By Steve Vickers
BBC News, Harare

Pictures: The Lemba & London Proffessor



The Lemba people of Zimbabwe and South Africa may look like their compatriots, but they follow a very different set of customs and traditions. 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 have confirmed 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. And they also have a prized religious artefact that they say connects them to their Jewish ancestry -a replica of the Biblical Ark of the Covenant known as the ngoma lungundu, meaning "the drum that thunders". The object went on display recently at a Harare museum to much fanfare, and instilled pride in many of the Lemba.

"For me it's the starting point," says religious singer Fungisai Zvakavapano-Mashavave.
"Very few people knew about us and this is the time to come out. I'm very proud to realise that we have a rich culture and I'm proud to be a Lemba. "We have been a very secretive people, because we believe we are a special people."

Religion vs culture
The Lemba have many customs and regulations that tally with Jewish tradition. They wear skull caps, practise circumcision, which is not a tradition for most Zimbabweans, avoid eating pork and food with animal blood, and have 12 tribes. They slaughter animals in the same way as Jewish people, and they put the Jewish Star of David on their tombstones.



Members of the priestly clan of the Lemba, known as the Buba, were even discovered to have a genetic element also found among the Jewish priestly line.

"This was amazing," said Prof Tudor Parfitt, from the University of London. "It looks as if the Jewish priesthood continued in the West by people called Cohen, and in same way it was continued by the priestly clan of the Lemba.
"They have a common ancestor who geneticists say lived about 3,000 years ago somewhere in north Arabia, which is the time of Moses and Aaron when the Jewish priesthood started."

Prof Parfitt is a world-renowned expert, having spent 20 years researching the Lemba, and living with them for six months.
The Lemba have a sacred prayer language which is a mixture of Hebrew and Arabic, pointing to their roots in Israel and Yemen.

Despite their ties to Judaism, many of the Lemba in Zimbabwe are Christians, while some are Muslims. "Christianity is my religion, and Judaism is my culture," explains Perez Hamandishe, a pastor and member of parliament from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

Despite their centuries-old traditions, some younger Lemba are taking a more liberal view. "In the old days you didn't marry a non-Lemba, but these days we interact with others," says Alex Makotore, son of the late Chief Mposi from the Lemba "headquarters" in Mberengwa. "I feel special in my heart but not in front of others such that I'm separated from them. Culture is dynamic." Crowds

The oral traditions of the Lemba say that the ngoma lungundu is the Biblical wooden Ark made by Moses, and that centuries ago a small group of men began a long journey carrying it from Yemen to southern Africa. The object went missing during the 1970s and was eventually rediscovered in Harare in 2007 by Prof Parfitt. "Many people say that the story is far-fetched, but the oral traditions of the Lemba have been backed up by science," he says. Carbon dating shows the ngoma to be nearly 700 years old -pretty ancient, if not as old as Bible stories would suggest. But Prof Parfitt says this is because the ngoma was used in battles, and would explode and be rebuilt.
The ngoma now on display was a replica, he says, possibly built from the remains of the original. "So it's the closest descendant of the Ark that we know of," Prof Parfitt says.

Large crowds came to see the unveiling of the ngoma and to attend lectures on the identity of the Lemba. For David Maramwidze, an elder in his village, the discovery of the ngoma has been a defining moment. "Hearing from those professors in Harare and seeing the ngoma makes it clear that we are a great people and I'm very proud," he says. "I heard about it all my life and it was hard for me to believe, because I had no idea of what it really is. "I'm still seeing the picture of the ngoma in my mind and it will never come out from my brain. Now we want it to be given back to the Lemba people."

To hear more about the Lemba people, listen to the BBC World Service African Perspective programme on Saturday 6 March at 0830 GMT.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8550614.stm

The great civilization of the lemba

[img]http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/images/5108as11.jpg[/img]

[img]http://1.bp..com/_xRssZdpdPL0/TQI0E7BWOrI/AAAAAAAAAPE/hASdY5--eCE/s1600/Great_Zimbabwe.jpg[/img]

[/quote] [quote][img]http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/images/5108as11.jpg[/img]

[img]http://1.bp..com/_xRssZdpdPL0/TQI0E7BWOrI/AAAAAAAAAPE/hASdY5--eCE/s1600/Great_Zimbabwe.jpg[/img]

One of the soapstone birds.

The "Hill Complex" area of Great Zimbabwe:

[img]http://content.lib.washington.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/buildings&CISOPTR=5866[/img]

"Great Enclosure" entrance (one of them)

[img]http://dudewereinafrica.files./2012/01/great-zimbabwe-1-of-6.jpg[/img]

A passage in the great enclosure (might be
the same as the one above)

THE FIVE BASIC HISTORICAL QUESTIONS (5 BHQs) ON GREAT ZIMBABWE

The five Basic Historical Questions (5 BHQs) are a fundamental set of questions that should be used to summarize and analyze a culture or civilization. The answers to these questions put the civilization in historical context and this gives our research structure and meaning.

1. Whe­n Did the Civilization Begin (Time Period)?

The civilization of Great Zimbabwe reached its zenith from 1100–1450 AD, although local Shona-speaking farmers had settled in present-day Zimbabwe nearly a thousand years earlier.

2. Where Was the Civilization Located?

The location of Great Zimbabwe is in south central Africa, in current-day Zimbabwe, between the Zambezi (north) and Limpopo (south) rivers. The Great Zimbabwe site is situated on a high plateau, mostly over 1000 m. (3,250 ft.)

3. Why is the Civilization Important?

The Great Zimbabwe civilization is important for several reasons:

-The Zimbabwe site, featuring the Great Enclosure wall, is one of the most astounding regions with monuments in Africa, second only to the Nile Valley pyramid region.

-The ancient plan of Great Zimbabwe is in two parts: the hill complex and the valley complexes. The hill complex is where the king kept many of his treasures. Although he lived in the Imba Huru (or Great Enclosure) in the valley, he spent considerable ritual time on the hill. Several important enclosures exist within the hill complex. The principles ones are the ritual enclosure, the smelting enclosure and the iron-keeping enclosure.

-The valley complexes are dominated by the Imba Huru. The height of the main wall of the Imba Huru is about 32 feet, it is 800 feet long, and utilizes an amazing 15,000 tons of granite blocks. The impressive blocks were constructed without mortar. The building of this complex took skill, determination and industry, and thus the Imba Huru demonstrates a high level of administrative and social achievement by bringing together stone masons and other workers on a grand scale.

-The extensive trading network made Great Zimbabwe one of the most significant trading regions during the Medieval period. The main trading items were gold, iron, copper, tin, cattle, and also cowrie shells. Imported items included glassware from Syria, a minted coin from Kilwa, Tanzania, and Persian & Chinese ceramics from the 13-14th centuries.

-Great Zimbabwe was an important commercial and political center. In addition to being in the heart of an extensive commercial and trading network, the site was the center of a powerful political kingdom, which was under a central ruler for about 350 years (1100–1450 AD). The site is estimated to have contained perhaps 18,000 inhabitants, making it one of the largest cities of its day. The conclusion is inescapable that Great Zimbabwe had a condensed population sufficient for it to be considered a town, or even a city. However, many Western writers have attempted to reduce the significance of Great Zimbabwe by several methods: by estimating low population numbers (e.g. only 5,000 instead of 18,000 inhabitants); calling the dwellings “huts” instead of homes; calling the areas “villages” instead of towns or cities; and identifying the rulers as “chiefs’ instead of kings. These writers are well aware that smallness means less significance.

4. How Did the Civilization Begin?

The Great Zimbabwe site was settled around 350 AD by Shona-speaking farmers, who migrated into this elevated plateau region to avoid the tsetse flies, which can kill both people and cattle by causing “sleeping sickness.” The disease trypanosomiasis, or more commonly sleeping sickness, is transmitted by the various species of tsetse flies, which transmit the disease through their saliva. The Great Zimbabwe site was a safe haven high enough to avoid the flies, and this allowed the Shona-speaking migrants to farm and raise their cattle. Eventually, developments led to the formation of the Great Zimbabwe state at the end of the 11th century. Two general theories (technological innovations and intensified trading activities) have been advanced to explain the rise of the Zimbabwe state.

5. How Did the Civilization Decline?

Great Zimbabwe declined and was abandoned around 1450 AD for unknown reasons. The migrants left Zimbabwe and founded the northern kingdom of Monomotapa and other successor states. There has been much speculation about Zimbabwe’s decline as theories of its fall have ranged from over-farming, the population depleting the land resources, a drastic weather change, and a decline in the important gold trade. Further research will have to provide more information on this question.

Much of the wealth which remained at Great Zimbabwe was removed through the centuries by European explorers, treasure hunters, souvenir seekers, and plunderers such as Richard Hall. The site is but a shell of what it once was, as the artifacts were vandalized by these European groups and destroyed or hauled away by them and eventually sent to various museums throughout Europe, America, and South Africa. Today, there are about 20,000 tourists who visit the site each year and they continue to cause additional damage to the ruins, as these tourists climb the walls for thrills and to find souvenirs.

http://libtv.com/Manu/zimbabwe.htm

Wooooooow dis is good,lemme check ma lineage..................mmmm,I said it Alexander the great was related to me, now its ma time to reclaim half of d worldddddddddd

No comment

The Lemba did not build the civilization of Great Zimbabwe. The Shona did.

ah ah this people wan come follow Igbo people drag Hebrew ancestry igbos no go take am lightly with them o

vdGeist:
By Steve Vickers
BBC News, Harare
Pictures: The Lemba & London Proffessor
The Lemba people of Zimbabwe and South Africa may look like their compatriots, but they follow a very different set of customs and traditions. 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 have confirmed 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. And they also have a prized religious artefact that they say connects them to their Jewish ancestry -a replica of the Biblical Ark of the Covenant known as the ngoma lungundu, meaning "the drum that thunders". The object went on display recently at a Harare museum to much fanfare, and instilled pride in many of the Lemba.
"For me it's the starting point," says religious singer Fungisai Zvakavapano-Mashavave.
"Very few people knew about us and this is the time to come out. I'm very proud to realise that we have a rich culture and I'm proud to be a Lemba. "We have been a very secretive people, because we believe we are a special people."
Religion vs culture
The Lemba have many customs and regulations that tally with Jewish tradition. They wear skull caps, practise circumcision, which is not a tradition for most Zimbabweans, avoid eating pork and food with animal blood, and have 12 tribes. They slaughter animals in the same way as Jewish people, and they put the Jewish Star of David on their tombstones.

Members of the priestly clan of the Lemba, known as the Buba, were even discovered to have a genetic element also found among the Jewish priestly line.
"This was amazing," said Prof Tudor Parfitt, from the University of London. "It looks as if the Jewish priesthood continued in the West by people called Cohen, and in same way it was continued by the priestly clan of the Lemba.
"They have a common ancestor who geneticists say lived about 3,000 years ago somewhere in north Arabia, which is the time of Moses and Aaron when the Jewish priesthood started."
Prof Parfitt is a world-renowned expert, having spent 20 years researching the Lemba, and living with them for six months.
The Lemba have a sacred prayer language which is a mixture of Hebrew and Arabic, pointing to their roots in Israel and Yemen.
Despite their ties to Judaism, many of the Lemba in Zimbabwe are Christians, while some are Muslims. "Christianity is my religion, and Judaism is my culture," explains Perez Hamandishe, a pastor and member of parliament from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Despite their centuries-old traditions, some younger Lemba are taking a more liberal view. "In the old days you didn't marry a non-Lemba, but these days we interact with others," says Alex Makotore, son of the late Chief Mposi from the Lemba "headquarters" in Mberengwa. "I feel special in my heart but not in front of others such that I'm separated from them. Culture is dynamic." Crowds
The oral traditions of the Lemba say that the ngoma lungundu is the Biblical wooden Ark made by Moses, and that centuries ago a small group of men began a long journey carrying it from Yemen to southern Africa. The object went missing during the 1970s and was eventually rediscovered in Harare in 2007 by Prof Parfitt. "Many people say that the story is far-fetched, but the oral traditions of the Lemba have been backed up by science," he says. Carbon dating shows the ngoma to be nearly 700 years old -pretty ancient, if not as old as Bible stories would suggest. But Prof Parfitt says this is because the ngoma was used in battles, and would explode and be rebuilt.
The ngoma now on display was a replica, he says, possibly built from the remains of the original. "So it's the closest descendant of the Ark that we know of," Prof Parfitt says.
Large crowds came to see the unveiling of the ngoma and to attend lectures on the identity of the Lemba. For David Maramwidze, an elder in his village, the discovery of the ngoma has been a defining moment. "Hearing from those professors in Harare and seeing the ngoma makes it clear that we are a great people and I'm very proud," he says. "I heard about it all my life and it was hard for me to believe, because I had no idea of what it really is. "I'm still seeing the picture of the ngoma in my mind and it will never come out from my brain. Now we want it to be given back to the Lemba people."
To hear more about the Lemba people, listen to the BBC World Service African Perspective programme on Saturday 6 March at 0830 GMT.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8550614.stm

The caps on the heads of those Lemba Jews looks very much like the Igbo red Ozo cap. What does that tell you?

These guys are Bantus and the earliest Bantus were Igbos!

igbodefender: These guys are Bantus and the earliest Bantus were Igbos!

Nah! Akwa ibom/cross river is the ancestral home of the Bantu

@ Macof
The Proto Bantus are most likely to be Igbos. Their migration patterns from time immemorial as well as the one recorded in the Equianism book attests to this. Even today you have millions of Igbos outside Igboland and I believe even in your city. Igbos are like that, and its not changing anytime soon.

igbodefender: @ Macof
The Proto Bantus are most likely to be Igbos. Their migration patterns from time immemorial as well as the one recorded in the Equianism book attests to this. Even today you have millions of Igbos outside Igboland and I believe even in your city. Igbos are like that, and its not changing anytime soon.

Well you'll need to tell this story to the Bantus with prove

igbodefender: @ Macof
The Proto Bantus are most likely to be Igbos. Their migration patterns from time immemorial as well as the one recorded in the Equianism book attests to this. Even today you have millions of Igbos outside Igboland and I believe even in your city. Igbos are like that, and its not changing anytime soon.

Please, who wrote this Equianism book you keep talking about? What is the actual title of the book? What are his academic qualifications? Is he a professional historian, a linguist, an archaeologist or an anthropologist?

Radoillo:
The Lemba did not build the civilization of Great Zimbabwe. The Shona did.

Lembas are Shona, the origin of the word Nhona is from the Ndebele from SA who named the people in that region Shona which means to disappear or vanish in Nguni, because they would run away/vanish when they saw the Zulu/Ndebele impis.

So all the non-Ndebele people in Zimbabwe are Shona including the Lembes

[quote author=vdGeist post=27262964]

Lembas are Shona, the origin of the word Nhona is from the Ndebele from SA who named the people in that region Shona which means to disappear or vanish in Nguni, because they would run away/vanish when they saw the Zulu/Ndebele impis.

So all the non-Ndebele people in Zimbabwe are Shona including the Lembes [/quote where did u get to know that from?

macof:


Nah! Akwa ibom/cross river is the ancestral home of the Bantu

I think those Bantus in Akwa Ibom and Cross river are now part of Cameroun.

[quote author=Mutendiwashe post=27779453][/quote]

I was reading the comments on this article, though they're are distasteful. Their version seem accurate.

http://www.zimeye.org/shona-ndebele-people-were-all-invented-by-rhodesians/

and this,
shona is a ndebele word.

www.kalabashmedia.com/index.php/culture/item/8-shona-is-a-ndebele-word

iconize:


I think those Bantus in Akwa Ibom and Cross river are now part of Cameroun.

The Tiv, Efik and Ibibio are bantoid, remember, Bantu is just a language group.

so can they migrate to Isreal?

This groups are older than jews. African tribes should stop disgracing themselves.

It will be great to see it! I love history, Africa and Israel - amazing... Jewish prayer shawl

Lemba are from the Tribe of Benjamin.

The Lemba are Israelites from the tribe of Benjamin Many Benjamites resided with the Tribe of Judah in Southern Israel before the Babylonian invasion of Israel and Egypt in 587 BC. Other Benjamites stayed in the Northern Kingdom and fled or were exiled earlier with the 10 tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the Assyrian invasion 733BC.