ABSTRACT
Co-operative labor in the form of work parties is historically widespread in Africa. In some areas it still plays an important role, particularly in agriculture, and it has been the subject of some careful analyses by anthropologists, (Geschiere, 1995; Worby, 1995; Englund, 1999). It is not my purpose in this paper to discuss the uses, efficiencies and advantages of co-operative work, which have been debated (Saul, 1983; Moore, 1975), or the different forms that it takes. I want to concentrate instead on one aspect. It is widely reported that some co-operative work is concluded with the festive consumption of alcoholic drinks such as maize or millet beer and/or food, often described as ‘beer-parties’ (McAllister; 2000). But very few writers have paid attention to these events, and there is little detail on how labor and its associated festivities are analytically connected.
