Subculture of smuggling: Lentswe's shebeen

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Periodical article

Title:	Subculture of smuggling: Lentswe's shebeen
Author:	Erasmus, P.A.
Year:	1994
Periodical:	South African Journal of Ethnology
Volume:	17
Issue:	3
Pages:	88-90
Language:	English
Geographic term:	South Africa
Subjects:	illicit trade bars
Abstract:	In accordance with the racial and economic politics of South Africa, Africans in townships were not allowed to participate in the formal or informal commercial economy. It was almost impossible to obtain the right to legal pursuit of a business. The only option left was to operate underground and consequently a subculture of smuggling developed. The illegal liquor trade and the role of the shebeen (illegal drinking place) owner are good examples of the subculture of smuggling which developed in townships. This paper tells the story of Lentswe, a shebeen owner in Mangaung, a township near Bloemfontein. It describes how he continually had to change his strategy in order to evade the police. The reform process of the mid-eighties acknowledged the political rights of blacks in white urban areas. Lentswe applied for a licence to practise a legal trade and today his shebeen is legal and his business is thriving. Bibliogr., sum. in Afrikaans and English.