bebe um pouco de cerveja da taça,

da tijela, do copo, caneca, cabaça                     

                                                                                  ou do DEDAL                                             

                                                                              O Akondo de Suau?

Ele bate na mulher como uma fera

Se ela serve fruta passada ou exagera                    

                                                                                      no SAL

                                                                             O Akondo de Suau?

Usa gravata quando janta acompanhado,

E faz um nó simples, duplo, quadrado                   

                                                                                     ou OVAL,

                                                                              O Akondo de Suau?

Gosta de creme fresco e odeia isca?

Quando ele contempla o sol, ele pisca                    

                                                                                     AFINAL

                                                                              O Akondo de Suau?

Ensina seus súditos a assar ou tostar?

Ele navega pelo lago a girar                                 

                                                                                   numa NAU,

                                                                               O Akondo de Suau?

Alguém sabe que achei no manual

Quem, porquê, o quê ou qual

                                                                             É o Akondo de Suau!

THE AKOND OF SWAT

Who, or why, or which, or what,  

                                                                             Is the Akond of SWAT?
Is he tall or short, or dark or fair?
Does he sit on a stool or a sofa or chair,

                                                                                      or SQUAT?
                                                                               The Akond of Swat?

Is he wise or foolish, young or old?
Does he drink his soup and his coffee cold,

                                                                                          or HOT,
                                                                               The Akond of Swat?

Does he sing or whistle, jabber or talk,
And when riding abroad does he gallop or walk,

                                                                                         or TROT,
                                                                                The Akond of Swat?

Does he wear a turban, a fez, or a hat?
Does he sleep on a mattress, a bed, or a mat,

                                                                                        or a COT,
                                                                                The Akond of Swat?

When he writes a copy in round-hand size,
Does he cross his T's and finish his I's,

                                                                                    with a DOT,
                                                                               The Akond of Swat?

Can he write a letter concisely clear
Without a speck or a smudge or smear

                                                                                        or BLOT,
                                                                               The Akond of Swat?

Do his people like him extremely well?
Or do they, whenever they can, rebel,

                                                                                        or PLOT,
                                                                             At the Akond of Swat?

If he catches them then, either old or young,
Does he have them chopped in pieces or hung,

                                                                                        or shot,
                                                                               The Akond of Swat?

Do his people prig in the lanes or park?
Or even at times, when days are dark,

                                                                                    GAROTTE?
                                                                              O the Akond of Swat!

Does he study the wants of his own dominion?
Or doesn't he care for public opinion

                                                                                         a JOT,
                                                                               The Akond of Swat?

To amuse his mind do his people show him
Pictures, or any one's last new poem,

                                                                                     or WHAT,
                                                                           For the Akond of Swat?

At night if he suddenly screams and wakes,
Do they bring him only a few small cakes,

                                                                                     or a LOT,
                                                                           For the Akond of Swat?

Does he live on turnips, tea, or tripe?
Does he like his shawl to be marked with a stripe,

                                                                                    or a DOT,       
                                                                           The Akond of Swat?

Does he like to lie on his back in a boat
Like the lady who lived in that isle remote,

                                                                                  SHALLOTT,
                                                                            The Akond of Swat?

Is he quiet, or always making a fuss?
Is his steward a Swiss or a Swede or a Russ,

                                                                                    or a SCOT,
                                                                            The Akond of Swat?

Does he like to sit by the calm blue wave?
Or to sleep and snore in a dark green cave,

                                                                                    or a GROTT,
                                                                               The Akond of Swat?

Does he drink small beer from a silver jug?
Or a bowl? or a glass? or a cup? or a mug?

                                                                                      or a POT,
                                                                               The Akond of Swat?

Does he beat his wife with a gold-topped pipe,
When she lets the gooseberries grow too ripe,

                                                                                      or ROT,        
                                                                              The Akond of Swat?

Does he wear a white tie when he dines with friends,
And tie it neat in a bow with ends,

                                                                                    or a KNOT,
                                                                              The Akond of Swat?

Does he like new cream, and hate mince-pies?
When he looks at the sun does he wink his eyes

                                                                                     or NOT

                                                                               The Akond of Swat?

Does he teach his subjects to roast and bake?
Does he sail about on an inland lake,

                                                                                  in a YACHT,
                                                                              The Akond of Swat?

Some one, or nobody, knows I wot
Who or which or why or what

                                                                             Is the Akond of Swat!

--> For the existence of this potentate see Indian newspapers, passim. The proper way to read the verses is to make an immense emphasis on the monosyllabic rhymes, which indeed ought to be shouted out by a chorus.

Comentário:

O poema é construído a partir de um jogo de adivinhas. Ele oferece um nome pouco familiar ao universo dos leitores europeus e propõe uma série de perguntas para sugerir uma imagem que possa representar esse nome. No fim, o eu lírico esclarece saber quem preenche essa representação, mas não compartilha o conhecimento com o leitor, deixando uma curiosidade no ar.  A chave para o fim do mistério aparece na nota que acompanha o poema, indicando que jornais indianos teriam informações deste soberano.

Ao pesquisar, descobre-se que Swat é o nome de um Principado que havia sido até 1947 uma província do Império Britânico. Então foi assimilado pelo Paquistão, tendo suas fronteiras dissolvidas em 1969. Antes do século VIII a região abrigava Budistas e Indus, que foram a partir desta época invadidos por Muçulmanos Árabes. Na era moderna, eles foram controlados por líderes religiosos que se intitulavam Akhoond (ou Akhund ou Akond), termo que designava um líder espiritual da Pérsia e de partes da Ásia Central. O Estado Islâmico de Swat foi fundado em 1849 e foi governado pelo Akond a que Lear se refere: Sayyid Akbar Shah. Ele morre em 1878.

Na tradução inventei um possível abrasileiramento dos nomes Swat para Suau e Akond para Akondo. 

Fonte: LEAR, Edward. Nonsense Songs and Stories. ninth and revised edition with additional songs and an introduction by Sir E. Strachey. Nonsense Songs and Stories was first published in Great Britain in 1871. This revised ninth edition was published by Frederick Warne & Co in 1894. This facsimile edition published in 1984 by Chancelor Press, London. pp 84 a 86.

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