Mugara gokusivagera The whistling man
Magda Swartz
Petrus Amuthenu
Valentin Mpasi
Rukwangali
Level 4
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MoMapeu Rico nonane vendi tava zi kodoropa. Age kwa hara kuza nkenye apa kuza kodoropa. Kodoropa kuwa unene. Kwa kara ko yininke yoyinzi yokuvhura ku ka mona.
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 ta kwaterere kononyara donane vendi unene. Vantu wovanzi kuna kupita-pita.
Rico holds his mother’s hand very tightly. Streams of people are passing by.
Kuna kara ko mavangorandesero yihongagura yomutaro yokomawoko.
There are stalls selling beautiful handmade crafts.
Kuna kumoneka po nombahe vahonga noyitji, varugongoro ntani novamusugururu varuganesa konondarate noyiranda yomaruvara, noyifuwilisopeke yokudwara varuganesa koyitemba yomauta gompo.
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.
Makura ta yi zuvhu! Kweli gumwe ana kupwagesa ngovera zontovara monsiva zo ‘Amazing Grace.’ Ta sikama a purakene. Kupi ko zina kutundilira?
Then he hears it! Someone is whistling the sweet melody of ‘Amazing Grace.’ He stops to listen. Where is it coming from?
“Ana huru apa nizuvhe muntu gokusiva ufuuli ngesi,” yimo ga gazarere pwamwene.
“I’ve never heard anyone whistle so beautifully before,” he thinks to himself.
Ta pinauka movantu. Makura ta mono mugara ogu ana kusiva. Vantu kuna kutura yisilinga yoyitenda mokandorohwa kokanunu ka kere komeho zendi. Nye … koyili ya dilire kuwapa …
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 …
Mugara ogu gokusiva kapi ana kutara kovantu. Kapi ana kutara koyimaliva. Kwato tupu oku ana kutara. Age kuna kupapara yisilinga yoyitenda mokandorohwa kumwe nokuyitura melimba lyendi.
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 yipo ganungurukilire mugara ogu nokugazara, “Mpamwe mutwiku.” Rico ha ga hura opo a mone rumwe mutwiku. Age kwa kere ana tjira. Ta dodere mohema zonane vendi nokuvapura nezwi lyenkenda, “Nane, ogwina mugara mutwiku?”
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?”
Yipo va gusire kuwoko kwendi. “Nhi” tava mulimbura, “nhi, mutwiku. Tara, age kuna kara nositji sosizera. Vatwiku wovanzi kusimba sitji sosizera. Age kuruganesa sitji esi yipo a dimburure oku kuna kara makero ntani nayimwe peke.”
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.”
“Nye ngapi omu ana gendi a ya sike kodoropa? Ngap omu ana ana pinauka mombunga zovantu navenye ava? Yimo ga pulire Rico.
“But how did he come to town? How did he find his way through all the people?” Rico asks.
Onane vendi tava mutantere asi, “Mpamwe ga kara nomuntu ogu a vhuru ku mu vatera mokumupinaukisa. Ose kumutumbura muntu gwangesi asi Mupukuruli.
His mother tells him, “Maybe he has someone who helps him to find his way around. We call that person a guide.”
Tava gendi dogoro poZoopark. Noroboti tadi litjindji di kare sinamahako, matuwa ta ga sikama ano vantu tava taguruka sitarata.
They walk to the zoopark. The traffic lights change to green, the cars stop and the pedestrians cross the street.
“Tara koramba zosinamahako. Nsene tumo asi sinamahako ngoso kapi pana kara hena siponga kwetu mokutaguruka sitaura. Moyirongo yimwe ku kara po ezogerero lyepembeso,” yimo va uyungire onane vendi. “Vatwiku apa ava zuvhu nye muhagaro ogu gepembseso, tava diva nye asi kapi yina kara siponga mokutaguruka sitaura.”
“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.”
Tava yingire powayi wosikwiliva wopoZoopark oku tava tara vantu vana kupita-pita. “Vatwiku vamwe kwa kara nombwa ezi azi va pukurura,” yiwo onane vendi. “Nombwa odo kwa di deura di pukurure venyado, nye ado ndiro sili zonene. Nombwa dangesi nonsesu da kara mo 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.”
“Mutwiku kapi a tara TV,” yige Rico. “Age kuzuvha TV ntani Radio,” yimo vamutanterere onane vendi. “Vatwiku kuzuvha yininke kupitakana vantu ava ava mono.”
“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.”
“Nye kapi a resa nobuke ndi a rese nosaitunga,” yige Rico. “Kodili nobuke vatjanga nonoBraille. Mevega asi varuganese inka mokutjanga nonkango, awo nondanda kwadifulisa yipo asi mutwiku a vhure kudipapatere nomawoko a rese.
“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.”
“Ngapi omu na resa nsene age kapi a mono? “Age kuresa nononyara dendi. Kupapatera koyo vafulisa nononyara dendi, ngwendi momu tupu o mono nondanda nomenho goge.”
“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 ana tetuka mo ku gazara asi vantu vatwika nawo kurugana yirugana ya nkenye ezuva; yininke ngwendi kugendagura modoropa, kusivagera nonsumo, ngwendi kuresa.
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.
Onane vendi tava mutantere asi, “Elisigo tupu pokatji koge nomutwiku lyeli asi ove kumona ano mutwiku age kapi a mono.” “Ame kumona, nye kapi tani vhuru kusiva ufuuli sivhulise gwina mutwiku,” Rico ta mwenyuna.
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: Valentin Mpasi
Language: Rukwangali
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.