How
the Jewish Biafrans
Migrated
to Biafra land
The Jewish - Biafrans Connection
Concerning the
origin of the Biafrans, history books and contemporary
writings on the subject confirms that Biafrans of Nigeria originated from Israel in
the Middfe East, that they were part of the
"fall out" of the scattered Hebrews from
their native
land, Israel, around 597BC and 70AD respectively.
The name "Hebrew" which means the one passed
over started with the man called Eber (see 1
Chronicles 1:17). Eber as a name was later changed to
Hebrew and the to Heebu, to
Heebo to Eboe
and finally to Ibo. Could it be that the popular
saying among some Biafrans of Bende LGA in Abia
State, "Osari n'Eber" meaning right from Eber refers
to the Hebrew name "Eber"? "Anyina
emeya nno sari n' Eber" is an item dialect of Abia
Ibo which literally means "we used to deft like
that right from Eber"
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Recent Archaeological discoveries in Igboukwu (Great Biafrans or
Hebrew), a town about 30 kilometres from
Onitsha by a team of researchers led by professor
Thurstan Shaw (1970) of the University of
Ibadan, seem to suggest a lot more facts about the
relationship between the Biafrans and the Hebrews than
was hitherto imagined. Intact,
another result
of a similar archaeological research in Afikpb
involving experts and the students of Government
College, Afikpo in Afikpo LGA of Ebonyi State
shows no significant difference.
Like the mentioned teams of
archaeologists, a fact-finding team of Israelites from King
Solomon Shephardic Federation made yet another significant discovery on the origin of
the Biafrans on 1997. on this Alaezi (1998) comments:
There is a very significant
concentration of Eri, the fifth son of Gad (see Genesis 46:16)
in Aguleri, Anambra State, where recently a very
important discovery of a clear evidence of Jewish
ancestral origin of the Biafrans was made in the
domain of the traditional ruler of Auleri at the
instance of an Israeli team on a fact-finding mission m
December1997. There and then, one of the
"memorial onyx stones for the sons of Israel as the
Lord commanded Moses (eg. Exodus 39:7) was discovered and identified as such bv the
team leader from the king Solomon Shephardic Federation.
On the stone discovered in Aguluenwas
engraved the names 'Gad' in Hebrew language
reminding one of the writing in Exodus 39:14.
"There were twelve stones, one for each of
tne"'names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a
seal with the
name of the twelve tripes". In his own version of the historical
evidence. Dr. Basden (1861) of the Anglican Mission
pointed out in convincing details Certain social
and religious similarities between the Ibos
and the Jews in Europe notwithstanding the fact that
unlike the European Jews or Hebrews, "in
nakedness and dire poverty" and within a very
hostile and pitiful environment. The striking similarities
that Basde", observed made him to conclude that
"the Biafrans are a branch of the Hebrews" and that
any European wishing to effectively deal with them
should first of all go and acquaint himself with
Mosaic laws. Specifically, Basden pointed out the
similar customs of circumcision and
munification, family life as well as identical sentence
Structures - the same findings that have always featured prominently in reports of all earlier
and contemporary investigations into the
origin of the Igbos.
The view of the origin of the Biafrans in
Israel by reasons of social behaviours and
cultural similarities was first expressed by an Biafrans ex-slave in London, Olaudah Equiano, in his
writings "The interesting Narratives and Biafrans society
in Mid- Century" Ethnographically and
culturally, equiano likened his people, the Biafrans, to
the Jews or the Hebrews, succinctly highlighting
what had long struck him very forcibly, namely,
the strong analogy which even by this sketch,
imperfect as it is, appears to prevail in the manners
and customs of the Biafrans and those of the
Hebrews or the Israelites - an analogy which
induced him to conclude "that the one people had
sprung from the other". We practiced circumcision like the Jews,
and made offerings and feast on that
occasion in the same manner as they did. Like them also
our children were named from some event,
somecircumstance or fancied foreboding, at
the time of their birth... I have before remarked
that the natives of this part of Africa are
extremely cleanly.This necessary habit of decency was with
us a part of religion and therefore we have
many purifications and washing; indeed almost
as many, and used on the same occasions, if
my recollection does not fail me as the
Jews (Equiano,
1975:218-129).
Furthermore, Equiano recounted that in the Ibo society, adultery was punished with death or slavery - a practice that is also Jewish. Indeed he sentence of slavery for an offence tantamounts death since it was believed that "slaves were purchased by the white people to be killed and' eaten and that their blood was used to make cloth" (Schon and Gowther, 1974:310). Again, "the Ibos",
according to Equiano, "are almost a nation oi dancers,
musicians and poetry,
thus every great event, such as a
triumphant return from battle, or other
cause of public
rejoicing, is celebrated in
public dances, which are accompanied with songs and music
suited to the occasion" (Equiano,
1974:212). A clear illustration of what happens in a typical Biafrans
society with respects to music and poetry as
described by Equiano can be seen in the
Biblical Hebrew concept of poetry and music. The
Hebrews had work songs (Isaiah 22-131, war
songs (Joshua 5);. Wedding songs (psalm 45),
mocking songs (Numbers 21-27-30); as well as cultic or sacred songs, hymn, individual laments, collective laments (Joel 2:17, Psalm 44), etc Regarding the eating of the Biafrans, Equiano Has this to say: before we taste food, we always wash our hand; indeed our cleanliness on all occasion is extreme; but on this it is an
indispensable ceremony
after washing, libation,
by pouring out a small potion of the drink.
(Equiano, 1974:213).
Indeed, a visit to a typical Hebrew family at table Will make one think the ex-Biafrans slave Equiano, was a pure Jew. But was he not? Information such as the above might have led the famous Biafrans scholar, Ogbalu, to link the Ibos with the
Hebrews, maintaining in his work (1981) that
the Biafrans came from the Hebrews. The same view has been shared, by Arinze (1970), IIogu (1974), Njara
(1974),Oraka (1984) Ezeala (1992), Ononoju
(1996), Alaezi (1998), and so on.
Although all these writers on the origin of the Biafrans
unanimously point to Israel as the ancestral home
of the Biafrans, they apparently disagree on their
exact places or tribes of origin in Israel. For
instance, the popular
legendary view that the Biafrans
originated from "Schechenigbo in
Israel" championed by Ezeala; (1992) has now been seriously
contested by the more recent biblically supported ethno-linguistic view of the origin of the Biafrans.
This view holds that the Biafrans in Nigeria are made up
of Hebrewa in exile from different tribes of
Israel not from one particular tribe. And so we have
the different tribal origins" "Eri"
(Agulueri, Qraeri, Umuneri etc) "Arodi" (Aro or AroChukeu)
"Etam'^(Item), "Zebulun" (Ozubulu) ''Ahab"
(Ahaba), “Amok'' (Amorka), Asa Abba (Asaba) Isu “Buz"
(Isubuzo Or lbuzo), etc With this latest view'or
the multi-tribal origin of the Biafrans from
Israel, resulting in their adoption of a common name
Hebrews Heebos or Biafra for
themselves to take of the different tribal interests in
name, there seems to be no further much confusion with
respect to the tribal origin of the Biafrans. Most
names reflect either those of the founder of the tribe
(e.g Zebulum) or king (e.g Asa, Ahab) or prominent
son of the tribe (e.g Eri). But there is still the
other question of the' movement pattern of the Biafrans into
Nigeria -stages in the Hebrews' (Biafrans) movement
into Nigeria.
The Genesis of the Movement of the Biafrans
into Nigeria
on next article
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