Full moon for the fishermen along the banks of Lake Tanganyika means no fish for their families. Because these fishermen attract fish to their hand lines with kerosene lanterns, the bright light of the full moon dulls the intensity of their lanterns and so they do not go out to fish. On nights when the sky is dark, when it is new moon or before the moon has risen, the lake is adorned with the fairy lights from the fishing boats. I have counted 250 lanterns in one evening before.

The lights that you see in this photograph are not the lights from houses. They are fishing lights on hundreds of small, wooden, handmade boats.