MEDIA
RELEASE
Refilwe Shebeen Cruise
An account of the evening: By
Wolfgang Wiesner
It
was around 5pm on Thursday evening 19 August the first "tourist"
begin to trickle into Cullinan at JanHarmsgat se Kombuis for a pre-cruise
drink.
We are a happy
and mixed bunch of 22 people from all over Dinokeng.
The Refilwe Shebeen Cruise is organized by Charl Pretorius of
Kwalata Game Range and Zebulon Mabilu from Refilwe - a trial cruise-which
I know will be very interesting as well as an eye-opener into
a culture that unfortunately few of us get to experience.
At 6pm two
minibus taxis from Refilwe roll up and we all clamber in. We leave
a quiet and almost deserted Cullinan behind us to the beat of
a very loud Andreas Vollenweider tape throbbing through our bodies.
A ride from Refilwe to Cullinan cost R3.00 and to Rayton R4.00,
says a sign against the door.
We travel at a relaxed speed, no jumping stop street signs or
passing on a solid white lines.
We arrive
at our first destination, the Refilwe Bar Lounge that is part
of the usual line of shops with colourful displays of washing
powder, Aids and Coke adverts.
The pavements are buzzing with people mingling about or just hanging
around and chilling out.
(Click on photos to enlarge)
Inside, more chairs are brought out as we greet and shake hands
with bemused patrons, some, who have obviously been here for quite
some time now.
We order drinks and become more comfortable in this unfamiliar
but friendly environment. The place is buzzing to loud township
music and louder voices.
We finish our Leopard African beer and make our way back to the
awaiting minibuses.
Our next destination
is the home of the husband and wife team Sangomas , Ngaka (Doctor)
Thamae and is his wife Girlie Maime, both Njangas or healers and
traditional herbalists. We are asked to remove our shoes and seat
ourselves cross-legged on a dung-covered courtyard floor covered
with grass mats.
We are presented
to the ancestors by a prayer, accompanied by sounds of loud drumming,
a barking puppy dog, chanting and dancing while above us a low
crescent moon and planet Venus adorn the evening sky.
A young lady
eagerly volunteers to be the subject of the bone throwing ritual.
Joseph, also of our group does the honours to translate to the
rest of us. The information about the girl is of a rather personal
nature and it is decided to cut the ritual short.
We are given a quick peek inside the Sangoma's unusual herbal
shop. Rows of cool drink bottles filled with many strangely named
potions and tins with drying herbs are on display.
Back to our
taxis and off to our next location we arrive at Snoopy's Shebeen,
situated opposite the Tshepong Community Centre. This is a more
sophisticated shebeen than the one we experienced earlier. Some
of us order drinks while others make their way to the toilets,
situated next to the local Surgery and Snoopy's Hair salon.
On the
pavement a group of Zebulon's dance troupe buddies give an inspired
and energetic dance performance for our group and many curious
and delighted onlookers join in. A taxi maneuver into position
to provide "stage lighting" on brights.
 
Next we move
on to yet another part of Refilwe, to the inspired Assemblies
of God Church, that is constructed entirely out of wooden packing
crates, gum poles and corrugated iron sheeting. The interior lighting
consists of 12 naked, 60 watt globes connected in series, strung
from the ceiling beams.
From inside loud music and joyous singing is heard. As we enter
we are drawn into this joyful and warm atmosphere and dance locomotion
style around the pews of plastic chairs and clapping worshippers.
Pastor Thomas
Maseko and his right hand man cum translator deliver the service
in English and Sotho. What a contrast to our Sangoma experience!
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