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Africana Jewish Journeys Africana Jewish Journeys Africana Jewish Journeys: Studies in African Judaism Edited by Marla Brettschneider, Edith Bruder and Magdel Le Roux Africana Jewish Journeys: Studies in African Judaism Edited by Marla Brettschneider, Edith Bruder and Magdel Le Roux This book first published 2019 Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2019 by Marla Brettschneider, Edith Bruder, Magdel Le Roux and contributors All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-5275-2213-X ISBN (13): 978-1-5275-2213-8 Some of the articles in this book come from papers presented at the Third International Conference of the International Society for the Study of African Jewry (www.issaj.com) “The Surge of Judaism across Africa, the African Diaspora and Asia in the Twenty-first Century” at The Museum of Jewish History and Art Paris, France, 10-11 November 2015. TABLE OFCONTENTS Acknowledgements .................................................................................. vii Introduction ............................................................................................. viii Marla Brettschneider, Bruder, Magdel Edith Le Roux Contributors ............................................................................................ xvii Part One: Myths and Misrepresentations Chapter One ................................................................................................ 2 Black Philo-Semitism Versus Racial Myths Edith Bruder Chapter Two ............................................................................................. 19 Make Way for the New New Normative: Paradigmr Approaching fo A African Judaism Sar Ahmadiel ben Yehuda Chapter Three ........................................................................................... 37 The Long Way Home:African Living American as an of Jew in a Time Turmoil Carol B. Conaway Chapter Four ............................................................................................. 49 Misrepresentational Organization of Jewishin Kerala, aSoci Indi through Models Caste of and Race, Slavery Barbara C. Johnson Part Two: Islands and “Insularity” Chapter Five ............................................................................................. 64 Anti-Colonialism and Jewish Women in Madagascar Marla Brettschneider vi Table of Contents ChapterSix ................................................... ............................................ 78 Popular Reflections Genealogy of Israelite in Madagascar:ciating Disso Bio-Racialfrom Signifiers Mainstream Jewish Religious Practice Nathan P. Devir Chapter Seven ........................................................................................... 91 Recapturing JewishVerde: Roots ChangingDiasporic in Cabotities Iden Alma Gottlieb Chapter Eight .......................................................................................... 106 Concentric Circlessraelite of Jewish/I IdentityAfrica in Sub-Saharan William F.S. Miles Part Three: New Directions in Lemba Studies Chapter Nine ........................................................................................... 124 Lemba and other Perspectives on Great Zimbabwe and Mapungubwe Magdel Le Roux Chapter Ten ............................................................................................ 142 Naming Practices among Vhalemba/Basena of South Africa Tom Sengani Chapter Eleven ....................................................................................... 157 A Discussion of Lemba Traditions, Observed and Abandoned Oded Hams Maramwidze Part Four: Politics and Resistance Chapter Twelve ...................................................................................... 172 The Politics of Relocation of Ethiopian Jews Yvonne Crenshaw Chapterirteen Th ..................................................................................... 185 Judaism is Home to Africans Cornet Alexandre Zouko Chapterurteen Fo .................................................................................... 202 The Tradition oft amongIsraelite the Pashtuns Descen in India and its Ramifications Navras Jaat Aafreedi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank at the Universityollege of of New Hampshire the C Liberal Arte, the Center for thend Political Humanities, Women’s Studies, a Science as well as Tali Cherim,aminsky, Elisabeth Lohmueller, Bethany K and Nina Judith Katz. INTRODUCTION MARLABRETTSCHNEIDER , EDITHBRUDER , ANDM AGDELLE R OUX In recent decades, we have witnessed a new global phenomenon. Throughout the world, tens of thousandssen to of individuals have cho become part of the Jewish people,ntity adopting either Jewish religious ide through self-identification orkable religious conversion. This remar phenomenon occurs in areas whereeen knownJudaism has not historically b to be present time and when at anti-Zionisma are onand the anti-Semitism upsurge in Europe and elsewhere.uthern In West, East, Central, and So Africa, severalc groups ethni have chosen dto proclaim embrace Judaism an that they are returning to long-forgottenans trace their Jewish roots. Many cl lineage back to ancient Israelst orTribes speak of in the trope of the “Lo Israel”, affirming that theyin were Africa. among the outposts of Israel Many of these communities and individualseir want to understand th diasporic history, and the majorityr religious are seeking to further thei education and connection with global Jewry. This phenomenon is developing somewhat in tandem with a growing number of African American Jews and Jewish communities the mid- in the United States since twentieth-century. We see a similar situation inommunities Asia. There are historic Jewish c in India. At the same time, somedia additional are newly ethnic groups in In adopting or sometimes rediscovering and have a Judaic religious identity emerged, for a variety of reasons,aelite as global members of the Jewish/Isr people. This growth in new expressionsew of Jewish identity and n geographical areas of Jewishsition influence in the marks a significant tran history of the Jewish people.try These into communities’ the entry or re-en world as Jews implies the necessityccounts of of reshaping the standard a collective Jewish experience, bothnd in the contemporary period a historically. Until recently,daism this inhistory Africa beenof and Ju Asia has underestimated. The overall phenomenon,precedented which constitutes an un turning point in the historyered of Jewish almost collectivity, was consid Africana Jewishudies Journeys: in African St Judaismix nonexistent by scholars and most the communityGlobal religious leaders of North. The first intention ofomenon this book in is to examine this phen both global and local contextsd accounts and to challenge the way standar of African—and in some related ways,aped. Asian—Judaism must be resh Our second intention is thataffiliations the different with trajectories to and Judaism be perceived from as many angles as possible. Through the various chapters,iplinary drawn from a wide variety of disc backgrounds, we examine the multipleings for sources, reasons, and mean this shaping or reshaping of dmodern marked Jewish by identities in a worl political upheaval, economicd ethnic uncertainty, and ecological crises, an religious conflicts. This book is made all the more crucial by its commitment to contemporary history and recent of events such as group conversion communities in Africa and massups emigration in to Israel of some gro India. The work here allows foring a of greater a new historical understand reality and a moreue informed between scholarsdialogous of religi boundaries. Scholars’ contributionse of cross borders and break fre constraints prioritizing theof Globalelites Northfrom and the perspectives among the centers of the historicpean Atlantic slave trade and Euro Christian missionizing. As aigion book writtenon identity, history, and rel from diverse disciplinaryounds, it reflects backgr changes the and profound endogenous and exogenous controversiesty of aroused by the new reali affiliation toudy Judaism. is undeniably Suchal a nature. st of a politic The net impact of this collectiveto a project is to bring cohesion disparate and dispersed fieldholars of study and and to bring together sc members of the communities in question Jewish working in the fields of studies and African and Asianw studies—disciplines have had that until no very little in common. To grapplehenomenon with the complexity in this p and developing field of study, wide the variety essays in this book employ a of methodological approaches fromhistory, anthropology, phenomenology, archaeology, linguistics, politicaleligious and philosophy, genetics, and r cultural studies. They offerns a aboutnetwork the of theoretical suggestio religious and cultural aspectselopment, of African in and Indian Jewish dev both continents as well as in the African diaspora. A variety of audiences will likelylpful: find the contents herein he members of the various communitiesrs and discussed, as well as schola students interested in the studyrican of History, the History of Religion, Af Political Theory, Post-Colonialsh Studies, Studies,
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