D is for...
so many things: dancing, danger, diahreating (as they call it in Uganda), dowry...
I'm going with Darkness, though. In connection with Karamoja, a U2 line just came to mind, and I'm always glad for an excuse to quote them:
The sun sets early in Uganda, year round. (I suppose because of its nearness to the Equator.) Thus, you get used to it being pitch-dark after dinner, even in the middle of summer. On a clear night if you go out and look up, you can see more stars than I thought possible to see. On a night of full moon, you might get to go to a dance. Or go on a cattle raid...I've never figured out if dark nights are preferred for raiding or not. Unfortunately, far too many nights are good for raiding.
If going to Karamoja, I recommend a good flashlight. I had a pitiful one the last time i went, with a beam so feeble that I had to point it no more than a foot ahead of me, and stare very hard at the ground, hoping I wouldn't step on a snake. Once I was keeping my eyes so fixed at the ground that I headed off in the wrong direction, and looked up to find myself about twenty feet to the right of where i was headed. The night watchmen were quite entertained by that. Karamojong don't lose their way easily.
I'm going with Darkness, though. In connection with Karamoja, a U2 line just came to mind, and I'm always glad for an excuse to quote them:
Run from the darkness in the night...
The sun sets early in Uganda, year round. (I suppose because of its nearness to the Equator.) Thus, you get used to it being pitch-dark after dinner, even in the middle of summer. On a clear night if you go out and look up, you can see more stars than I thought possible to see. On a night of full moon, you might get to go to a dance. Or go on a cattle raid...I've never figured out if dark nights are preferred for raiding or not. Unfortunately, far too many nights are good for raiding.
If going to Karamoja, I recommend a good flashlight. I had a pitiful one the last time i went, with a beam so feeble that I had to point it no more than a foot ahead of me, and stare very hard at the ground, hoping I wouldn't step on a snake. Once I was keeping my eyes so fixed at the ground that I headed off in the wrong direction, and looked up to find myself about twenty feet to the right of where i was headed. The night watchmen were quite entertained by that. Karamojong don't lose their way easily.
posted by Amanda at
7:04 PM
2 Comments:
I did not know about the sun setting early at the equator. Interesting! When the moon is full, does it look different at the equator than, say, in Montana? Is it larger there?
By
Anonymous, at 1:04 AM
That's a good question, Berta! I'm not sure about the answer, though. I don't remember it being noticably larger, but then it made the night seem so bright when it was full, it's hard to judge.
By
Amanda, at 6:16 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home