Omulumentu Omuhikimwilwa The whistling man
Magda Swartz
Petrus Amuthenu
Rauha Amwele
Rachel Nandjembo
Oshindonga
Level 4
Osha li Olyomakaya na Riko ota yi koshilado nayina. Oku hole okuya koshilando. Oshilando oshinyanyudhi! Omu na iinima oyindji yokutalwa.
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.
Riko okwa kwata yina koshikaha a dhiginina. Oongundu dhaantu otadhi piti po.
Rico holds his mother’s hand very tightly. Streams of people are passing by.
Opu na iitaafula ya yalwa tapu landithwa iihongomwa ya ningwa niikaha.
There are stalls selling beautiful handmade crafts.
Uunduli uushona wa hongwa miiti, oothimbithimbi niiyengele ya ningwa moondhalate, omagwe gomalwaala nuulyenge wa ningwa momayi goompo.
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.
Ye oku uvite sha! Opwa li gumwe ngoka a li ta hiki okamwilwa okahokithi kokangalo “Amazing Grace” shoka tashi ti “Esilohenda ekumithi”. Okwa kankama opo a pulakene. Ewi otali zi peni?
Then he hears it! Someone is whistling the sweet melody of ‘Amazing Grace.’ He stops to listen. Where is it coming from?
“Inandi uva nando onale okamwiilwa okawanawa ngaaka,” osho a dhiladhila.
“I’ve never heard anyone whistle so beautifully before,” he thinks to himself.
Okwa pandakana mokati kaantu nokwa mono omulumentu ngoka a li ta hiki omwilwa. Aantu otaya tula iimaliwa mokandooha okashona ke li komeho gomulumentu, ihe … ope na sha sha puka.
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 …
Omuhikimwilwa nguno ita tala kaantu, ye ita tala nando okiimaliwa. Ke na nando osho ta tala. Ota pampadhala iimaliwa iikukutu mokandooha e te yi tula mondjato 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.
Riko okwa tongolola nawa omuhikimwilwa nokwa dhiladhila, “Ngiika oye omuposi.” Riko ina mona nale omuposi. Oku uvite a tila. Okwa dhamatele mohema yayina, e ta pula yina pevi, “Meme, omusamane nguka omuposi?”
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?”
Okwe mu yeluthile oshikaha, “Ee,” osho a yamukula. “Eeno oye omuposi! Tala ye oku na ondhimbo ontokele. Aaposi oyendji oye na oondhimbo oontokele. Ohaya longitha ondhimbo, opo ya mone iilambo niiyimbi yilwe.”
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.”
“Mbela okwe ya ko ngiini koshilando? Okwa mono ondjila ngiini mokati kaantu mbano?” Riko ta pula.
“But how did he come to town? How did he find his way through all the people?” Rico asks.
Yina okwe mu lombwele: “Ngiika ope na gumwe e mu kwatha okumona ondjila. Ngoka otatu mu ithana kutya oye omukwatelikomeho.”
His mother tells him, “Maybe he has someone who helps him to find his way around. We call that person a guide.”
Oye ende yu uka koshikunino shiinamwenyo. Omililo odha lundulukile kolwaala oluzizi, omahauto oga thikama naayendi yokolupadhi oya taaguluka opate.
They walk to the zoopark. The traffic lights change to green, the cars stop and the pedestrians cross the street.
“Tala komulilo omuzizi. Ngele ogwa ziza, nena otashi ti otatu vulu okutaaguluka ondjila. Miilongo yimwe omu na ishewe okangendjo kokuulika kutya otapu ende aaposi.” Yina osho e mu lombwele. “Ngele aaposi yu uvu okangendjo, nena otaa tseya kutya oshi li nawa notaa vulu okutaaguluka ondjila.”
“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.”
Oya kuutumba pokangwena moshikunino shiinamwenyo, e taya kala taya tala aantu mboka taya ende po. Yina okwa ti: “Aaposi yamwe oye na aakwatelikomeho, oombwa, ndhoka dha dheulwa nawa okukwatelakomeho ooyene yadho. Oombwa ndhono odhi na ondilo. MoNamibia oombwa ndhono odhi li mo oonshona.”
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.”
“Ye ita vulu okutala oTiiVii,” Riko osho a ti. “Ye ota vulu oku uva oTiivii no Radio,” Yina yaRiko osho e mu lombwele. “Aaposi ohaya uvu ko iinima nawa olundji, shi vulithe aanameho.”
“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.”
“Ndele ihaa vulu okulesha omambo nenge iifo,” Riko osho a ti. “Ope na omambo gamwe ga nyolwa moondanda dhoshiposi. Peha lyiitya ya nyolwa nohinga ope na uuntongo wa yeluka wa fa uupulu wa tholoma po oondanda.”
“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.”
“Ota vulu okulesha ngiini ngele ke wete ko?” “Oha lesha niikaha ye. Ota gumu uuntongo mboka wa yeluka nominwe dhe, ngaashi naanaa ngoye wa tala oondanda nomeho goye.”
“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.”
Riko okwa dhiladhila kutya aantu mboka aaposi otaya vulu okuninga sha esiku kehe. Iinima ngaashi okweenda moshilando, okwiimba nomwiilwa nokulesha.
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.
Yina okwe mu lombwele ta ti: “Shoka sha yooloka pokati koye nomuposi ngoye oho mono ko ndele omuposi iha mono ko.” Riko okwi imemeha e ta ti: “Ngame ohandi mono ko ndele ihandi hiki omwilwa omwaanawa ngaashi ngoka hagu hikwa komulumentu omuposi.”
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: Rauha Amwele
Read by: Rachel Nandjembo
Language: Oshindonga
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.