The igbo and The jews-

Before the missionaries:

The Western world’s knowledge and interest in the Igbo dates back more than 500 years when Portuguese missionaries sailed to West Africa. They sent written reports back home about a tribe of Africans who were keeping the Jewish Sabbath and kosher laws. Most significant, though, was circumcision. With a large Muslim influence, circumcision was common among other Africans. But the Igbo were observing the tradition specifically on the eighth day, as Jewish practice stipulates.

The Igbo, the missionaries concluded, were practicing a basic Judaism based solely on the 613 commandments in the Torah since, according to their tradition, the Igbo’s ancestors left the Land of Israel long before the Talmud was codified and so their Jewish practice was Biblical rather than rabbinic in nature. (Some historians say the Igbo Jews migrated from Syria, Portugal and Libya into West Africa as late as 740 C.E. and were from several Israelite tribes – Gad, Asher, Dan and Naphtali. Later they were joined by more Jewish immigrants from Portugal and Libya in 1484 and 1667 respectively. - http://www.shavei.org/featured_articles/shavei-israel-sending-first-ever-emissary-to-nigerian-jews/?lang=en

So, this easily disproved the myth that the missionaries taught the Igbo, hebrew culture. When the missionaries are the ones that are shocked that the igbo's were practicing Jewish culture.



Igbo Jews according to Olaudah Equiano:



“the strong analogy which… appears to prevail in the manners and customs of my countrymen and those of the Jews, before they reached the Land of Promise, and particularly the patriarchs while they were yet in that pastoral state which is described in Genesis — an analogy, which alone would induce me to think that the one people had sprung from the other.” - Shavai-israel.org



This indicates that the igbo's were practicing Jewish culture before the coming of the missionaries, other wise, Olaudah Equiano would not have been so shocked that the igbo culture matches up with the ancient biblical culture.



The Igbo Jews according to Eldad the danite



According to 9th-century Jewish traveler Eldad ben-Mahli (Eldad the Danite), the Ibo Benei-Yisrael may be descendants of members of several of the “Lost Tribes of Israel.” He contended that the Jews of Africa came from the tribes of Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher, who had fled the Land of Israel so as not to participate in the civil war between Judah and Israelduring the time of Jereboam’s succession and reign over the Northern Kingdom (922-901BCE or 931-910 BCE). Eldad contended that these Jews originally settled in Havilah, beyond the rivers of Ethiopia. With them, they had a copy of the Tanach, less the books of Esther and Lamentations. These Jews had no knowledge of the Mishna or Babylonian Talmud, but had devised their own Talmudic tradition, in which all the laws were credited to Yehoshua bin Nun, who received them from Moses.

A 9th century Jewish traveler even knows this, so this debunks the claim that the Igbo learned this from the missionaries, when the missionaries came in igbo land in 1857, while the 9th century was over 1,000 years ago! So, in the 9th century atleast one man caiming to be from Dan know about the Igbo.

These is where I got information of Elbad the danite and the Igbo:

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Nigeria.html

http://www.shavei.org/category/communities/other_communities/africa/igbo-jews-nigeria/?lang=en

Btw Shavei Israel is an Israelite based company dedicated to finding the lost tribes, there really nice people though!

Also another website mentioned the Jewish traveler of the 9th century in IgboLand:

The Igbo are said to have migrated from Syria, Portugal and Libya into West Africa after the Assyrian army deported them. They also believe themselves to be of the tribe of Dan. In the ninth century, a Jewish traveler came across the Igbo and wrote that they had the entire body of Jewish Scriptures except the books of Esther and Lamentations. Written records were lost during years of persecution in Muslim areas. However, they maintained many Jewish practices over the centuries including circumcision on the eighth day, observance of some of the dietary laws, and laws of uncleanness, and celebration of Jewish holidays, including Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, and Passover.

http://losttribesofisrael.org







The lineages of Gad, Zevulun, Menashe according to the igbo Jews



• The Ibo of Benei Gath are said to have descended from Gath (Gad), the eighth son of Jacob. The lineage traces itself through Gath’s son, Eri ben-Gath. A number of Ibo clans claim this identity. They are the Aguleri, Umuleri, Oreri, Enugwu Ikwu, Ogbunike, Awkuzu, Nteje and Igbariam.



• The Ibo of Benei Zevulun trace their ancestry to Jacob’s fifth son, Zevulun. Tradition holds that a descendant of Zevulun named Zevulunu married Oji, a descendant of the tribe of Judah. They had a son: Ozubulu ben-Zebulunu. Ozubulu had four sons who are said to have settled in various areas located in what is now Nigeria. The resulting ethnic sub-identities are the Neni, Egbema Ugwuta, and Ohaji Egbema.

• The Ibo of Benei Menashsheh are believed to be descendant from Meneshsheh (Menashe), the son of Joseph, Jacob’s eleventh son. The Amichi, Ichi and Nnewi-Ichi ethnicities trace their lineage to Menashe.
Eri the Gadite according to the Igbo Jews
Eri, son of Gad is the father of all igbo, but for a while, some other tribes of Israel joined in with the Igbo Gadites, and mixed in with them, thus, Ephraim, Judah, Levi, and other tribes are among the Igbo as well. In the website, www.hebrewigbo.com, there is a picture of the writing at the stone throne of OBUGAD, written in Paleo hebrew that states: "This throne is dedicated to my father Gad" said to be built by Eri, into the God of his father YH-H.

Tribe of Ephraim, and the Igbo,

A particular group of igbo was able to be officially recognized by a chief rabbi as the lost Royal family of Ephraim:

these are the archeological evidence they used to convince the rabbi's:

http://amarielfamily.tripod.com/id11.html

And this is the video showing them being recognized:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsHYdL0UTR4

So, this shows, that the tribe of Ephraim made it to Nigeria, and if Ephraim can do it, so can others.

The tribe of Judah, and the Igbo:

There is a clan called the Uga clan, I don't if I spelled that right, but they are igbo's who claim to be from Judah.

The Igbo Levites according to genetic studies :


"There are also accounts of DNA testing which have found the kohen marker within members of both Yoruba and igbo people"- Remy IIona

Saying that, there is a group called B'nai Ephraim among the Yoruba claims to be from Ephraim, they're called 'Emo ya Quaim' or 'strange people' by the native Africans.

These Yoruba jews who claim that there ancestors came from Morocco are supported by there language which appears to be a mixture of Maghrebi Arabic and local negro speech.

Er or atleast Er's decendants, may have made it to Nigeria to, Er is a decendant of Shelah, Shelah is the son of Judah. When I say Er, I'm not talking about the Er that was killed by God in Genesis 38,

The Er mentioned in 1 Chronicles 4:21

" The sons of Shelah, the son of Judah, were Er, the father of Lecah..."


The reason why I state that Er may have made it to IgboLand, because the 'I' in UmuEri, and Algueri were added by the British, so, instead of those meaning Children of Eri, it means Children Of Er. In Genesis 38, Judah married a Canaanite Woman, and that Canaanite Woman gave birth to Shelah, and Canaanites are said to have been black people, so Er would of been a dark-skinned man, since his father Shelah, had a Canaanite mother. So, during the Jewish exile, it would of made sense for Er's decendants to flee to a place that has people that look like them. And Israelites have a history of naming a city after there father or forefathers. So, it could be that UmuEri, and Algueri are from Judah, and not Gad.But, Eri, the son of Gad, is still present among the Igbo, according to the onyx stone, and the Paleo-hebrew writting at the stone throne at Obuuga renamed by the British, so it's now known as OBUGAD.

According to Shavei Israel, here are likely theories for the migration of Hebrews into IgboLand:

1. Through migrations west from the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, and the Sudan.
2. Through trade and travel of North African Jews within the West African Kingdoms of Mali, Songhai, and Kanem-Bornu. According to accounts from explorers of the region, several of the rulers of the Songhai Empire were said to be of Jewish origin.
3. Through Jews traveling with Kel Tamasheq (Tuareg) trade caravans from various parts of Northeast Africa into West Africa.


I think these are more likely then the whole igbo-Gad-Eri theory.