Igbo Jews
Encyclopedia
The Igbo Jews are members of the Igbo people
of Nigeria
who claim descent from Mediterranean Israelite migrants into Nigeria.
, Portuguese
and Libyan
Israelites into West Africa. Historical records shows that this migration started around 740 C.E. According to UCLA Jewish Historian Chinedu Nwabunwanne of Aguleri, "the migration started when the forces of Caliph Mohammed—the last leader of the Umayyads—and his Qaysi-Arab supportes defeated the Yamani-Arab Umayyads of Syria in 744 C.E; sacked the Yamanis and their Jewish supporters from Syria. The Syrian-Jewish migrant tribes Dan, Naphtali
, Gad
, and Asher
resettled in Nigeria where they became known as Sambation Jews. In 1484 and 1667 Judeans and Zebulonians from Portugal and Libya respectively joined Sambatyon Jews of Nigeria. Thus, Nigerian Jews originated from the following six Israelite tribes: Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher and Zebulon. It is interesting to note that these six tribes are the same tribes Moses repeated their names twice when he blessed the Children Of Israel. These six tribes mentioned above are The House Of Judah and the children of Israel his companions (Ezekiel 37:16). Those remaining six tribes not mentioned above are The House Of Ephraim and the children of Israel his companion (Ezekiel 37:16)."
Remarkably, for the Igbo, a very early (and widely influential) statement of this point of view came from an Igbo man, Olaudah Equiano
, a Christian-educated freed slave who remarked in his autobiography of 1789 on "the strong analogy which... appears to prevail in the manners and customs of my countrymen and those of the Jews, before they reached the Land of Promise, and particularly the patriarchs while they were yet in that pastoral state which is described in Genesis -- an analogy, which alone would induce me to think that the one people had sprung from the other." For authoritative support, he gives reference to "Dr. Gill, who, in his commentary on Genesis, very ably deduces the pedigree of the Africans from Afer and Afra, the descendants of Abraham....
This essay was in fact an early version of the Hamitic hypothesis, just one of many related perspectives (such as diffusion of culture into sub-Saharan Africa from Egypt and elsewhere) that were proposed in the historical literature on West Africa during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. These materials have been carefully analyzed by critical historians, who have clarified the diverse functions (quite aside from questions of validity) these histories have served for the writers who have proposed them at various times in the colonial and post-colonial past. For examples, see these sources: : .
Today, knowledge from sources broader and more self-critical than the Biblical -- from contemporary historians, archaeologists, historical linguists, and other scientifically based disciplines -- has displaced the Hamitic hypothesis (which has been largely discarded). While there is no doubt (for example) that Jews were present in Saharan trade centers during the first Millenium A.D., the claim that Jews were directly involved with Igbo-speaking people in prehistoric times is not a strongly established proposition. In any case, every version of these proposed stories of distant relationships, of migrations of people and so on, should be evaluated through critical scrutiny of the sources purporting to tell them, and the examples you see presented on this page should be no exception to that rule.
i Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
sent a team to Nigeria in search of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Western rabbis and educators such as Rabbi Gorin have visited the community at times and Jewish communities in the West support those in Nigeria by sending books, computers, and religious articles. However, the State of Israel has, to date, not officially recognized the Igbo as one of the Lost Tribes.
, wearing of the tallit
and kippah
, and the celebration of holidays such as Yom Kippur
and Rosh Hashanah
. In recent times, the communities have also adopted holidays such as Hanukkah
and Purim
, which were instituted only after many of the tribes of Israel had already dispersed.
Igbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...
of Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
who claim descent from Mediterranean Israelite migrants into Nigeria.
Argument for the Historical Migration of the Igbo Jews
The Igbo Jews are said to have migrated from SyrianHistory of the Jews in Syria
Syrian Jews derive their origin from two groups: those who inhabited Syria from early times and the Sephardim who fled to Syria after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain . There were large communities in Aleppo, Damascus, and Qamishli for centuries. In the early twentieth century a large...
, Portuguese
History of the Jews in Portugal
The history of the Jews in Portugal reaches back over two thousand years and is directly related to Sephardi history, a Jewish ethnic division that represents communities who have originated in the Iberian Peninsula .-Before Portugal:...
and Libyan
History of the Jews in Libya
The history of the Jews in Libya stretches back to the 3rd century BCE, when Cyrenaica was under Greek rule. During World War II, Libya's Jewish population was subjected to anti-Semitic laws by the Fascist Italian regime and deportations by German troops...
Israelites into West Africa. Historical records shows that this migration started around 740 C.E. According to UCLA Jewish Historian Chinedu Nwabunwanne of Aguleri, "the migration started when the forces of Caliph Mohammed—the last leader of the Umayyads—and his Qaysi-Arab supportes defeated the Yamani-Arab Umayyads of Syria in 744 C.E; sacked the Yamanis and their Jewish supporters from Syria. The Syrian-Jewish migrant tribes Dan, Naphtali
Naphtali
According to the Book of Genesis, Naphtali was the second son of Jacob with Bilhah. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Naphtali. However, some Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the...
, Gad
Gad
Gad may refer to:In religion:*Gad , the founder of the tribe of Gad and seventh son of Jacob*Gad , King David's seer or prophet*Gad , a pan-Semitic deity worshipped during the Babylonian captivity...
, and Asher
Asher
Asher , in the Book of Genesis, is the second son of Jacob and Zilpah, and the founder of the Tribe of Asher.-Name:The text of the Torah argues that the name of Asher means happy/blessing, implying a derivation from the Hebrew term osher ; the Torah actually presents this in two variations—beoshri...
resettled in Nigeria where they became known as Sambation Jews. In 1484 and 1667 Judeans and Zebulonians from Portugal and Libya respectively joined Sambatyon Jews of Nigeria. Thus, Nigerian Jews originated from the following six Israelite tribes: Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher and Zebulon. It is interesting to note that these six tribes are the same tribes Moses repeated their names twice when he blessed the Children Of Israel. These six tribes mentioned above are The House Of Judah and the children of Israel his companions (Ezekiel 37:16). Those remaining six tribes not mentioned above are The House Of Ephraim and the children of Israel his companion (Ezekiel 37:16)."
Historical Scrutiny
Stories affirming relationships between peoples now widely separated in spatial, historical, and cultural terms persist today, not only in Igboland but throughout Nigeria, in other parts of Africa, and in Europe, the United States, and beyond. Their roots in the example under consideration here lie in the assumption of a Judeo-Christian (and Islamic) Biblical framework as applicable to all of human history. In reference to West Africa this has taken the form of the "Hamitic hypothesis" (originally so-called for the putative descent of Africans from Noah's son Ham), a model which firmly centered the beginning of West African history in the Near East rather than in West Africa itself.Remarkably, for the Igbo, a very early (and widely influential) statement of this point of view came from an Igbo man, Olaudah Equiano
Olaudah Equiano
Olaudah Equiano also known as Gustavus Vassa, was a prominent African involved in the British movement towards the abolition of the slave trade. His autobiography depicted the horrors of slavery and helped influence British lawmakers to abolish the slave trade through the Slave Trade Act of 1807...
, a Christian-educated freed slave who remarked in his autobiography of 1789 on "the strong analogy which... appears to prevail in the manners and customs of my countrymen and those of the Jews, before they reached the Land of Promise, and particularly the patriarchs while they were yet in that pastoral state which is described in Genesis -- an analogy, which alone would induce me to think that the one people had sprung from the other." For authoritative support, he gives reference to "Dr. Gill, who, in his commentary on Genesis, very ably deduces the pedigree of the Africans from Afer and Afra, the descendants of Abraham....
This essay was in fact an early version of the Hamitic hypothesis, just one of many related perspectives (such as diffusion of culture into sub-Saharan Africa from Egypt and elsewhere) that were proposed in the historical literature on West Africa during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. These materials have been carefully analyzed by critical historians, who have clarified the diverse functions (quite aside from questions of validity) these histories have served for the writers who have proposed them at various times in the colonial and post-colonial past. For examples, see these sources: : .
Today, knowledge from sources broader and more self-critical than the Biblical -- from contemporary historians, archaeologists, historical linguists, and other scientifically based disciplines -- has displaced the Hamitic hypothesis (which has been largely discarded). While there is no doubt (for example) that Jews were present in Saharan trade centers during the first Millenium A.D., the claim that Jews were directly involved with Igbo-speaking people in prehistoric times is not a strongly established proposition. In any case, every version of these proposed stories of distant relationships, of migrations of people and so on, should be evaluated through critical scrutiny of the sources purporting to tell them, and the examples you see presented on this page should be no exception to that rule.
Contemporary Outreach
Outreach to Nigerian Jews by the wider Jewish world community gained official status in 1995–1997, when IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin
' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
sent a team to Nigeria in search of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Western rabbis and educators such as Rabbi Gorin have visited the community at times and Jewish communities in the West support those in Nigeria by sending books, computers, and religious articles. However, the State of Israel has, to date, not officially recognized the Igbo as one of the Lost Tribes.
Religious practices
Religious practices of the Igbo Jews include circumcision eight days after the birth of a male child, observance of kosher dietary laws, separation of men and women during menstruationNiddah
Niddah is a Hebrew term describing a woman during menstruation, or a woman who has menstruated and not yet completed the associated requirement of immersion in a mikveh ....
, wearing of the tallit
Tallit
A tallit pl. tallitot is a Jewish prayer shawl. The tallit is worn over the outer clothes during the morning prayers on weekdays, Shabbat and holidays...
and kippah
Kippah
A kippah or kipa , also known as a yarmulke , kapele , is a hemispherical or platter-shaped head cover, usually made of cloth, often worn by Orthodox Jewish men to fulfill the customary requirement that their head be covered at all times, and sometimes worn by both men and, less frequently, women...
, and the celebration of holidays such as Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
and Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah , , is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im which occur in the autumn...
. In recent times, the communities have also adopted holidays such as Hanukkah
Hanukkah
Hanukkah , also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE...
and Purim
Purim
Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from destruction in the wake of a plot by Haman, a story recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther .Purim is celebrated annually according to the Hebrew calendar on the 14th...
, which were instituted only after many of the tribes of Israel had already dispersed.
See also
- Jews and Judaism in Africa
- Lost Tribes of Israel
- Jews of the Bilad el-Sudan (West Africa)Jews of the Bilad el-Sudan (West Africa)Jews of the Bilad al-Sudan describes West African Jewish communities who were connected to known Jewish communities from the Middle East, North Africa, or Spain and Portugal. Various historical records attest to their presence at one time in the Ghana, Mali, and Songhai empires, then called the...
- House of Israel (Ghana) - Jews of Ghana
- Howshua Amariel