The Igbo people are a large ethnic group of Nigeria and in it there is a population that believe they are the descendants of the lost tribes of Israel. They are practicing Jews, and they have always had a migration story that has been passed down generations. Their story says that the seventh son of Jacob- a patriarch of Judaism, had three sons who settled in present day southeast Nigeria after they had gone into exile, according to the book of Genesis they are said to have established kingdoms and towns, which still actually exist today. There is possible scientific evidence that they are ancient Israelite descendants because in the eight century B.C Assyrians invaded the northern kingdom of Israel forcing ten tribes into exile and it is not unlikely that some of those tribes fled into west Africa.
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/01/world/africa/nigeria-jews-igbo/index.html?hpt=iaf_t2
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130124142718-nigeria-jews-igbo-elder-horizontal-gallery.jpg
I think it is very cool that this tribe is just now being discovered.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rachel. It's interesting that after all of these years, this tribe is just now being discovered.
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