Lost Jewish tribe 'found in Zimbabwe'

The BBC reports:

In many ways, the Lemba tribe of Zimbabwe and South Africa are just like their neighbours.

But in other ways their customs are remarkably similar to Jewish ones.
They do not eat pork, they practise male circumcision, they ritually slaughter their animals, some of their men wear skull caps and they put the Star of David on their gravestones.

Their oral traditions claim that their ancestors were Jews who fled the Holy Land about 2,500 years ago.

It may sound like another myth of a lost tribe of Israel, but British scientists have carried out DNA tests which confirm their Semitic origin.

These tests back up the group's belief that a group of perhaps seven men married African women and settled on the continent. The Lemba, who number perhaps 80,000, live in central Zimbabwe and the north of South Africa.

Related links:
Ugandan Jews
The Music of Ugandan Jews

4 comments:

feefifoto said...

So cool. Do you think they'll be evacuated like the Ethiopians were?

Basil said...

Looks like somebody took a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

Not From Lapland said...

really? wow. that's pretty interesting stuff. i wonder what the other natives think of them and their ways...

Jack Steiner said...

Hi Fee,

I am not so sure about that. It is not clear from the article if that is something that they are interested in.

Basil,

What's up doc!

Heather,

Good question, I am not really sure.

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