Katughuru ghomushiyo The whistling man
Magda Swartz
Petrus Amuthenu
Maria M. Dikuua
Thimbukushu
Level 4
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MuMapeghu Rico kuna kuyenda kudoropa nanyina. Aye gha haka kuyenda kudoropa. Doropa ne kunyanyukitha! Yingi yinu yo kumona.
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 ghana ngumata kudyoko dyanyina. Hanu hohengi hana kupitapita.
Rico holds his mother’s hand very tightly. Streams of people are passing by.
Poghadi maghurithero apa ha ghurithanga yiyuwaghura yoyiwa.
There are stalls selling beautiful handmade crafts.
Kodhidhi mvashe dhodhimbiru edhi ha yuwa noyitondo, marughongoro no mihurudhi eyi ha tenditha no ndarata no yipako ghokumarudhikumarudhi, no yifughuritho yokushupata eyi ha tenditha no yikerera yomahonyi ghomwe.
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.
Munyimadhopo kokwiya! Poghadi ghana kushiya no kaywi kokatowi ‘Kutetuka ghukugha’. Ko kwimana gha tegherere. Kupi ghuna kutunderera?
Then he hears it! Someone is whistling the sweet melody of ‘Amazing Grace.’ He stops to listen. Where is it coming from?
“Shime ni shemwa kokuyuva munu gho kushiya ghufughuri,” dyogha ghayarire papendi thinda.
“I’ve never heard anyone whistle so beautifully before,” he thinks to himself.
Koku konaghuka mwawanu. Munyimadhopo kokumona katughuru oyu ghana kushiyanga. Hanu kuna kutura muwayawaya muthindoha thothimburu ethi thidi kughutho dhendi. Ene… poyidi yina piri kuhungama.
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 …
Katughuru ghokushiya mbadi ghana kukenga kwawanu. Mbadi ghana kukenga masherenyi agha hana kumupa. Mbadi ghana kukenga kukehe thinu. Aye kuna kupapatera muwayawaya oghu hana mu turera muthindoha no kughutura mudirimba dyendi.
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 gha nungurukire katughuru yu no kughayara, “Pamweya ghafa meho.” Shime gha shemwa Rico ko kumona munu ghomukunga. Aye gha yapire. Gho gha ngumatire kumuthithi wanyina no kwipura ghuhohota, “Nawe, uyo katughuru ne gha fa meho ndi?”
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?”
Nyina koku tumbura dyoko dyendi. “Nhii”, gha mu huthire, ” kemo mukunga. Mone, nomburo dhendi dhodhikenu. Hengi hanu ho hakunga hana shimbanga mburo dhodhikenu. Aye kwarughanithanga mburo dhi mu kunongonona oku kudi dikwina no yinu yimweya yo kupira kuroghera.
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.”
“Ene ngepi ghana neya kudoropa? Ngepi edi ghana piti hanu waheya wa?” Rico ghepure.
“But how did he come to town? How did he find his way through all the people?” Rico asks.
Nyina gha mu tongwere, ” Pamweya koghadi munu oyu gha mughamwenanga mukumukoka kate na gha kume. Oyo munu kwa mutoyanga eshi muneghedhi.”
His mother tells him, “Maybe he has someone who helps him to find his way around. We call that person a guide.”
Awo kuyenda kate ku’zoopark’. Maroboti kukutjindja gha kare thinamahako, yighaghuto ko kwimana no hanu ha tjinaghane thitavura.
They walk to the zoopark. The traffic lights change to green, the cars stop and the pedestrians cross the street.
’” Mone kumaramba ghothinamahako. Ngeshi ghana muneka thinamahako atwe kidimuka eshi mughukungi mwene tu di kukona ngenyu kutjinaghana thitavura. Mumatunga ghamweya amo ne kawanamo thipembitho,” gha ghamba nyina Rico. ” Hakunga pa kuyuva diywi dyothipembitho, awo ku yi dikuka eshi mumakungero mwene hadi kukona ha tjinaghane thitavura.”
“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.”
Awo kuhungumana pa muhonyi ghothinamahako ghomu’zoopark’ no kurorera hanu awa hana kupita. “Hakunga hamweya ha kara no mbwa ghokuneghedha,” nyina gha ghambire. “Odho mbwa ne hadhi deghura mukuneghedha ha hekudyadho, ene ndhiro keho. MuNamibia ne dhipumo mbwa dhokuneghedha.”
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.”
“Oyu katughuru gho kufa meho mbadiko kurorera tivi,” gha ghambire Rico.’Aye kukona kuyuva eyi hana kughamba mutivi nomuradiyo,” Nyina gha mu tonwgere. ” Hanu hohakunga kukona kuyuva yinu kupitakana hanu hokumona.”
“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.”
“Ene mbadi wa kutoya mambapira endi kakorambundhi,” gha ghambire Rico. “Poghadi mambapira agha ha twanga mu’Braille’. Mudyango dyo mañando agha ha twanga kumahina noingi, awo yitjangarandathana kwayi fughura notundjototundjoto.
“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.”
“Ngepi edi sho gha toye ngeshi yene mbadiko kumona?” ” Aye kutoya no nyara dhendi. Aye kupapatera tundjototudjoto otu ha fughura no nyara dhendi, kenge vene ghuna monanga yitjangarandathana mumeho ghoye.
“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 gha tetukire mukughayara eshi hakunga nawo kukona ha rughane yinu yo kehe diyuwa; yinu yira kuyendaghura mudoropa, kushiyaghura membo, kutoya.
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.
Nyina gha mu tongwere, ” Apa ngenyu mwakutjakera pakatji koye nomukunga owe ne kumona no aye ne ghafa meho mbadi wakumona.” ” Ame ne kumona, ene mbadi wa kukona kushiya ghufughuri yira mukunga, ” Rico gha 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: Maria M. Dikuua
Language: Thimbukushu
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.