The History of Kachasu and Beer Brewing in Blantyre ...and Nyasaland.
When the Scottish Missionaries came in 1875, they found the natives brewing and drinking local beer.
Missionary work in places like Mzimba, Dedza, Ntcheu and Blantyre suffered.
The missionaries had problems convincing people to stop indulging in that practice.
The Catholics in 1914 report that, the Ngoni Chief Njobvuyalema in Ntcheu was a habitual beer drinker reputed to consume four calabashes of jejuru beer at sitting. He was usually drunk when they tried to approach him for missionary work.
Nyathei, regentess at Ntaka taka vied with Njobvuyalema in beer drinking. Like him she drank to excess ...and only accepted baptism on her death bed.
As early as 1883 Nyasaland was importing Brazilian whisky which most chiefs were able to buy through sales of Ivory like the Makolo Chiefs in the Lower Shire.🍷🍷
The Catholics came relatively late in Nyasaland but within a short time they were able to capture a lot of followers because the natives resented the Protestant ban on alcohol.
The famous song around 1905 was:
Kale kale A protestanti anatinyenga
Musamwa mowa
Lero talowa Ecclesia, Lero talowa Ecclesia.
In 1892 the Nyasaland govt imposed a high tariff on imported spirits ....like brandy from Portuguese traders which came from Brazil inorder to control alcohol imports.
This gave rise to the locally distilled Kachasu... a name derived from an old Brazilian Brandy.
Blantyre as early as 1902 had women involved in the production and selling of beer and the illicit Kachasu.
In Blantyre with the spread of money, beer brewing took off as a commercial activity with a jug of beer being sold at a penny in 1905.
Four years later in 1909, Both Blantyre and Limbe town Councils banned the sale and consumption of beer within townships following a campaign by Alexander Hetherwick of Blantyre Mission.
The women brewers, however, simply moved the businesses to the outer boundaries and continued there as before.💃💃💃
By 1911 the Nyasaland Govt made the distilling of Kachasu illegal in Blantyre and instructed residents to sharply punish those involved.😤😤😤
When the women eluded the Govt in their trade, the govt responded by by introducing licencing system where men predominantly chiefs were given the legal right to sale beer at designated places.😆😆😆
By 1917 the women had eluded the system by actually creating 'bars' run by women who paid the fee to the licence holder.👏👏👏👏
According to statistics estimates, by 1930 successful brewers were making profits of £8 - £10 a year in Blantyre.💵💴💶💷
Meanwhile Nyasaland Police made raids regularly arresting about 100 offenders a year....but women were undeterred.👮🚕🚖
By 1946 in Blantyre, Kachasu distillers had no difficulties paying the hefty £5 fines and when they were increased several women combined together to ensure that the money could be found.🙌🙌🙌
Nyasaland Police were quietly induced as not to pursue their investigations rigorously.😆😆😆
This resulted in groups of men and women intoxicated with Kachasu being seen at every hour of the day and night in the vicinity of the old Blantyre Post office which was located near old Town Hall.🍺🍻🍺🍻
In Ndirande 11 out of 17 houses contained stills in 1957.😂😂😂
In Zingwangwa area, 56 percent of the total income of the area was accrued from Kachasu sales.😞😞
As early as 1948 the biggest slum in Blantyre located at the present Chichiri. ..emerged as the "gin centre of Blantyre".💃💃💃
It was here that the returning soldiers from WW2, migrants workers (Teba) used to converge and dance to South African Music before Sir Geoffrey Corby ordered the demolition of the Chichiri slums to pave way for the building of The Rangeley stadium, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, the High Court and the Ginnery Corner.😞😞😞
The present location of Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital was formerly called Matenje. ..where the old Matenje Village stood.👏👏👏
Tonight ladies and gents.... A round of applause to.... the old Nyasaland women who evaded Council statutes. ... brewed beer and distilled Kachasu against all olds and survived hefty colonial fines to bring happiness in old Blantyre. 👏👏👏👏👏🍻🍺🍻🍻🍺🍻