Myths are beliefs or ideas which are generated by a particular community and are often regarded as truths. Meanwhile, they are false beliefs which however carry moral life lessons. On the other hand, some myths have a huge disadvantage on the lives of many. Most of these myths are widely practiced in rural areas where some people struggle with education. Some of which are stated below.

Elders stopped the young from moving at night believing that the chief of the village turns into a dangerous animal to patrol the village at night. This also meant that they would meet ghosts that might haunt them in the night. Well, behind this myth is a lesson to alarm children not to move in the night because in reality, nights are dangerous times to move as people young or old are more prone to attacks.

Men who like eating from the pots shall grow breasts. About this myth, boys grew up believing that once they eat from the pot they will gradually grow breasts and then eventually become women. Since time immemorial, it was believed that a woman’s home is in the kitchen whilst a man must be in the field striving hard in order to provide for his family. This had a lesson behind it to remind both men and women of their responsibilities, though today things have changed due to gender equality nonetheless.

Due to the drastic increase of HIV/AIDS infection rates, people have always wanted to find a cure. As a result, they have resorted into a lot of different unhealthy ways which have not even worked at all but only put their lives at risk while others died in the process. Because of this, people now started believing that sleeping with a virgin can cure AIDS. This myth may or may not still exist today. This is due to the organizations and government efforts that have come on board to sensitize citizens about what really HIV/AIDS is, how they can live a positive or a negative but healthy life without having such myths on their minds.

A long time ago houses in villages were built close to each other and people had a habit of whistling at night. However, this caused a disturbance in many homes that were about to rest at that time. For this reason, many, especially the young, were made to believe that whistling at night was dangerous as it would attract wizards to follow you. They were made to believe that whistling is a way wizards communicate, just to stop them from doing it.

Also in some societies, there are men who sleep with women using magic at night most especially. When they wake up the following morning, they will not remember anything about what happened except their tired bodies. On the other hand, some women would dream about snakes and this implied either the woman having that dream is pregnant or will be pregnant later. It was believed that a snake, in this case, was taken as a penis and that it was not normal for a woman to dream about it. They believed that it always came with a price on the side of a woman. Otherwise, there is no link between a snake and pregnancy in real life.

At the Copper belt University in Kitwe, Copper belt region, Zambia, there was a big fish they literally called (Ma Fishi). This fish was the only biggest fish in the pond. However, it was almost impossible to see it. Instead, you would just see the other small fish in the pond. It was a respected fish that survived for over 10 years in that pond. To cut the long story short, it was believed by all the students that when one by any chance sees the fish, he or she will clear all the courses. Unfortunately, it died in the year 2020. All the students gathered to mourn Ma Fishi. Not only was it considered an important fish to the students alone but also the school management at large.

As earlier stated, myths are not truths. They are just beliefs that carry life lessons behind them. It is very important to know that other myths are very dangerous as they can cause harm. Such are myths including sleeping with a virgin to cure HIV/AIDS. It is morally wrong to involve children in sexual activities. Worse such which can expose them to the virus innocent as they are.