East Africa · Swahili Coast · the Swahili coast, East Africa
The heroes of this story.
Shouts at the sea to wait. Learns to sit still like the hare and read the wind — then holds the tiller for one minute.
Mends his sail and teaches "the wind decides." Knots a cord around Liongo's wrist for the first wind he ever read.
Sits in the dune grass reading the wind with his ears; teaches Liongo that waiting is a thing you can practice.
Impatient Liongo wants to sail today, but his grandfather's jahazi waits on the wind — so a hare named Sungura teaches him to read the wind in ears and palms. When the palms bend together, Liongo finally gets his minute at the tiller, and sails to the far port with a mango for the smallest girl. The lesson, woven into a kanga cloth: haraka haraka haina baraka — hurry-hurry has no blessing.
Free coloring pages from this book · how-to-draw the friends · watch the episode on YouTube.
