Omurumendu omutone worumbweze The whistling man
Magda Swartz
Petrus Amuthenu
Asnath Mundjindjiri, Angelika Tjouṱuku
Otjiherero
Level 4
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Ndino Oroviungura nu Rico ma i kotjihuro pu na ina. Eye wa suvera okuyenda kotjihuro. Kotjihuro ku kara nondjoroka. Oko ku na oviṋa ovingi okutara.
It’s Saturday and Rico is going to town with his mother. He likes going to town. Town is exciting! There are lots of things to see.
Rico wa ṱiza eke ra ina oupame. Ovo mave pingasana novandu ovengi.
Rico holds his mother’s hand very tightly. Streams of people are passing by.
Opo pe na ovitara ovingi mbi mavi randisa oviungurwa ongongo vyokomake.
There are stalls selling beautiful handmade crafts.
Pe na oumbahe mbwa kororwa motukuṋe, omasembi nozohwa mbya ungurwa pozonḓarata noundjendje wovivara pekepeke, noviṋa vyomosengo mbya ungurwa pomai wombo.
There are small giraffes carved out of wood, chameleons and lizards made out of wire and coloured beads, and jewellery made from ostrich egg shell.
Tjimanga eye wa zuu! Pe na omundu ngu ma tono orumbweze ama imbura embiriro indi ewa “Amazing Grace”. Eye wa kurama okupuratena. Ombosiro hapo mai zu munda uṋe?
Then he hears it! Someone is whistling the sweet melody of ‘Amazing Grace.’ He stops to listen. Where is it coming from?
“Ami hi ya rora okumuna omundu ngu ma tono orumbweze nawa nao nganda mba kwatwa.
“I’ve never heard anyone whistle so beautifully before,” he thinks to himself.
Eye wa kawondja okutuurunga mokati kovandu. Tjimanga eye wa muna omurumendu ingwi ngu ma tono orumbweze. Ovandu mave twa mo ovimariva mokarooha momurungu we. Posiya … pe na otjiṋa tji tji he ri nawa…
He makes his way through the people. Then he sees the man who is whistling. People are putting coins into a small tin in front of him. But … something is wrong …
Omurumendu omutone worumbweze ke nokutara movandu. Ke nokutara movimariva. Ke nokoṋa ku ma tara kaparukaze. Eye ma vyavyanga ovimariva mokarooha ne vi twa mondjaṱu ye.
The whistling man is not looking at the people. He is not looking at the money. He is not looking at anything. He’s searching for the coins in the tin and putting them into his pocket.
Rico wa tara ohwiririri momurumendu omutone worombweze nu e ripura, “Mutu eye omupoṱu.” Rico ke yarora okumuna omundu omupoṱu momwinyo we. Eye ma tira. Eye wa handa kombanda yaina na pura kaṱiṱi, “Mama, omurumendu ngwo omupoṱu?”
Rico stares at the whistling man and thinks, “Maybe he’s blind.” Rico has never seen a blind person before. He feels scared. He grabs his mother’s dress and asks softly, “Mommy, is that man blind?”
Ina wa kambura eke re. “Ii,” eye wa ziri, “ii, eye omupoṱu. Tara, eye u na okati okavapa. Ovandu ovapoṱu ovengi ve kara nouti ouvapa. Okati ngo u vyavyanga na ko ovitoto momurungu we na wina okutara na ko oviputarise vyarwe mbi ri mondjira.”
She takes his hand. “Yes,” she answers, “yes, he’s blind. Look, he has a white stick. Many blind people carry a white stick. He uses this stick to feel for holes and other obstacles.”
“Nu eye we ya vi kotjihuro? Eye wa kapitira pi mokati kovandu avehe mbo nao?” Rico wa pura.
“But how did he come to town? How did he find his way through all the people?” Rico asks.
Ina we mu raere, “Ngahino u na omundu ngu mu vatera okumutwara koṋa ku ma vanga. Omundu ngwo u isana kutja omunane wokorupangu.”
His mother tells him, “Maybe he has someone who helps him to find his way around. We call that person a guide.”
Ovo va ya koruveze rwomasuviro ndu isanewa kutja orumbo rovipuka. Omarambe wondjeverero wondjira ya raisa erambe engirine, ovihaouto vya kurama nu ovakaende vopehi va kondo omuvanda.
They walk to the zoopark. The traffic lights change to green, the cars stop and the pedestrians cross the street.
“Tara erambe engirine. Erambe tji ra rire engirine eṱe matu munu kutja kaku na ovihauto tu sokukonda ondjira. Momahi tjiva porumwe pe posa ombosiro okahiva, “ina ya Rico wa tja.” Ovandu ovapoṱu tjiva zuu okahiva, ve tjiwa kutja ovihauto vya kurama nu ovo mave sokukonda ondjira.”
“Look at the green light. When it is green we can see it is safe to cross the road. In some countries there is also a beeping sound,” Rico’s mother says. “When blind people hear the beeping, they know it is safe to cross the road.”
Owo va haama pehozu engirine ndi ri moruveze rwomasuviro nokutarera ovandu tji mave ryanga. “Ovandu ovapoṱu tjiva ve na ozombwa nḓe ve nana korupangu,” ina wa tja. “Ozombwa nḓo za hongwa okuvatera ovahona vazo, posiya ze kosa ondiru tjinene. Ozombwa nḓa ozonḓiṱi tjinene motjivaro mOnamibia.”
They sit on the green grass of the zoopark and watch the people walking by. “Some blind people have a guide dog,” his mother says. “These dogs are trained to guide their owner, but they are very expensive. There are very few guide dogs in Namibia.”
“Omundu omupoṱu katarere oratiyo yoviperendero,” Rico wa tja. “Eye u yenena okupuratena koratiyo yoviperendero noratiyo, ina ya Rico we mu raere. “Ovandu ovapoṱu ve yenena okuzuva nawa okukapita ovandu imba mbe muna.”
“The blind man can’t watch TV,” Rico says. “He can hear the TV and radio,” Rico’s mother tells him. “Blind people can often hear things much better than people who can see.”
“Nungwari eye ka yenene okuresa omambo poo ozokurande,” Rico wa tja. “Pe na omambo nga tjangwa momuano ovapoṱu mu ve resa nokutjanga. Moruveze romambo nge tjangwa noinga, pe na outootoo mbu ungura ozoreṱera. Ihi tji ri tjingee otjiraise tjomahakaeneno.”
“But he can’t read books or newspapers,” says Rico. “There are books written in Braille. Instead of words printed with ink, there are raised dots which make letters. It’s like a code.”
“Eye u resa vi ndoovazu ka munu?” “Eye u resa nomake. Eye u ṋuṋunga outootoo mbwa tundama nominwe vye, tjimuna ove tji u muna ozoreṱera nomeho woye.”
“How can he read if he can’t see?” “He reads with his hands. He feels the raised dots with his fingers, just like you see the letters with your eyes.”
Rico wa temwa kutja ovandu ovapoṱu ve yenena okutjita oviṋa avihe; tjimuna okukawondja ongondoroka notjihuro, okuimbura omaimburiro korumbweze nu ve yenena okuresa wina.
Rico is amazed to think that people who are blind can do everyday things; things like walking around in town, like whistling songs, like reading.
Ina we mu raere, “Ombangu pokati ka ove nomundu omupoṱu oyo ndji yokutja ove u muna omundu omupoṱu kamunu.” “Ami mbi muna, posiya hi yenene okutona orumbweze oruwa tjimuna omurumendu ngwo omupoṱu,” Rico wa yorayora.
His mother tells him, “The only difference between you and a blind person is that you can see and a blind person can’t see.” “I can see, but I can’t whistle as beautifully as that blind man,” Rico smiles.
Written by: Magda Swartz
Illustrated by: Petrus Amuthenu
Translated by: Asnath Mundjindjiri, Angelika Tjouṱuku
Language: Otjiherero
Level: Level 4
Source: The whistling man from African Storybook
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.