When we think of our spiritual history we tend to lean towards the idea of great Healers who come from a mythical time and possess mystical powers. But much of our reality is not as grandiose. So much more of our spiritual past was built by ordinary men and women who were simply doing their best to get by without losing themselves.

The story of the Shebeen Queen and her impact on African Spirituality seems almost disingenuous, an urban legend. She occupies an aspect of our history that is notorious to the point of being deemed invalid. Yet, week in and week out, her contribution dictates much of the practices that we believe to integral to how we define ourselves as spiritual beings.