The Israelites of Africa: A Means to Preserve the Oral Traditions

(A Means to Preserve the Oral Traditions ) by: Yahshurun Obai Agyemang (Brandon Coleman)

Trusted by over 1 million members

Try Scribd FREE for 30 days to access over 125 million titles without ads or interruptions! Start Free Trial Cancel Anytime.













“From beyond the rivers of Kush(Ethiopia) my worshippers, the daughter of My dispersed ones, shall bring My offering." (Zephaniah (Zephaniah 3:10, ISR Translation)

This is a brief book of the Israelites in the African diaspora. After reading this book you will know that Africa has the largest population of Israelites in the diaspora. I am putting this book together, because I see an urgency of history that needs to be documented before it will no longer exist. Our Elders are dying off. Once they die the oral traditions will leave with them. As the old African proverb says," If an Elder dies it is as if a library has burned down." As you go through my book I will quote from a lot of references to further your research. Hopefully this book will end the foolish idea of calling African Israelites Hamites when "African American" Israelites share common ancestry with these people. If our brothers are Hamites that would make us Hamites too. We must understand this true fact. Hebrews are African. Israel is really located in Africa. It's culture is African. Let us not also forget that we sojourned in Africa(Egypt) for 430 years. We were Semitic people living in the continent of Africa. We need to stop listening to misinformed brethren who are pushing a false twelve tribe chart excluding our people in Africa. This is just as bad as the doctrine that all European people are Esau. How is that possible when we have a tribe in Nigeria called the Edo who are descendants of Esau? Before we begin we must understand and know the true borders of Israel. Israel is in Northeast Africa. The "Middle East as a region did not exist until the 1800s. The original borders were from the Nile to the Euphrates. "On the same day YAHUAH made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I have given this land to your seed, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates"(Genesis 15:18, ISR Translation ) Let us now begin.













"These Israelites are said to have migrated from Egypt about a thousand years ago. Their lineage is from the Drame and Sylla clans. Today most of them practice Islam but have not forgotten their Israelite roots. They have a sacred tree in their possession that Jacob our father planted when they first settled there. Within their culture are Hebraic customs that are clearly evident."(1) "Yet, indeed, there are a number of historical records of small Jewish kingdoms and tribal groups known as Beni Israel that were part of the Wolof and Mandingo communities. These existed in Senegal from the early Middle Ages up to the 18th century, when they were forced to convert to Islam. Some of these claimed to be descendants of the tribe of Dan, the traditional tribe of Jewish gold and metal artisans, who are also said to have built the "Golden Calf"." (9)

Dougoutigo Fadiga outside the Bani Israel clinic near the Senegalese village’s sacred tree, May 2013. (Cnaan Liphshiz)













"The Yibir in Somalia is one of the few known Muslim communities

worldwide that maintains Jewish descent. The community is small and tightly knitted, numbering not more than thirty thousand. The name Yibir, also pronounced Yibro and Yahar, simply means Hebrews."(2) "Although the question as to how Judaism has arrived to Somalia has not been previously researched, certain Yibir cultural features seem to indicate that the community has branched out of an older Beta Israel–Ethiopian Jewish population. (As reported in Jon Entine’s Abraham’s Children, genetic evidence has confirmed that the formation of the Beta Israel goes back approximately to the fourth or fifth century). Both groups, the Beta Israel and Yibir, are perceived as outcasts by their host populations and are associated with magic and superstition."(2)

Ahmed Jama Hersi Sultan of Somalian Israelites













"Jews from Cameroon are said to originate from Egypt. In order to escape the Islamic conquest of North Africa they were pushed towards the Equator and settled in Central West Africa 1,200 years ago. The largest Israelite tribe in Cameroon is the Bassa people of Douala in the Littoral province. Most of the early migrants had built synagogues but there are no records of existing ones in Cameroon today. King Alexander Bell who ruled the Douala region of Cameroon in the late 19century was a practicing Jew. His family is said to have originated from Israel and migrated to Egypt and then Cameroon. His children are said to have been going to shul, putting a yarmulke on. By blood, they have been Cameroonian Jews for many generations. The dynasty of King Manga Bell has survived till date. The kings are crowned in ceremonies that look Jewish. The Cameroonian born Rabbi Yisrael Oriel’s grandfather is said to have built a synagogue, now in ruins, of which his uncle had been the last gabbai. According to Rabbi Yisrael, in 1920 there were 400,000 'Israelites' in Cameroon. But by 1962 the number had decreased to 167,000 due to conversion from Christian and Islamic missionaries. Other Jewish tribes in Cameroon are said to include Haussa, descended from the tribe of Issachar, who were forced to convert to Islam in the eighth and ninth centuries, and the Bamileke who are largely Christian.(3)" The Mbo tribe is the father of the Bamileke chiefdoms Fongo Tongo, Foto, Foreke Dschang, and Fondongela. This of course would also make them Israelites. "Bankon (Abaw, Abo, Bo, Bon) is a tribe related to Basaa and Rombi groups, located in the north of Douala city, Abo subdivision, Bonalea commune, in the Littoral region of Cameroon. The word Ban-Kon means "son of prince" in Assyrian, an Aramaic dialect. In her works "The Negro-African Languages", the French scholar Lilias Homburger concluded that Bankon language is Kum. The word Kum means "arise" or "get up!"in Hebrew; the Assyrians called the House of Israel by the name of Kumri."(13) The capital of Cameroon is called Yauonde which is Yahudi (Jew). In modern times Rabbinical Judaism which is a stumbling block to many Cameroonian Jews. Ashkenazi converts are pushing the lie that the













Photo credits for this section: Joel Abena Kono (Hebrew name: Aaron).















There is a strong presence of the House of Judah in Sierra Leone(Lion Moutains). As I write this now they are gradually returning back to the Torah. Torah. The Temne, Temne, and Limba are said to come from the tribe of Judah with a lineal connection with King David. The Temne practice Hebrew customs such as circumcision, reverence of the Sabbath day, polygamy, purification rituals,(4) and putting the Shema on their doorpost. " Temne people wear skullcaps called the "Kalapra" which is identical to the Hebrew skullcap "Kippah". Their prayer shawl like the Hebrew Tallit is called a "Brenea". Traditional Temnes also wear the fringes, or tassels on the borders of their garments. According to oral traditions, the Temne are from the tribe of Yahudah/Judah. They left Israel after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 C.E. They then went to Yemen/Ethiopia, to Mali/Western Sudan, then Futa Jallon/Guenea, and later Sierra Leone."(4) It is well known that the Mende, Mandingo, Mande, Mandinka are related to the Temne and the Limba people. Some have said that they are descended from Bilal ibn rabah who was from the tribe of Judah. There is also evidence that the Mandingo and Mande could be from the tribe of Ephraim. "In Mauritania and Mali the Moorish Ephraimites became known as the Bafar or Bafour. This classification included the Mande tribes of which the most prominent are the Mandingo who were also known as the Malinke and Soninke."(10) The Mandan Israelites have been coming to the Americas way before Columbus. Most of the tribes came to Africa after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 C.E. The Kono tribe has traces of Levitical practices within their culture. Their language also has evidence of a mixture of Hebrew and Egyptian dialect. Even though there is a strong presence of Islam in Sierra Leone, Hebrewism is definitely on the rise bringing unity among the tribes.













There are many Israelite tribes within Liberia. The Bodia among the Grebo are similar to the Levitical priest. When he is a corinated, he is anointed, a ring is put on his ankle as a badge of office. His doorposts are then sprinkled with the blood of a sacrificed goat.(5) The Grebo, Kwa, Kru, Krahm, and Dei are all basically the same people. They call the Creator Nyenswah. I found this amazing. Nyenswah as he is called is almost identical to the name of the Hebrew Messiah YAHUSHA(Yeshua,"jesus"). How would they know of him unless their ancestors encountered him. This reminds reminds me of the Temne of Sierra Leone who call him Nabi Yashu when making sacrifices. The Yoruba of Nigeria call him Obatala. Obatala has a story very similar to the death,descent into underworld, and Resurrection of the Hebrew Messiah. This is definitely proves that one: the Messiah existed two: his early followers descendants are residing within Africa today. This also proves that the divinity of the Messiah is not a recent concept cooked up by Constantine at the Council of Nicea, as some believe. The Dan/Yakuba tribe is from of course the tribe of Dan. Yakuba comes from of course the Hebrew Patriarch Ya'aqob (Jacob).













"Durin "During g the 8th 8th centur century, y, the Rhadan Rhadanite itess (Jewi (Jewish sh Africa African, n, mulit mulit-li -lingu ngual al traders) began to settle in Timbuktu, Mali. There they established a trading center from which they set up a network of trading routes throughout the desert. More Jews began to arrive in the 14th and 15th centuries, fleeing the Spanis Spanish h Inquis Inquisiti ition. on. Then Then in 1492, 1492, the local local King, King, Askia Askia Muhamm Muhammed, ed, threatened the Jews with death if they did not convert to Islam. As the historian Leo Africanus wrote in 1526: "The king (Askia) is a declared enemy of the Jews. He will not allow any to live in the city. If he hears it said that a Berb erber me merrcha chant freq reque uent ntss the them or do does es busin usines esss wit with the hem, m, he confiscates his goods." While some chose conversion, many fled from the country. In 1860, Rabbi Mordechai Abi Serour emigrated from Morocco with several Jews to trade in Timbuktu. Rabbi Serour had to negotiate with the local authorities to obtain “protected people” status. The newly arrived congregation established a synagogue and Jewish cemetery in the area. By the early 20th century no Jews remained in Mali". "In the mid-1990s, however, thousands of so called ‘Hidden Jews,’ began a Malian Jewish revival in Timbuktu, Mali; many reclaiming their Jewish heritage. In 1993, Ismael Diadie Haidara, a historian from Timbuktu, established an organization called Zakhor (Timbuktu Association for Friendship with the Jewish World). This organization is predominately composed of Malians, descendants of Jews. Over the years, much of the Malian Jewry’s history has been uncovered; it was once concealed to avoid persecution."(6) persecution."(6) "There are several thousand people of undoubted Jewish ancestry in Timbuktu, Mali. In the 14th century many Moors and Jews, fleeing persecution in Spain, migrated south to the Timbuktu area, at that time part of the Songhai Empire.













- The family converted with the rest of the non-Muslim population. - The , descended from the Moroccan Islamicized Jewish trader arrived in the Timbuktu area in the 18th century. - The family came in the first half of the 19th century."(14)

Rabbi Mordechai Aby Serour circa 1870s - 1880s. Last Rabbi of Timbuktu, Mali













Many Israelites migrated through Guinea after the end of the Mali Empire. Many of them still remain there today. The Soninke, Susu, Baga share relation with the Mande and Temne Israelites. The Soninke Jews founded the Israelite Ghanain Empire. They and the Baga are said to come from the tribe of Judah. These tribes migrated from the East before the Mali Empire.That being the case that would mean that they share ancestry with the Ashanti of Ghana,who also come from the Southern kingdom of Israel, the House of Judah. Fulas are Israelites who some believe migrated from Assyria. "Some believe that they are from a Semitic origin. According to the tradition, the ancestors of Fulani is Jacob son of Israel, son of Issac, son of Abraham When Jacob left Canaan and went to Egypt where Joseph was established. The Israelites prospered and grew in population while living in Egypt. Fulani people descended from them. After a long time a new Pharaoh who did not know about Joseph’s fame in Egypt, came to power. He made the Israelites work hard at slave labor. The Pharaoh oppressed the people, including Fulanis who were rich in cattle. They emigrated from Egypt, some of them went back to Palestine and Syria under Moses guidance and the other crossed the Nile with their cattle and headed west. They took the name of fouth or foudh meaning those who left. A group from the latter moved along the edges of the Sahara to Touat-Air and then to West-Africa."(8)















The Beta Israel are from the union of King Solomon of Israel and Makeda Queen of Ethiopia. From this union they bore a son called Menelik. This began the Solomonic dynasty in Ethiopia. More on this account can be found in the Kebra Negast (Book of the Kings). The Beta Israel were forced to let go of the traditions that they have been practicing for thousands of years so that they could embrace the traditions of the Ashkenazi converts. Mainstream Jewry believes that these Jews are from the tribe of Dan. I disagree. You can not deny that Judah is among them. we know Menelik is one proof of this. Levi is also among them since it is documented that Levite priests came to Ethiopia with Menelik. "In Ethiopia the community known as Beit Avraham has some 50,000 members. This community also claims Jewish heritage. Several scholars think that they broke off from the Beta Israel community several centuries ago, hid their Jewish customs, and outwardly adopted Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity. Beit Avraham have traditionally been on the lower rungs of Ethiopian social life and have held occupations similar to those of the Beta Israel, such as crafts. Recently, the Beit Avraham community has made attempts to reach out to the world Jewish community. They formed the Ethiopian

























"The Lemba are a Jewish people in southern Africa. Although they speak Bantu languages similar to their neighbors, they have specific religious practices similar to those in Judaism and other Semitic traditions. They also have a tradition of being a migrant people, with clues pointing to an origin from Yemeni Jews. They have restrictions on intermarriage with non-Lemba. It is difficult for male non-Lemba to become part of the community. A significant number of individuals carry a genetic signature on the Y chromosome known as the , indicative of a Semitic paternal ancestry. Amongst Jews, this Y chromosome trait is particularly associated with the Kohanim or priests, a distinct subgroup of Israelites. It can also be found in other non-Jewish Y-DNA Haplogroup J populations across the Middle East and beyond. Though the Lemba are descended from Jewish ancestors, they have not practiced Judaism for many centuries. Although the vast majority of Lemba, like the eastern and western Jews who see no difficulties in claiming Jewish heritage but not practicing the religion itself, do not see a

























"The Abayudaya Jewish Community is a 100-year-old community of nearly 2,000 Jews who live among their Christian and Muslim neighbors in scattered villages in the fertile green hills of Eastern Uganda. The Abayudaya, whose tribal name means "People of Judah," trace their Jewish origins to the turn of the twentieth century. The Abayudaya began their journey to Judaism under the leadership of Semei Kakungulu, a powerful leader who was selected to be a Christian missionary for the British. However, Kakungulu favored the Hebrew Bible and in 1919 the community began practicing Judaism. After Kakungulu’s death in 1928, some members drifted away. In 1971, Idi Amin Dada came to power, and banned Jewish practice. Many in the community were forced to convert to other religions. religions. After the fall of Amin in 1979, the remnants remnants of the Abayudaya community gathered to rebuild the community. Rabbi Gershom Sizomu, grandson of community elder "Rabbi" Samson, lives near the Moses Synagogue in the village of Nabagogye which he and others from the community's early 1980s "Kibbutz movement" built with their own hands. He was youth leader of the Abayudaya community from 1988 to 1998. Their goal was to gather what was left of the Abayudaya community back together after the devastating reign of Idi Amin Dada ended in 1979.



























A large amount of Igbo (Eber, Hebrew) Israelites are from the tribe of Gad descendant of Eri. You will also find the tribe of Levi, Zebulon, Uda/Judah among the Igbo people. Many Hebrew artifacts were found among them but were taken by the British. The British found the Shield of David among the Igbo people. This is what inspired them to mint the Nigerian coins with the Shield of David. The Igbo people have been wearing the Kippah and Tallit long before they encountered the Ashkenazi converts. This is only the tip of the iceberg. The Yoruba people have a clan living among them called the "Emo Yo Quaim" (Strange people). They are the B'nai Ephraim/Sons of Ephraim.













So, when it happened they had to leave Iberia in a hurry to protect their lives and freedom, those Moorish Iberian Jews sailed on their network of ships to Nigeria Africa, near Lagos amongst the Yorubas, their relation by blood, their greater nationality."(17) The Idoma people are a small tribe that are closely related to the Igbo. They have a rich Hebraic culture. Before British colonization they wore fringes on their garments like their Israelite ancestors . Circumcision, sacrifices, and paying a bride price are within their culture. What I found very interesting is that if a man cannot pay a dowry for a bride he can instead work for his future father-in law for his bride for seven years. This is exactly what Jacob/Israel did for Leah and Rachel in the Scriptures! Akwa Cross Israelites (Annang, Efik, Eket, Ibibio, and Oron) They are members of the Northern Kingdom of Israel who left before the Babylonian













"The first traces of Judaism in Ghana appeared in 1976, thanks to a Ghanaian man named Aaron Ahomtre Toakyirafa. Living in the community of Sefwi Sui in Western Ghana, Toakyirafa had a vision and "spoke with spirits" driving him to believe that he and his fellow Ghanaian's were indeed descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel. He saw a clear connection and many similarities between his peoples practices and those of Judaism. For example, it was a tradition in Sewfi for Saturday to be a day of rest. Such a strong tradition that Sewfi that didn't adhere to it were frequently punished. Sewfi also followed the Jewish dietary law restricting the consumption of pork. Members of the male community were circumcised in youth. Toakyriafa was first viewed as crazy but over time his













they stayed briefly. From Huatsi, the Ga-Dangmes traveled to the eastern banks of River Volta (know as JOR). From there, they crossed the Volta River at a place between the Old Kpong and Akuse and established settlements on the plains of Tag-logo where they lived till 1200 A.D. Later, the Ga-Dangmes migrated to the plains of Lorlorvor between Lorlorvor and Osudoku Hills. The Shai occupied a settlement in Shai highlands. The Ga-Dangmes claim to be descendants DAN and GAD, the fifth and seventh sons of Jacob."(20)















Baluba means "Lost tribe". These Israelites are from the tribe of Judah. From the Kingdom of Luba. There are many Hebrew words within their language.













There were many Sephardic Jews that migrated to Benin. The Hebrew presence is very obvious. From the city Ouidah/Judah and the Slave fort













"Egyptian Jewry traced its history back to the time of Jeremiah (Letter of Aristeas, 35), but it was not until the conquest of Alexander the Great in 332













Queen, thus earning her esteem but alienating the Greek population from them them (A (Ant nt.. 13:2 13:287 87). ). She appo appoin inte ted d two two Jewi Jewish sh brot brother hers, s, An Anan ania iass and and Helkias, as commanders of her army."(21)













"From the fifth to the third centuries B.C.E., the Carthaginian gold market was situated in Morocco. On this historical basis, an ancient legend relates







































The Israelites of Africa: A Means to Preserve the Oral Traditions

Recommend Documents