My mother's Lantern (Mpanaka)

These ancient Lantern have been used functionally, for light rather than decoration in the middle ages between 1764 and 1775 till date. Before the development of glass sheets, animal horns scraped thin and flattened were used as the translucent windows with different shapes.

And to my best knowledge, it's existence was helpful.

I will never forget my experience!

MAMA; a beautiful damsel though aged, who lived in the village of Ndiagu Achara-Ezza, married to a hardworking man both aged and lived together in the same village.

At night certainly by 7:00pm when the night has fallen and everywhere dark, when everywhere, the entire whole village is blackout.

Mama never forgets to turn on her Lantern (Mpanaka) as most women in the village including her neighbour Mama Ngozi (the fish seller) do at night when everywhere is dark .

Come visit Mama at night, you would always see her with the light.

Mama would light up the Lantern to see through her box and also serve her husband night meal; Mama would wash the glass of the Lantern, dry it with cloth, add some kerosene and light it up. And whenever the Lantern robe has gone down, she would change it.

But come to think of it, this light during the aged/time passed when it hasn't faded out, it was so helpful. I remember going across the road to help my mother buy Akara and Yam for night with the little one on my hands as a guide to see clearly. Apart from using it to cook and light up the whole place at night, I also used it to read/ study at night time before bed when I was growing up.

As time goes on, when the whole villagers start getting light including the entire community , Mama went to hid her Lantern under the bed and never wanted to bring it out till date it has become a thing of the past. The best ancient Lantern has drastically faded away!

Oh why did it fade away .... I never wanted it to fade away. I missed my Lantern 🏮

To those who don't know it, most especially the new generation ones, the indomie generation missed it, I feel for them.

If you have lived with this Lantern in the past, share your opinions in the comment section.

Thank you.