The Lemba of Southern Africa

Abstract The Lemba, the “Black Jews of Southern Africa,” are a group with unique traditions regarding their Israelite extraction. According to them, the ancestors of the Lemba migrated from “the north,” that is, Israel, to the Arabian Peninsula as traders in the seventh century bce. The similarities between the Lemba and early Israelites, especially in terms of religion and culture, can be seen in many deep-rooted Israelite or quasi-Israelite practices. There are clearly elements of religion that have been preserved from antiquity among the Lemba (and other African communities) that indicate similarities with pre-Talmudic Israelite religion. The chapter also discusses a genetic study suggesting a possible Jewish origin for the Bhuba, the priestly clan of the Lemba, who share some of the markers found in other Jewish populations. One or more Jews could have introduced this gene, although it is not possible to specify where or when this would have occurred.