Shebeen
Ashebeen(Irish:síbín,"home-made whiskey" ) was originally an illicitbarorclubwhere accessiblealcoholic beverageswere sold without a license. The term has spread far from its origins inIreland,toCanada,theUnited States,theUnited Kingdom,Zimbabwe,theEnglish-speaking Caribbean,[1]Namibia,Malawi,[2]andSouth Africa.In modernSouth Africa,many shebeens are now fully legal.[3][4]
South Africa
[edit]Originally shebeens were operated illegally by women who were called Shebeen Queens and were themselves a revival of the African tradition that assigned the role ofwomen in brewing.[5]The Shebeen Queens would sellhomebrewedandhome-distilledalcohol and provided patrons with a place to meet and discuss political and social issues. Often, patrons and owners were arrested by the police, though the shebeens were frequently reopened because of their importance in unifying the community and providing a safe place for discussion.[6]During the apartheid era, shebeens became a crucial meeting place for activists, some attracting working-class activists and community members, while others attracted lawyers, doctors and musicians.[7]One reason the government allowed the shebeens to remain open was because some of Shebeen Queens were informers for the police.
Shebeens also provided music and dancing, allowing patrons to express themselves culturally, which helped give rise and support the musical genrekwaito.[8]Currently, shebeens are legal inSouth Africaand have become an integral part of South African urban culture, serving diverse commercial brands from beer, cider to whisky as well asumqombothi,a traditionalAfrican beermade frommaizeandsorghum.Shebeens still form an important part of today's social scene. In contemporary South Africa, they serve a function similar tojuke jointsfor African Americans in the rural Deep South of the USA. They represent a sense of community, identity, and belonging.
Today, most alcoholic beverages' target market is the affluent black African class (particularly male), whose persona is perceived to be educated, tied to the high end job market and a step up in the social ladder. As well as appealing to South Africa's youth, most shebeens are owned by black men. Shebeens are bouncing back as South Africans try to aspire to better economic conditions in order to preserve some of their cultural and economic affairs.[9]
United States
[edit]In theUnited States,the wordshebeensaw general use by Irish immigrants who worked in theanthracitepatches ofPennsylvania.[citation needed]
Newfoundland
[edit]Like many traditional Irish words,shebeenhas persisted in Newfoundland. TheDictionary of Newfoundland Englishdefinesshebeen,alsosheebeenandsheveen,as an "unlicensed place where illicit liquor is sold."[10]In the 1880s, the proliferation of shebeens was a hot topic, pitting temperance advocates against those who considered the shebeens harmless fun.
On January 5, 1888, theTwillingate Sunreported: "A policeman entered a shebeen and found a number of persons drinking. A panic ensued, and there was a general stampede. The transgressor of the law, on being brought before the magistrate, pleaded that he was merely entertaining a few friends. The Judge duly remarked he thought it a strange way to entertain friends, when the said friends tried to hide themselves and their drinking utensils away, on the approach of a constable."[11]
In April 1898, the Chief Steward of the S.S.Bruceraged in response to aSt. John's Evening Telegramstory querying whether his ship was "a floating shebeen".[citation needed]
See also
[edit]- Bothy
- Cuca Shop– a similar establishment inNamibia
- List of public house topics
- Speakeasy
- Sly-grog shop(or shanty)
References
[edit]- ^Sansone, Livio.The Making of Suriland,inCaribbean migration to Western Europe and the United States: essays on incorporation, identity, and citizenship,Temple University Press, 2009,ISBN978-1-59213-954-5,p177
- ^Mzungu, Watiposo (18 November 2016)."Can Malawi succeed in regulating sanitation in shebeens?".The Nation.Nation Publications Limited.Retrieved27 January2019.
- ^"The Citizen: Liquor stores to register as liquor distributors".Archived fromthe originalon 2009-04-09.Retrieved2009-04-08.
- ^"News – Finance/ Labour: Zoning could legalise Western Cape shebeens".www.iol.co.za.Archived fromthe originalon 2009-06-19.
- ^Athol Fugard (5 August 1993).The Township Plays: No-Good Friday; Nongogo; The Coat; Sizwe Bansi is Dead; The Island.Oxford University Press. pp. 229–.ISBN978-0-19-282925-2.Retrieved9 September2013.
- ^Stanley-Niaah, Sonjah(2007). Katherine McKittnick and Clyde Woods (ed.)."Mapping of Black Atlantic Performance Geographies: From Slave Ship to Ghetto" Black Geographies and the Politics of Place.Cambridge:South End Press.
- ^Vusi Mona."Shebeens".Archived fromthe originalon August 10, 2007.Retrieved2008-02-26.
- ^Richard Poplak."Words Are Weapons".CBC News.Retrieved2008-02-26.
- ^Stanley-Niaah, Sonjah. "Mapping of Black Atlantic Performance Geographies: From Slave Ship to Ghetto." In Black Geographies and the Politics of Place, ed. by Katherine McKittrick and Clyde Woods, 193–217. Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2007
- ^"Dictionary of Newfoundland English - shebeen".Heritage Newfoundland & Labrador.Retrieved2024-02-15.
- ^"Twillingate Sun 1889 January - February".Newfoundland Grand Banks.Retrieved2024-02-15.