Namibia, Our Country, Our Beer, by Bernd Masche

Namibia, Our Country, Our Beer, by Bernd Masche. Padlangs Publications. Namibia, Windhoek 2019. ISBN 9789991690858 / ISBN 978-99916-908-5-8

In this book, Namibia, Our Country, Our Beer, Bernd Masche has recorded his personal experiences which were shaped by the environment in which he lived and the then future, in which the business and livelihoods had to survive.

The 2019 Oktoberfest in Windhoek was an overwhelming success. It was organised with outstanding skill and the number of visitors was impressive. A new record was set as members of the various cultural groups came together to celebrate the new Namibia, a united, multi-cultural Namibia that respected and celebrated the traditions and customs of all fellow citizens together. In this instance, with plenty of beer every ethnic group had their traditional ways of brewing beverages similar to beer. Those traditions are still alive in African communities, but they are less often applied. Colonialism brought European beer to Africa and thus to what is Namibia today. It was brewed intensively so that it would not spoil on the long journey by ship. And soon enough, a more economical solution to obtain the popular thirst-quencher was sought in the colony of German South West Africa. The first brewery opened in 1900 in Swakopmund. The anecdote is told that back in the day sidewalks in the sandy little coastal settlement on the edge of the Namib Desert were "paved" with beer bottles pushed upside down into the ground - that says something about the extent of the thirst! Unfortunately the consumption of beer and the liquor trade in general had negative effects as well. Alcohol addiction took hold in all cultures, but in those days restrictions only applied to the African population. Necessity is the mother of invention, however, and Africans thus found other means of supply. They procured Cuca beer from Angola or brewed their own beer and sold it in informal pubs, the so-called Cuca shops or shebeens. The term shebeen was initially used for unlicensed small bars that nevertheless sold alcohol. The origin is Irish and came to Namibia via South Africa. Under segregation laws in South Africa, "blacks" were banned from entering "white" bars. This was the reason that shebeens emerged in the townships on the outskirts of the cities. Shebeens produced welcome additional earnings for their owners by offering beer, simple dishes, music and dance. The bar and taproom were furnished with all kinds of recycled objects, often taking on an amusing new function or used as a humorous decoration. There were posters with political messages on the walls. Every now and then shebeens were raided by the police and closed down because they were considered to be meeting places of opponents of apartheid. This book by Bernd Masche is therefore appropriately titled Namibia - Our Country, our Beer. Namibia is proud of its beer, which has a long tradition in our dry country. But that was not always so. In Africa, beer has probably been around since time immemorial. Following South Africa's mandate (1920) to administer the former colony of German South West Africa, the shebeen found its way into present-day Namibia as well. In the north, the small bars were mostly run by women, and still are, whose husbands worked in other parts of the country. When the ban on alcohol sales was relaxed in 1969, "blacks" were also allowed to buy alcoholic beverages. There was another change after Namibia gained independence in 1990. As the "black" middle and upper classes were expanding, elegant European-style bars for everyone started to appear, mostly in the more affluent urban environments. Shebeens continued to function in the rural areas and in the townships. [...]

This is an excerpt from: Namibia, Our Country, Our Beer, by Bernd Masche.

Title: Namibia, Our Country, Our Beer
Author: Bernd Masche
Publisher: Padlangs Publications
Namibia, Windhoek 2019
ISBN 9789991690858 / ISBN 978-99916-908-5-8
Softcover, 17 x 24 cm, 80 Seiten, numerous b/w and colour photos