African "Jews" for Jesus: A preliminary investigation into the Semitic origins and missionary initiatives of some Lemba communities in southern Africa

Abstract

The Lemba live among other ethnic groups in southern Africa, but consider themselves to be Israelites who, after the Babylonian exile, migrated to Africa, The possibility that the Lemba might have a' Semitic ancestry (embedded in an African culture) is further suggested by their preoccupation with religious practices like animal sacrifice, ritual slaughter, food,taboos, circumcision rites, and enqogamy, This article is primarily based on field research (participant observation and interviewing) among the Lemba people living mainly in the northern and eastern provinces of South Africa and in southern Zimbabwe, Attention is drawn to the way in which the ide'ntity of the Lemba is manifested through the traditions of their origin, some key cultural-religious prac~ces (with an Old Testament resonance), the initiatives they took in their mission, and their assimilation into Christianity,