Igbo Jews of Africa as detailed in Forward – The Jewish Daily
LAGOS, Nigeria – Efraim Uba was born and raised Catholic in southeastern Nigeria, the homeland of the Ibo ethnic group. He spent 17 years as a Pentecostal preacher before joining a messianic congregation where members wore yarmulkes and tallits but praised Jesus. In 1999, one congregant traveled to Israel and came back claiming that the Ibos were Jews. He convinced the whole congregation to embrace Judaism.
“We believe we are from Israel, and we only recently discovered that so many old Ibo traditions were in fact Jewish ones,” said Uba, 60, who was wearing a large silver Jewish star around his neck. In 1999, he founded the Association of Jewish Faith in Nigeria, an organization with some 20 congregations, most of them in his native region. He is one of an estimated 30,000 Nigerians – a fraction of the nation’s 135 million people – who claim to be Jewish. In recent years, they have abandoned the Christian faith of most southern Nigerians and are longing for official recognition by rabbis and by Israel. Just this summer, four members of the community were the first to formally convert to Judaism.
Following the examples of Ethiopia’s Falashas, the Lembas of South Africa and Uganda’s Abuyudaya, the Nigerian Jews are part of a growing number of sub-Saharan Africans who have embraced Judaism. Nigeria’s Jews, like the Falashas, claim to be descendants of some of Israel’s lost tribes who settled in what is now southeast Nigeria. By comparison, the Abuyudayas do not claim to have blood ties to the ancient Israelites and converted by following a local leader.
“There is a real phenomenon of construction of a Jewish identity in sub-Saharan Africa over the last few decades,” said Edith Bruder, a French researcher who recently published “The Black Jews of Africa: History, Religion, Identity” (Oxford University Press). “You have a belief among some local communities that they are descendants of Jewish communities who settled there since ancient times. This phenomenon has accelerated recently with the Falasha precedent and the globalization of information.”
The Nigerian Jewish claim was bolstered several years ago with the discovery in the area of an onyx stone reportedly bearing the name “Gad” in ancient Hebrew. In addition, the Ibo Benei-Yisrael, as they sometimes call themselves, have traditions bearing some resemblance to Judaism. Among them are the circumcisions of newborn males on the eighth day, the separation of women during the menstrual cycles, the mourning period resembling a shiva and the prohibition of eating the meat of an animal that was not blessed. There is also the blowing of a ram’s horn, akin to blowing of the shofar.
Reluctant to convert
But to be officially recognized as Jewish is a tedious process. Israel granted that recognition to the Falashas only after careful vetting. The Abuyudayas underwent a conservative conversion six years ago, a path the Ibos are reluctant to embrace. Their reasoning is simple: To convert would undercut their claim to be Jewish by ancestry. “We are Israelites. This is our identity, and our religion is Judaism, so being denied inclusion into the Jewish family makes us feel lost,” said Michael Ginika, a 53-year-old accounting teacher. ……………………………..
By Marc Perelman October 2, 2008.
More @
http://www.forward.com/articles/14317/
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1026682.html
In ancient times “J” was never part of the Hebrew language and it is not part of the mordern Hebrew language. “J” is only about 500 years old or so.
Hi my shawn sfancil my haplogroup e m96 and subclade is e3a7a and from the reseaarch that I did my matches are annobonese igbos which are black jews of the portuguese inquisition my family line go back to the tribe of benjamin. Annobonese are iberian jewish slaves and the igbo are known to be jews from portugal also.
From the dream of wolves that i had and my wife said she had a dream i change into and my youngest daughter is lefthanded that why believ we are benjamites and also we are jews because the males have christian and biblical names in my family so we have a string connection to israel and last not least jews come in all colors because we have mixed with the gentiles for thousands of years so God bless am a jew who believe that Jesus christ is the Messiah
Shalom All,
Actually it’s not true that Ashkenazi jews have not been found to be descended from ancient Israelites.The great majority have. See DNA research.
It is perfectly valid to convert to Israel by observing it’s laws. It is totally 100% acceptable to become an Israelite because you want to as the Bible says you get circumcised and keep Moses law then you belong to the tribe you engaged with to be circumcised and follow Torah.
So don’t be rude to each other and try and steal others identity. Do it God’s way. Keep the Biblical commandments and have faith in Yahshua the Messiah
SHALOM AHCH ISRAEL IS IN THE 4 CORNERS OF THE EARTH AND EVEN AMONG THE ASHKENAZIS. I KNOW MY ANCESTRY ARE SEPHARDIM IGBO WHICH ARE REAL JEWS.
ABBA’SHAUL ben YEHUDAH
It is unfortunate that so many today don’t understand what the word or name Jew meant or stood for but i will like to refer people to the words of god in the book of Genesis “Bereshit” Judah is a lawgiver, you shall be at the neck of your enemies and unto you shall your brothers praise, unto you shall be the gathering of My people (your brothers) and you shall rule over them.
I know that my quotes aren’t in accordance as arranged in Genesis 49:9-10 but my logic is to convince those who are trying to make a sepeartion between Isreal and Jews, in the book of either Isaiah or Jeremiah says that some will name themselves Judah, jacob and some surnamed themselves Israel but God will unite them and bring that Israel as the name of everyone of the entire people of Israel
But I ‘m grateful that God has fulfilled his words because it is truth by making all of the Israel people on earth today to be known as Jews since it was the southern kingdom that remains remnant in the land of Israel today whoever of the lost tribes of ISRAEL TODAY SHOULD IDENTIFY HIMSELF JEW because anybody who is sure that is a decendant of Jacob as Israel should know that the available place called or known as the present Israel today is mainly the southern kingdom’s territory, ethically the other tribes that have lost their own inherited territories should bear the name of the existing territoies’ owner. If you are envying Judah you should go into war and claim you territories from the Arabs and plant your ancestral tribe’s name because the land was divinely and judiciously shared and alotted the entire twelve tribes of Isreal.
Good morning I can call my surname an Israelite From the tribe of Benjamin because I took a Dna test and my bloodline go back to the sephardim from the portguese inquistion who migrated to Annobon West Africa who come over here on cargo slaveships like Deu28;68 said to North America so please dont go there. I didnt hath to take a dna test because being an Israelite is spiritual even though the original ones were brown skin like myself to a blond hair blue eye because we mixed with gentiles. Like the book of amos said God will sift the house of Israel from all nations.