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The Desert People have darker skin than Binti’s people, similar to Binti and her father’s color. They live apart from the rest of civilization, wearing blue clothing and no shoes. The Himba believe that they have a “neurological condition” due to their inability to control their hand movements. They surround the Root, with Binti counting seven in total. She and Okwu make their way to the front of the property.

Binti finds her father talking to a woman who insists that Binti spend the night with them. Binti realizes it is her paternal grandmother. She scolds Binti’s father for trying to restrict Binti instead of encouraging her to leave home. She is adamant that there are “rituals” to perform now that Binti has seen the Night Masquerade. While Binti’s father relents, her mother continues to deny that Binti needs to go with them. Okwu says nothing, standing behind and watching everything.

Binti travels with 19 others. She knows that they are going to see Ariya, their priestess, whom she saw as a child when she found her edan. She is nervous about the fact that her edan is now in pieces.

At first, Binti is unsure how they will survive the dangerous Hinterland. A young man named Mwinyi is tasked with protecting them. A few hours into their journey, wild dogs attack. Although Binti is overwhelmed with fear, her grandmother reassures her. All the Desert People except Mwinyi sit in the sand. Mwinyi goes up and approaches the dogs, waving his arms and speaking to them. They quickly calm down, then begin to sniff around the group. Placated, they leave.

Binti is shocked by what she sees. She calls Mwinyi a “harmonizer,” but her grandmother insists they “don’t call them that,” instead simply calling him “our son” (101).

Binti recalls the time nine years ago, when she was eight years old, that she discovered her edan. She used to go frequently into the desert in secret, using the quiet and isolation to practice treeing. One day, she became angry that her parents wouldn’t let her participate in a village dance; as the next “master harmonizer,” they felt it was inappropriate for her to dance with the other villagers. Binti was bitter that, even as a master harmonizer, she could not inherit her father’s shop because she is female.

Angry, Binti left to go into the desert. She found her favorite place: A spot two hours to the north where a group of old stones formed a semi-circle. Sitting among the stones, Binti practiced treeing, using her fingers to draw circles in the sand. She pricked her finger on something sharp, then looked down to find a small, white flower growing from a piece of metal. She cleared out the sand and pulled the metal from the ground, feeling that it still had a current in it.

A woman suddenly appeared beside Binti. She told Binti that she had found an edan but that the Desert People call it a “god stone.” She instructed Binti to return to the desert if she ever wanted to know how it worked. Uncomfortable, Binti excused herself, leaving the woman standing among the stones.

Binti returned to her father and showed him the device, lying and saying that she found it from a junk seller in the market. Her father tasted it, noting how it had a strange taste like the Undying Trees that produce salt on their leaves. Despite wanting it for himself, he allowed Binti to keep it.

Now, walking in the desert, Binti reflects on this moment. She thinks of how strange it is that her life changed so much just because her parents would not allow her to dance.

After walking through the next day, Binti realizes that her grandmother, Auntie Titi, lied to her family about returning Binti by nightfall. She explains that their village is days away, so Binti will not be returning for several days. She instructs Binti to contact Okwu and tell him.

Unsure if she can do so, Binti forces herself to think about Okwu. She reaches out through her okuoko, feeling them vibrate in response. She feels Okwu connect to her, then ask why she is so far. She explains that she is still days away from the village. Okwu promises to wait for her.

That night, as everyone sleeps, Binti approaches Mwinyi as he stands alone, moving his hands through the air. She asks what the hand movements mean. Initially, Mwinyi tells her to ask Titi. He scolds her for her prejudice, which all the Himba people have toward them because of their lifestyle and darker skin. Binti wants to argue but knows that she thinks of them as “uncivilized.”

Mwinyi tells Binti that their people are called the Enyi Zinariya. He uses his arms to communicate with those who are not near. He explains that he is talking with his mother back in the village, telling her about Binti. As he stares into Binti’s eyes, she feels a “sonorous melody that vibrated between [her] ears that was so perfectly aligned that [she] felt as if [she] were beginning to float” (124). He accuses Binti of being prejudiced even though she once met Ariya and knows they aren’t “savages.” When Binti asks for more information, Mwinyi insists that she needs to speak with her grandmother.

The next morning, Binti asks her grandmother about their history. She explains that they have had technology and knowledge for far longer than the other humans, despite being viewed as primitive. An alien species known as the Zinariya stopped on planet Earth centuries before on their way to Oomza Uni. The fact that the Enyi Zinariya have known about the university for so long, while Binti still struggles to comprehend its existence, shocks Binti. Before the Zinariya left Earth, they gave the Enyi Zinariya the ability to communicate with each other by injecting a living organism into their DNA, which they also call “zinariya.” The zinariya took hold in their brains, allowing them to communicate with each other and acting as an astrolabe within their bodies. The DNA was then passed down through their bloodline. Although paper records once existed with more information, all that remains is what has been orally passed down through generations.

As Binti listens, she realizes what this information means: The zinariya is within her body. She questions her grandmother about this, who explains that Binti’s father can also communicate with his arms; he is doing so right now to speak to her. Binti will have the ability, too, but it needs to be activated by Ariya. This information forces Binti to question who she really is, as she is part Himba, Enyi Zinariya, and Meduse.

For the next three days, Binti continues to travel with the Enyi Zinariya. She begins to appreciate the beauty of the desert and rarely uses her astrolabe. Finally, they come to the Enyi Zinariya village.