Mugara gokusiva The whistling man
Magda Swartz
Petrus Amuthenu
Karl Nairenge
Rukwangali
Level 4
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Ngesi kuna kara Mapeu ntani Rico kuna kuza kodoropa kumwe nozina. Age kwa hara kuza kodoropa. Doropa kuhafesa! Kwa kara mo yininke yoyinzi kutara.
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 kwa kwaterere unene kuwoko kozina. Nombunga dononzi dovantu kuna kupita.
Rico holds his mother’s hand very tightly. Streams of people are passing by.
Kuna kara po mavega gana kurandesa yininke va ruganesa vantu komawoko.
There are stalls selling beautiful handmade crafts.
Nombahe dononunu kwa di honga mositji. Varugongoro nomakangara kwa yi ruganesa kon odarate nonombare doruvara. Maurenga va ruganesa kositemba sompo.
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 yipo ga si zuvhire. Ngovera zontovara zorusumo ‘Hompa gEfumano’. Age kwa hagekere kupurakena. Kupiko zina kutundilira? Kuna kuzuvhika ngwendi muntu ana kusiva yinote yene-yene yorusumo ‘Hompa gEhafo’.
Then he hears it! Someone is whistling the sweet melody of ‘Amazing Grace.’ He stops to listen. Where is it coming from?
“Kapi na zuvha rumwe muntu a sivi uwaawa ngesi,” yimo ga gazarere pwamwene.
“I’ve never heard anyone whistle so beautifully before,” he thinks to himself.
Yipo ga gendere mokatji kovantu. Makura yipo ga mu mwene! Mugara. Mwenya ezwi lyokusiva. Vantu kuna kutura yimaliva yoyitenda mondorohwa zina kara komeho zomugara. Nye … po yi li yina lilimbi …
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 gokusiva kapi ana kutara vantu. Age kuna kutara koyimaliva. Kapi ana kutara kwankenye sininke. Age kuna kupapara yimaliva yoyitenda mondorohwa 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 ta tara mugara gokusiva, “Mpamwe kwa twika ga twika.” Rico kapi ga mona rumwe muntu gokutwika. Ta zuvhu woma. Ta kwata nononkondo koroko zozina nokupura nakauke, “Nane, ogo mugara kwa twika?”
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?”
Awo tava kwata kuwoko kwendi, “Yimo, kwa twika.” “Tara age kuna kara nompango zonzera. Sinzi sovantu wokutwika kusimba mpango zonzera. Age kuruganesa mpango ezi a papaterese ko makero noyizonagwisa yongandi.”
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 ana wiza kodoropa? Ngapi omu ana gendi movantu wovanzi ngesi?” Rico ana kupura ngoso.
“But how did he come to town? How did he find his way through all the people?” Rico asks.
Ozina tava mu tantere, “Mpamwe ga kara nomuntu ogu a mu pitisire nzira. Muntu ogo ose kumutumbura asi mulikidinzira.”
His mother tells him, “Maybe he has someone who helps him to find his way around. We call that person a guide.”
Awo kwa gendere va ze kevega lyoyikorama. Noramba dongendasano tadi lisinti ukwiliva, matuwa taga sikama ntani vagendi porupadi tava taguruka sitaura.
They walk to the zoopark. The traffic lights change to green, the cars stop and the pedestrians cross the street.
“Tara koramba zoukwiliva. Nsene zina kara ukwiliva ose kumona asi pana kara epopero mokutaguruka sitaura. Moyirongo yimwe kukara mo muhagaro gokukumba,” ozina vana kumutantera. “Nsene muntu gokutwika a zuvha muhagaro gokukumba ta diva asi pana kara epopero 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 hingire pongwena zoukwiliva zevega lyoyikorama nokutara vantu vana kugenda va ya va pite. “Vantu vamwe wokutwika kwa kara nonombwa dokuvapitisira. Nombwa odo kwa di ronga di pitisire mwenyazo. Nye, nombwa odo ndiro unene. MoNamibia nonsesu unene nombwa dokupitisira da kara mo.”
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.”
“Kapi ta vhuru kutara tivhi,” Rico ana kuuyunga ngoso. “Age kuzuvha tivhi noradio,” Ozina vaRico vana kumutantera. “Vantu wokutwika kwa hwa kuzuvha nawa 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 vhuru kuresa nobuke ndi nosaitunga,” Rico ana kuuyunga ngoso. “Po di li nobuke va tjangera vantu wokutwika montjangeso zoBreili. Mevega lyononkango va nduruka moyinka amo kwa karamo yindjomo-ndjomo eyi va rugana nondanda. Ngwendi nomoradiworokeso.”
“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 na resa nsene kapi a mono?” “Age kuresa nononyara dendi. Age kupapatera nononyara dendi yindjomo-ndjomo, ngwendi moomu o mono nondanda nomeho 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 sili unene mokugazara asi vantu ava va twika nawo kurugana yininke yankenye ezuva; yininke ngamoomu kugenda modoropa, ngamoomu kusiva nonsumo, ngamoomu 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.
Ozina tava mu tantere, “Elisigo tupu lya kara pokatji koge nomuntu gokutwika lyeeli tupu asi ove kumona ano muntu gokutwika kapi a mono.” “Ame kumona, nye kapi ani vhuru kusiva uwaawa ngwendi gogwina mugara gokutwika,” Rico ta menyuna.
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: Karl Nairenge
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.