Lemba
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lemba |
|---|
| Total population |
|
70,000+ (estimated) |
| Regions with significant populations |
| South Africa (esp. Limpopo Province), Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique |
| Languages |
| Formerly Lemba (now extinct), today Venda and Shona |
| Religions |
| Judaism |
| Related ethnic groups |
|
• Tigrays |
The Lemba or Lembaa are a group of people numbering 70,000[citation needed] in southern Africa. Although they speak Bantu languages similar to their neighbours, they have specific religious practices and beliefs similar to those in Judaism, which have been remembered and transmitted orally through the generations.
Contents |
[edit] Beliefs and practices linked to Judaism
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Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. This article has been tagged since March 2007. |
Some Lemba beliefs and practices that are linked to Judaism include:
- They are monotheists and call their creator God, “Nwali”. They consider one day per week holy and praise “Nwali” on that day. This resembles the Jewish Sabbath.
- They refrain from eating pork or other foods forbidden by the Old Testament. Their form of slaughter resembles Jewish Shechita.
- They practice male circumcision.
[edit] General Lemba traditions
They also have a tradition of being a migrant people with clues pointing to an origin in the Middle East or North Africa. According to the oral history of the Lemba their ancestors were Jews who came from a place called Sena several hundred years ago and settled in East Africa. According to the findings of British researcher Tudor Parfitt, the location of Sena was more than likely in Yemen.
Another possibility is that Sena refers to the Portuguese trading post founded on the Zambezi River in the late sixteenth century. As many "New Christians" (converted Jews) from Portugal went to settle overseas following the persecutions of the Inquisition, it is likely that a good many people of Jewish genetic heritage may have settled there, as they did in Guinea, Congo, Angola and Brazil, where the Inquisition's reach was less. Since Sena was noted for its commercial contacts, and since even in the colony they might have been persecuted, it is possible that a group of them could have immigrated to their present location through such trading contacts.
[edit] Lemba marriage customs
Marriage to other Lembas is preferred. The Lemba have restrictions on intermarriage with non-Lemba, with it being particularly difficult for a male non-Lemba to become a member. A woman who marries a Lemba must learn Lemba religion, dietary rules, etc. She may not bring any cooking equipment from her previous home. She may have to shave her head. Her children must be brought up as Lembas.
[edit] Lemba genetics
The presence among the Lemba of a disproportionate number of men carrying a particular polymorphism on the Y chromosome known as the Cohen modal haplotype suggests an ancestral link to the Jewish population. One sub-clan within the Lemba, the Buba clan, is considered by the Lemba to be their priestly clan. Among a small sample of the Buba, fifty-two percent of males were found to carry the Cohen modal haplotype, which is generally indicative of Y-DNA haplogroup J, but notably prevalent among Jewish Kohanim, or priests. More microsatellite markers would need to be tested to be more sure of the reality (or not) of any such link. The Lemba also have a large percentage of genes often found in non-Arab Semites.
[edit] See also
- Jews and Judaism in Africa
- Beta Israel
- Y-chromosomal Aaron
- Jews of the Bilad el-Sudan (West Africa)
- Bnai Ephraim
- Newsweek, February 6, 2006.
[edit] External links
- "Webpage discussing the Lemba"(Shows the route the Lemba believe they took from Israel.)
- "Lost tribes of Israel (2000)" (PBS documentary on the Lemba and their origins)
[edit] References
- The Story of the Lemba People, as told by Dr. Rudo Mathivha
- "Y chromosomes traveling south" (abstract of a genetic paper on relationship between Jews and Lemba)
