SHEBEEN

A shebeen is an unlicensed drinking establishment. There are quite a few scattered around Tsumkwe, which isn’t actually a good thing for the community. A few can be found right off the main road; they play loud music, sell big bottles of beer, and may even have a TV or a pool table. Then there are the ones that are a little more off the beaten path, off the grid and out in the bush. These don’t sell bottled beer, but instead make and sell their own concoctions. One afternoon Phil, Jonah, Lucah, and I (all sons of anthropologists) went out to get a taste of something local. We found a dark shebeen, lit only by a small candle, and came out with a bottle of something… well, not too tasty, but it didn’t kill us…