Light is a very significant form of electromagnetic radiation visible to the eyes. It can emanate from various sources, such as heavenly bodies like stars and man-made objects like flashlights, generators, hydro power, and solar panels.
Before the advent of man-made power sources, many African people relied on moonlight for cultural activities at night. Even today, some African communities in remote areas continue to use moonlight for their nighttime pursuits.
As a child, seeing the moon in the sky brought special joy because it meant gathering around elders for storytelling, moonlit dancing, playing hide and seek, and collectively fetching water from the stream at night for cleanliness.
As the only daughter, my mother warned me against joining in night water fetching and my dad twice said "Glad you are the source of my gladness aways obey us and it will be well with you". I adhered to their advice until my cousin Mary persuaded me otherwise.
Mary: "Glad, do you know the best time to fetch clean water is at night? Bathing in the river at night is the greatest fun."
Glad: "Please, my mother told me it's dangerous to go to the stream at night due to spirits like mami water and papi water causing misfortune. They have their fun at night and may not want to be disturbed."
Mary: "Hahaha, your mother just wanted to frighten you. For three years now, I and others have been going to the river at night without any issues. Come out of that deception."
Glad: "I'm afraid something bad may happen since my mom said night stream is bad."
Mary: "It's moonlight stream, not night stream. Don't even tell your mom; she might think you're listening to grandpa's stories."
Despite Mary's conviction, I decided to go to Ahaba stream the next day with the group, keeping it a secret from my parents.
That night, the journey was fun, and the singing and dancing intensified as we approached the river. As our group reached the river, eager to experience night swimming, I followed others and jumped in. However, I couldn't swim out and began sinking. Luckily, a woman soaking her tapioca in the river rescued me, reviving me back to life. I pleaded with her not to tell my parents, and she agreed, provided I wouldn't disobey them.
That night, Mary and I slept in our grandfather's room. The incident left me afraid of swimming to this day.
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