BY MICHELINA ANDREUCCI
Most occasions in Africa, that called for the gathering of people, even kutambira va yenzi –
welcoming visitors, calls for a hari/pot of indigenous African beer, which is said to have a cohesive quality for communal gatherings, discussions, planning, celebratory birth, marriage and harvest festivals as well as ritual death gatherings. Its secular role in community co-operation cannot be overlooked.
Several indigenous rites necessitate the brewing and offerings of traditional beer as libation. Beer is also brewed to receive blessings from ancestors through invocation, as is often depicted in some contemporary Zimbabwean sculptures as in “Beer for the Spirits”. Socio and economic problems were discussed and resolved by community heads over much feasting and drinking in ceremonies such as “Umlandu omncane and inxwala encane” amongst the Ndebele in Matabeleland, usually attended by chiefs and clan heads to review the past year and make resolutions for the new year prior to the impending annual harvest dance.
In Zimbabwe, beer has been brewed since the 4th century, but some have traced it back to the late Iron Age. At Great Zimbabwe archaeologists excavated shards of pottery dating back to archaic times where they identified beer sediment in the bases of the pots. Some grains were also discovered growing around grave sites; which further testifies to the importance of beer in
traditional culture and to the custom of breaking a hari/pot (of beer) at the grave side, usually of a chief.
Copious amounts of traditional beer are also consumed during a traditional gata – a ceremony for the investigation into the cause of death.
Commercial beer however was first brewed by the Charter Brewery in Bulawayo in 1895. In 1898, the foundation stone was laid for a larger brewery in Salisbury (Harare) which later became a famous landmark and was the first brewery of its kind north of the Limpopo River.
Castle Beer was first brewed in in Zimbabwe in 1903, in old brewing plants relocated from Kroonstad in South Africa. The British South Africa Charter Company (BSACo), built a seven-story malting house in 1910 that was for many years the tallest building in the then Salisbury (Harare).
Four years earlier in 1899, beer brewed by Rhodesia Breweries Limited, won a gold Medal at the Central African Federation Agricultural (CAFA) Show.
By 1973 six beer varieties were brewed in the then Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), the most popular beer being a larger.
The Rhodesian colonial authorities had not allowed private players in the manufacture of opaque beer until 1961.
Until then, the production and selling of opaque beer was a monopoly business reserved for Municipal councils such as Salisbury City Council, who operated their business through its Liquor Department and were determined to maintain their monopoly, despite the fact that Chibuku was more popular among Africans than the City Council-produced beer.
When by 1923, African politics had assumed a more complex form with the formation of the Southern Rhodesia Bantu Voters Association, an elitist organisation, with a vibrant Women’s league that organised a successful boycott of the beer halls in 1934.
Africans were not permitted to drink European liquors, which included any spirits, wine, beer, ale, port, sherry or other fermented, distilled or malted liquor of any intoxicating nature.
Liquor reforms in 1962, permitted Africans to drink any type of alcoholic beverage in “any establishment that was prepared to serve them”.
Although this reform was a landmark in the African alcohol industry, significant
hurdles remained that denied Africans from drinking the type of alcoholic drink they desired in the establishments they wanted. Salisbury City Council’s Liquor Department retained its monopoly in the African Townships.
Beer halls and gardens that dominated the townships (high density areas), did not always stock alcoholic beverages produce by private distillers.
This limited the urban Africans’ choice of not only the type of alcoholic drink legally available to them, but also where they could drink.
Also in 1962 Heinrich’s Syndicate registered remarkable success in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).
Prior to the reforms in 1962, Heinrich’s Chibuku Breweries Limited (HCBL), could only sell beer in Fort Victoria (Masvingo), but were determined to capture the bigger market in the Capital city of Salisbury (and other cities), where it unlawfully sold Chibuku beer in collusion with bottle store owners and shebeen operators. In addition to these unconventional business practices, HCBL, set up a strategic brewery in Seke (near Salisbury), just outside the boundaries Salisbury City Council. This also provided a convenient base for smuggling opaque beer to nearby African townships.
In the mid-1970s, Heinrich’s Chibuku Breweries produced an instant beer, (a powder product of malt mixed with yeast to which water was added). The ‘instant’ beer matured within 24 hours and kept for about 4 days. This aided the Company’s penetration of the market since Under the African Beer Act, it was not an offense to sell ‘dry’ beer, nor was it an offense to be found in possession of such a product. HCBL took advantage of this loophole and freely sold this product to shebeen operators.
Moreover, since the powder was comparatively cheaper, matured within 24 hours, had a long shelf life compared to traditional‖ brews, Shebeen operators also profited. It also reduced the chances of being caught selling an illicit product.
Prior to Zimbabwe’s independence in April 1980, the Salisbury City Council and Heinrich’s Chibuku Breweries Limited (HCBL) signed an agreement that not only transferred ownership of the City Council’s Rufaro Brewery to Heinrich’s Chibuku, but also sanctioned the selling of each other’s products in all municipal liquor outlets. As a result, Chibuku and other alcoholic beverages were sold freely and widely in the shebeens of Salisbury and elsewhere.
In contemporary times, The Chibuku brand is produced in Zimbabwe by Delta Corporation, which is a subsidiary of SABMiller. SABMiller, the world’s second largest brewing company by volume, has taken the Chibuku formula to the extreme, offering a traditional African beer brand of the same name in markets throughout the Continent.
Chibuku is brewed across 14 Delta Beverage Breweries subsidiaries throughout Zimbabwe – located in Harare, Chitungwiza, Fairbridge, Zvishavane, Kwekwe, Chipinge, Chiredzi, Rusape, Kadoma,
Chinhoyi, Masvingo and Mvurwi. Traditional beers in Zimbabwe are named Rufaro, Mhamba,
Chibuku, Ngwenya, Ingwebu, Nyathi, Ngoda and others, which in the past the Rhodesians called
“opaque beer”. To overcome the problems of the limited shelf life of traditional beer (usually 4 to 6 days) Chibuku Super was developed by Delta Corporation. Chibuku Super can be stored for more than 21 days which allows for national distribution.
Whilst traditional beer is of great nutritional value and an essential part of African traditional
customs that provided social cohesion, however, as with any form of alcohol consumed to excess, it can bring about its fair share of societal problems. Meanwhile, a traditional proverb from Manicaland says: “mhamba ino naka pana mahiyo” – beer is only enjoyed in the company of the women of the village. Cheers!
Dr Michelina Rudo Andreucci is a Zimbabwean-Italian researcher and a published author in her field. For Comments E-mail: linamanucci@gmail.com
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