It is often parents who finance the izikhothane lifestyle. As Ntshangase swigged beer with some of his friends, his mother passed by. She came over and pressed a new smartphone into his hand. Showing off her own gold tooth, she said proudly, “He loves this lifestyle. He feels he is someone, and that pleases me. We – our generation – never had that feeling. It is good to see him happy.”

Photograph: Per-Anders Pettersson