Sounds like these guys fled when they saw the dust clouds on the horizon in Lehi's day:
Lost Jewish tribe 'found in Zimbabwe'
By Steve Vickers
BBC News, Harare
The
Lemba people are easy to distinguish from most other Zimbabweans - they
wear skull caps, pray in a language which is a mixture of Hebrew and
Arabic, and 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 pray in a language which mixes Arabic and Hebrew
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.
Many people say that the story is far-fetched, but the oral traditions of the Lemba have been backed up by science
Tudor Parfitt
University of London
They slaughter animals in the same way as Jewish people, and they put the Jewish Star of David on their tombstones.
Members
of the spiritual leaders of the Lemba, a clan known as the Buba, were
even discovered to have a genetic element also found among the Jewish
priestly line.
"This was amazing," said 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."
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.
Hearing from those professors in Harare and seeing the ngoma makes it clear that we are a great people and I'm very proud
David Maramwidze
Lemba elder
The object went missing during the 1970s and was eventually rediscovered in Harare in 2007 by Mr 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 Mr 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," Mr 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.
[link to news.bbc.co.uk]
THIS BLOG ATTEMPTS TO SHOW HOW SCIENCE IS CATCHING UP WITH REVEALED RELIGION
THIS BLOG IS AN ATTEMPT TO PUT ALL THE COOL STUFF THAT I BUMP INTO ABOUT THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST AND EVENTS THAT LEAD UP TO IT INTO ONE LOCATION.
THE CONTENTS WILL BE FROM AN LDS PERSPECTIVE. IF YOU DISAGREE WITH ANYTHING IN HERE, I DO NOT PARTICULARLY CARE TO ARGUE, UNLESS YOU CAN ADD TO THIS BODY OF WORK. I HAVE AN OPEN MIND, THAT IS WHY I READ STUFF FROM ALL DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AND SEEK LEARNING FROM THE BEST BOOKS. I JUST AM NOT HERE TO ARGUE ABOUT IT - BUT TO PUT IT OUT THERE WHERE OTHERS CAN PERUSE/PURSUE IT. I TAKE PARTICULAR INTEREST IN HONEST SEEKERS OF TRUTH AND BELIEVE THAT SCIENCE IS REVEALED RELIGION'S BEST ALLY. YOU WILL SEE ALOT OF TOPICS IN THIS BLOG THAT SHOW SCIENCE BACKING - AND SLOWLY CATCHING UP WITH - REVEALED RELIGION.
ENJOY!!
THE CONTENTS WILL BE FROM AN LDS PERSPECTIVE. IF YOU DISAGREE WITH ANYTHING IN HERE, I DO NOT PARTICULARLY CARE TO ARGUE, UNLESS YOU CAN ADD TO THIS BODY OF WORK. I HAVE AN OPEN MIND, THAT IS WHY I READ STUFF FROM ALL DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AND SEEK LEARNING FROM THE BEST BOOKS. I JUST AM NOT HERE TO ARGUE ABOUT IT - BUT TO PUT IT OUT THERE WHERE OTHERS CAN PERUSE/PURSUE IT. I TAKE PARTICULAR INTEREST IN HONEST SEEKERS OF TRUTH AND BELIEVE THAT SCIENCE IS REVEALED RELIGION'S BEST ALLY. YOU WILL SEE ALOT OF TOPICS IN THIS BLOG THAT SHOW SCIENCE BACKING - AND SLOWLY CATCHING UP WITH - REVEALED RELIGION.
ENJOY!!
Interesting. I just read Jacob 5 today. As we know, there are many, many more of these natural branches grafted all over the vineyard.
ReplyDelete