The Lemba Clan, Are They Real Jews Essay Example for Free

The Lemba Clan, Are They Real Jews EssayIntroduction Walking through the Venda blank space shopping center in Thohoyandou, South Africa, R dai ae ta a ad a tm ,T aioe f Jws bo e . Gv g i a uznw vdo m n n si o e hts n o my e i rt r i n h d h hs i m pzl ytn i e l kh ep i da a l k e . cm f m I al l gi e uz d ei r ud o ,e xln ,Im Ba Jw We a er s eao t e tg o ae c o r n m aoT e hv poe iwt gns N t nowing what to say and non having heard nearly this g. hy ae rvdt i ee. o k h before, I let his statement pass. My time in South Africa was devoted to working with a victim empowerment program, but I continued to wonder virtually the idea of Black Jews.The Black Jew or Lemba population creates a blip on a cultural map of sub-Saharan Africa. When researchers discovered and studied them over the last fifteen years, the Lemba besides made a blip on the genetical map of sub-Saharan Africa. communicable compend of the Lemba has foc employ primarily on the Y chromosome, which is useful f or submiting variation among and distance mingled with populations. The Lemba genetic markers support the oral tradition which says the Lemba came from the north.This paper reviews biological and cultural studies of the Lemba and the correlation between genes and oral tradition to propose a biocultural history for the Lemba people. Biology Genetic Variation across Populations Much of the reflect of genetic variation has focused on dissimilarity between groups. Genetic variation over time is used to postulate about the federal agency and time of the origins of modern humans as tumesce as subsequent movement and migration. Genetic variation is the enceinteest in Africa, and it is reas angiotensin converting enzymed that the longer a group has been around, the to a greater extent variation it will stir in its gene puss.Additionally, the longer groups are apart, the greater their genetic distance (Cavalli-Sforza and Cavalli-Sforza, 1995). Maps of variation order migrations ou t of, around, 1 and affirm in to Africa (Cavalli-Sforza and Cavalli-Sforza, 1995). Based on comparison of genetic landscapes, maps by Cavalli-Sforza and Cavalli-Sforza (1995) show the arrival of Neolithic cultivators in northern Africa 8,000 to 9,000 years ago. The migration of people continues down the east side of Africa, with groups mixing and moving.According to Cavalli-Sforza and Cavalli-Sforza (1995), the Bantu arrived in South Africa 300 to 400 years ago, and the archaeological and linguistic data support the history of Bantu expansion. Cavalli-Sforzat e o py gnt r aosi a gnr e t og ae g sr s f hl eece t nh s r ee t h uh vr e e o i li p e ad r a linkage analysis. artificial maps are produced from principle-comp binglent analysis of multiple gene frequencies. MacEachern (2000), however, criticizes Cavalli-Sozsn eio gns fr s yt s f ee a h s and language for its assumptions about the nature of language and groups and its lack of cni r i o t d e i o hm n oii .A r a e n ui a n tone, os e t n fh i rt f u a sc ts fcn t i n s r obudd d ao e v sy ee i hc t e homogeneous monoliths either frozen in place since before A. D. 1492 or caroming around the continent like cultural-ba n b lr blMaE ce ,00 7) G nr sn ec as er g ii d as ( c ahr 20 0. ee lyt t m p i la l n 3 a hi provide a visual representation of variation, but they do not show how the variation came to exist nor do they reveal anomalies. The Lemba are an anomaly in the genetic patterns of Southern Africa. Variation and the Y Chromosome The primary genetic research on the Lemba has used the Y chromosome for comparison with other groups.The Y chromosome has many characteristics that look at it favorable for investigating lineage. Almost all of the Y chromosome consists of non-recombining regions and the info is passed intact from generation to generation, from father to son. The variations, called pleomorphisms, occur so infrequently that they are comm promote called unique(p) event polymorphisms (UEP s) (Stumpf and Goldstein, 2001). UEPs occur along male lines in 2 accreditable time intervals, thus the changes can be compared between and among groups to examine relatedness and age by identifying variations (Bradman and Thomas 1998).More changes on the Y indicate an older line, and more shared ecological successions between Ys indicate a more similar gene pool. one time thought of as mainly junk, researchers have identified 20 different genes on the Y (Lowenstein, 1999). The function of Y is related to imparting maleness and to grandness (see figure 1). Figure 1 The human Y chromosome (Quintana-Murci et al. , 2000173) Because most of the Y does not recombine, the Ycrm sm ise a a ui r tl ho oo es en s n a n l p e ay t nm tdi ae ru r s ie l kg gop which allows the history of the paternal line to be deduced (Poloni et a t n al., 1997 1015). The non-recombining section of the Y has the potential for a large number of different mutations (Stumpf and Goldstein, 2001). Because most variation in the Y is not expressed, changes are not selected for or against, which allows the record of these changes gets passed on (Bradman and Thomas, 1998). Four types of changes can occur between generations microsatellites, minisatellites, snip and indels (Bradman and Thomas, 1998). Microsatellites are a section of repeats of a short 3 foot sequence and minisatellites are a section of repeats of longer sequences. Snips refers to single nucleotide polymorphisms, meaning one nucleotide is changed. Indels are insertions or deletions of desoxyribonucleic acid in a particular location (Bradman and Thomas, 1998). An example of an indel is the Y chromosome Alu polymorphism (YAP). Alu is a sequence of about 300 base pairs which is inserted into a particular region of the deoxyribonucleic acid. There have been about half a million Alu insertions in human DNA and YAP is one of the more recent (Bradman and Thomas, 1998).Because they are unique event polymorphisms, YAP inserts and sni ps are un seeming to have arisen more than once in evolution (Thomas et al. 2000). An Alu can be copied, but it is not removed from a locus. After an Alu change, the YAP will accumulate bare-ass mutations at the same roll as surrounding DNA loci. One can think of an Alu insertion as a fossil, and patterns of new mutation allow the fossils to be sorted into lineages. (Dolan DNA Learning Center 2002). Different combinations of polymorphisms are known as haplotypes (Bradman and Thomas 1998).The more similar the haplotype frequencies of two populations, the more similar their biological history is likely to be (Bradman and Thomas 1998). Quintana-Murci, Krausz, and McElreavey caution that genetic drift, founder effects, and male-specific migration processes may lead to over-representation of specific haplotypes (2001). Genetic drift refers to random change in gene frequencies between generations which will cause frequencies to fluctuate up or down (Releford, 2003). After enough time an d if no other forces are acting on a population, variation within a population will be reduced (Releford, 2003).The founder effect is a type of genetic drift where a subaltern number of people form a new population, causing allele frequencies to deviate from the parent population (Releford, 2003). The Lemba Y 4 If Lemba migrated from Judea and Yemen and maintained the tradition of marrying only within the group, the Lemba Y haplotypes may be over-represented when compared to the neighboring populations. Thus, the Lemba Y is useful for comparison with African and Semitic populations their contribution to the Lemba. More genetic evidence of a non-Bantu origin for the Lemba is expected and found (Bradman and Thomas 1998).The Lemba Y has an additional genetic marker that indicates links to the Judaic priest human body Cohen. Members cannot be appointed to this class and priesthood can only be inherited, thus a possible Judaic marker will be preserved down the line (Bradman and Thoma s 1998 Cavalli-Sforza and Cavalli-Sforza 1995). Judaism began in Semitic tribes living about 4,000 years ago in the Middle East. In 586 B. C. , the Babylonian exile spread Jewish populations out of present-day Israel (pounding et al. 2000). Hammer et al. (2000) used Y chromosome haplotypes to trace the parental origins of the Jewish Diaspora.Multi-dimensional scaling (figure 1 ) of frequencies of 18 Y-chromosome haplotypes in 29 populations produced three main clusters sub-Saharan African, North African, and European. 5 Figure 2 Multi-dimensional scaling from Hammer et al. (20006772) The Jewish cluster appears in between the European and North African population clusters. The Lemba population is set middle(a) between sub-Saharan African and Jewish clusters (Hammer et al. 2000). Genetic and geographic distances were not correlated for other Jewish populations, which supports a recent dispersal and subsequent closing off model.Hammer et al. conclude that m j pro o N Yb ll d e i .. a e to a common Middle eastern source a a r ot n f R ili i rt . t cs o i aec v sy r ppli svr t uad erao (00 74. h iue lo ea an c i s f ou t n ee lh sn ya g20 7) T i s sf frvl t g lm o ao a o s 6 s u ui a Jewish origins as well as for supporting old ties to the Middle East. Once populations dispersed from the Middle East, gene flow with surrounding populations was likely. The Lemba present genetic markers identified with Bantu and Semitic populations (Spurdle and Jenkins, 1996 Wilson and Goldstein, 2000).Wilson and Goldstein (2000) examined 66 markers on the X chromosome to study the effect of admixture of Bantu and Semitic populations on linkage disequilibrium. Recent mutations will tend to have more linkage d eu i i (D t n i o eoe ( l n n G l tn20) h s n i n i qib u L )h wl l r nsWio ad o s i 00. T e i ic t s lr m a ld s de, g fa difference between partially linked and unlinked loci rules out substructure as the touch on source of the LD in the Lemba . . . Ethiopian-Bantu different iation is not sufficient to produce the d eu i i osre it L m a ( l n n G l tn20 2.T e oc s ns i qib u be dn h e bWio ad o s i 00 3) h cnl i i s lr m v e s de, 9 uo that the Lemba LD has two sources parental population and admixture.Another examination on the worldwide distribution of Y haplotypes (Poloni et al. , 1997) found a significant correlation between genetic and linguistic distances. The picture of genetic affinities places the Lemba not with other sub-Saharan African populations but with Afro-Asiatic populations (figure 2 ) indicating admixture or a different parent population from other subSaharan groups. 6 Figure 3 Multi-dimensional scaling from Poloni et al.(19971019) Spurdle and Jenkins (1996) also looked at Bantu-Semitic variations to establish genetic affinities and offer a model for the origin of the Lemba. Their study analyzed allele frequencies of Y-linked Restriction Length Fragment Polymorphisms (RLFPs). Ht4 is a true Negroid haplotype and it is found in the Lem ba sample at a frequency of . 20, which indicates significant Negroid male gene flow into the Lemba (Spurdle and Jenkins, 1996). Ht7, Ht8, and Ht11 are Caucasoid markers and the Lemba show high frequencies of these markers as well.These haplotypes seem to be typical of Jewish populations but also occur in Asiatic Indians, thus it is not possible to distinguish between Semitic and Asiatic Indian sources with these markers (Spurdle and Jenkins, 1996). The allele frequencies of the Lemba are significantly different from those of the Bantu-speaking Negroid population and the European population but not from those of the Jewish group. Spurdle and Jenkins (1996) conclude that 50% of the Lemba Y chromosomes analyzed appear to be of Caucasoid origin, and 36% appear to be of Negroid origin. 7.One possible method for distinguishing a Semitic origin, versus a general Middle Eastern origin, of the Lemba is to make comparisons with the Cohen modal haplotype, which is dominant in the Jewish prie sthood (Thomas et al. , 1998). There are three castes of Jewish males Cohanim, the paternally inherited priesthood Leviim, non-Cohen members of the paternally defined priestly tribe of Levi Israelites, all non-Cohen and non-Levite Jews (Thomas et al. , 1998). If the Lemba Y has Jewish origins, the Cohen modal haplotype is expected to be present. Thomas et al.(2000) continue the study of Bantu and Semitic markers in the Lemba adding the investigation of the Cohen modal haplotypes. Y chromosomes were analyzed for six microsatellites and six biallelic markers in the Lemba, Bantu, Yemini-Handramaut, YemeniSena, Sephardic Jews, and Ashkenazic Jews. The twelve polymorphic markers were characterized in multiple Jewish populations and identified single haplotypes (Thomas et al. , 2000). Genealogical trees were drawn based on microsatellite variation to explore possible origins of the Lemba Y chromosomes (Thomas et al., 2000).The trees can be used to assess whether severally Lemba haplotype has a close genealogical relationship with one or more haplotypes in the other five populations. Trees for the individual haplotypes were drawn for each UEP group by measures of average squared distance and proportion of shared alleles (Thomas et al. , 2000). Thomas et al. (2000) designate 67. 6% of Lemba chromosomes as having a Semitic origin and the other 32. 4% to have a Bantu origin.The high frequency of the Cohen modal haplotype in the general Lemba population supports a Jewish contribution to Lemba gene pool found. The Cohen modal haplotype is observe only moderately in Ashkenazic and Sephardic Israelites, in a single Yemeni, and is present in a very low frequency in Palestinian Arabs (Thomas et al. , 2000). The genetic evidence is consistent with the Lemba oral history of Jewish origins in a population outside of Africa followed by admixture with Bantu neighbors. 8 Culture verbal tradition and Origins of Lemba The Lemba people claim ancient Jewish origins. According to ora l history, they come from Judea, from whence they traveled to Sena.From Sena they crossed into Africa, moving down the coast, building great cities in Zimbabwe, and finally settling the northern part of South Africa. Additionally, the Lemba assert Jewish identity through their customs of food prohibitions, ritual slaughter of animals, and circumcision (Buijs, 1998 NOVA 1999 Parfitt 1992). These are not black people who have been recently converted to Judaism. Judaism is not a proselytizing faith thus conversion and intermarriage as an explanation for Jewish genes is unlikely (Cavalli-Sforza and Cavalli-Sforza, 1995).However, many groups across the world claim connections to lost tribes of Israel (Parfitt, 1992). Furthermore, the surge in Lemba Jewish identity is connected to political economy and other favorable circumstances in South Africa in the last fifty years (Buijs, 1998). The Lemba say they came from the North, possibly from Judea. Then they went to Sena, they crossed Pusel a and came to Africa, where they broke the law of God and were befuddled across African nations (NOVA, 1999). Parfitt (1992) located Sena in a remote valley of Southern Yemen.Parfitt reasons that Pusela is similar to the Masilah River, which they would have had to cross to get from Sena to the sea. The port town of Sayhut was used for Arab exploration of Africa. In Hadramaut, the valley where Sena is located, tribes have the same names as Lemba tribe names (NOVA, 1999 Parfitt, 1992). Genetic samples of Lemba and of people in the Hadramaut showed similar features as well as the Cohen modal haplotype (NOVA, 1999). Lemba Identity in South Africa 9 The Lemba cost in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, but according to Buijs it is only in South Africa where one finds the belief of Jewish origins (1998).The Semitic identity was propagated by early white missionaries and colonial officials their writings emphasized differences of the Lemba by comparison with European Jewish communiti es (Buijs, 1998). T ee ri supr d a e o o a ii tdn t (u s19 1. u s19) o s hs w in have it away n t s f d t ci ty B i,98 6) B i (98 nt tg e h sn e i j 6 j e that the Lemba were aware of their distinct cultural heritage prior to colonization, but when ethnic identity became important in Apartheid, the Lemba pagan Association (LCA) became a m d mfrosut g peet a Jws H rae B i asr,T eniec ..n ei o cnt cn a r n dy e i e t . u s s t h i s ne .O u r i s h ig j es st their Jewish heritage is a direct result of the struggle for resources, initially land and later well-mannered sri j sit N r e Tasaln V na (98 6) Ietyi l i r i ad e c o , h ot r r vaad ed19 2. dn t n u n a a n ve b n e hn n 6 i, c d g c l ethnic identities, is not a static concept. Identity, especially during Apartheid, was tied to power.The Lemba heathen Association was founded in the 1940s when Europeans were encroaching o r or s T e C polm d spr e u uai n tadh L m a i pr ne n e uc .h L A rc i e a ea tcl r d ty n t e b m ot c s e a a t l ei e s a identified the Lemba with a non-African community (Buijs, 1998). During Apartheid, literally meaning separation, people were classified by race white, cl e,n b c. nsc laaits e df e acri tt s cnet( e o r ad l k O e oi cpb ie w r e nd cod go h e ocp s od a s a li e i n e se Mandela 1994 for a first hand description of the Apartheid system). The Apartheid government, the white minority, knew that if black people were united, the white autonomy would be threatened.They instituted a Bantu education system that further classified blacks according to tribe and encouraged local identity and rule in hopes of keeping blacks divided (Mandela 1994). In the 1980s, as the white hold on power was becoming more and more challenged, the gvrm nc a d i eednhm l d h h e stp uhhthy e sl oe etr t dpneto e ns w i w r eu sc t t w r tl n ee n a c e a e ei 10 overseen by South Africa but the government no longer provided money or serve to these areas. Lemba in Venda Vendaland was created and within these bounds were the Lemba.Before the independent hm l diw saoalfrBak e s ti n f t m e e ad e e o e n, a f r eo l Jw o d tyh sl s n b r a t v b c ei e v cognized as Lemba, because they were associated with whites and considered superior to other Blacks. However, in t l k o e n,w e b cseu t io n oe m n ibcm m rf oalt h Ba hm l d hr l k stph r w gvr et tea e oe a r eo e c a e a e n , v b be Black and not associated with whites. A highly placed civil servant in Venda government cm et i t V na e e a etgop I t s dy w w rl h o m n d t h ed w w r n le ru. nh e as e e i t e wh e e i o e g -skinned .. .V nar t u l e sro uprl s . t C oe pol (a i,92 8. h h ed t a d si a otf pec s.. e hsn ep Prt 19 ) T i e ee k a h e ft 7 s refers to the days of their arrival in southern Africa. At the beginning of the century, in spite of the dark skin, the Lemba were commonly called valungu white men (Parfitt, 1992). The civil srate a e, sog s vrt n ge j ti , y e g L m a osmatter . . . e nr r d l a ee h g osu f em bi a e b dent v m k A n yi s n n B tson sh g s rgi w ogiiar u do y e b oi n19 ) T e ua so a t nst to g rn, s ti t tm L m a r i (92 7.h i a n t tb e g 7 status and identity of the Lemba has not been fixed and it has not always been Jewish.Proclaiming a form of Judaism is an event of the 19th century, but it does come from an o e cm la d eg u i n f ao (a i 19) h L m a e e a a i l my l r o p ct r i osd ti t n Prt 92. T e e b si d prc a t d, i e li e ic i ft z tu r h and used it as a government agency of ridding themselves of a rather ancient ambiguity at a time when new ambiguities were being created every dy (a i,9225. T e e b igop i aPrt 195) h L m as ru wt ft h particular traditional practices, and some say they are not a religious group but a cultural one (Sand, 2002).The Lemba culture today points to ancient Hebrew origins but some Lemba practice Christianity and Islam (Sand, 2002). The practices they do ascribe to ancient Jews would 11 not be iden tified as Judaism in the West, however they have adopted more Jewish traditions in recent years (Sand, 2002). Lemba today In post-Apartheid times, the Lemba identity is flourishing. They continue to have LCA meetings (Buijs 1998). Websites about their heritage and culture are published on the Internet. People in South Africa can identify themselves with whatever group or groups they please.About 80,000 Lemba live in the Venda area of the Limpopo Province in South Africa as well as the Johannesburg township of Soweto (Buijs, 1998 Sand, 2002). Lemba are also found in villages in the southwesterly region of Zimbabwe (Buijs, 1998 Sand, 2002). In the Venda region, people speak TshiVenda. Another day when Rudzani and I were walking through the shopping center, he called up to a man with a phrase I did not understand. With a twinkle in his eyes, he told me that was the traditional greeting for a Jewish brother.Again, I let that pass, thinking he could translate it to mean whatever he want ed since I did not know TshiVenda (a favorite joke of my friends there). In reflection and after research, I do not doubt the old Jewish ties and if I go back to South Africa, I will be sure to find out more. death The problem with constructing the history of the Lemba identity is that it has been passed down through oral tradition. When it was recorded at the turn of the twentieth century, it is possible the outside visitors were biased or intercommunicate a Jewish identity on the Lemba.Genetic data support the oral tradition, and genetic research has identified anomalies in the Lemba population. Across the articles, the same information about the oral tradition and culture of the Lemba was offered. Ethnographic study of the Lemba traditions, not in contrast to Jews or other Africans, is needed to understand what being Lemba means today. Further research considering political 12 economy, as Buijs did, will continue to fill out the picture of constructions and projections of ident ity for the Black Jews of South Africa. 13 whole works Cited Bradman N, and Thomas M. 1998. Why Y?The Y chromosome in the study of human evolution, migration, and prehistory. Science Spectra, 14. electronic document, http//www. ucl. ac. uk/tcga/ScienceSpectra-pages/SciSpect-14-98. html. , accessed November 19, 2002 Buijs G. 1998 Black Jews in the Northern Province A study of ethnic identity in South Africa. Ethnic Racial Studies, 21661-682. Cavalli-Sforza LL, and F Cavalli-Sforza. 1995. The Great gentleman Diasporas. Reading, MA Addison Weasley Publishing Company. Dolan DNA Learning Center. Genetic OriginsAlu Insertion Polymorphism. 2002. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Electronic document, http//www.geneticorigins. org/geneticorigins/pv92/aluframeset. htm, accessed November 19, 2002. Hammer MF, Redd AJ, Wood ET, Bonner MR, Jarjanazi H, Karafet T, Santachiara-Benerecetti S, Oppenheim A, Jobling MA, Jenkins T, Ostrer H, and B Bonne-Tamir. 2000. Jewish and Middle Eastern non-Jewish populations share a common pool of Y-chromosome biallelic haplotypes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 976769-6774. Hammer MF, Spurdle AB, Karafet T, Bonner MR, Wood ET, Novelletto A, Malaspina P, Mitchell RJ, Horai S, Jenkins T, and SL Zegura. 1997. The geographic distribution of human Y chromosome variation.Genetics, 145787-805. Lowenstein JM. 1999. Why the Y? California Wild. Electronic document, http//www. calacademy. org/calwild/spring99/counter. htm, accessed November 19, 2002 MacEachern S. 2000. Genes, Tribes, and African History. Current Anthropology, 41357-384. 14 Mandela, Neslon. 1994. Long Walk to Freedom the Autobiography of Nelson Mandela. Boston Little Brown Co. N V O l eL stbs fs e T dr a ir a alj re. 00( oe br O A n n. otr e o I al uo Prtse r b o ny20. N vm e i i r . ft m k e u 2000). Electronic document, http//www. pbs. org/wgbh/nova/israel/parfitt. html, accessed November 19, 2002. Parfitt, Tudor. 1992. trip to the Vanished City Search for a Lost T ribe of Israel. London Hodder and Stoughton. Poloni ES, Semino O, Passarino G, Santachiara-Benerecetti AS, Dupanloup I, Langaney A, and L Excoffier. 1997. Human genetic affinities for Y-chromosome P49a,f/TaqI haplotypes show strong correspondence with linguistics. American Journal of Human Genetics, 611015-1035. Quintana-Murci L, Krausz C, and K McElreavey. 2001. The human Y chromosome function, evolution and disease. Forensic Science International, 118169-181. Releford, JH. 2003. The Human Species An Introduction to Biological Anthropology, 5th ed. Boston McGraw-Hill. Sand, JP.2002.The Jews of Africa The Lemba of Southern Africa. Electronic document, http//www. mindspring. com/jaypsand/lemba. htm. accessed November 18, 2002. Spurdle, AB. 1994. The Y-ALU polymorphism in Southern African populations and its relationship to other Y-specific polymorphisms. American Journal of Human Genetics, 54319-330. Spurdle A. and T Jenkins. 1996. The origins of the Lemba Black Jews of Southern Afri ca evidence from p12F2 and other Y-Chromosome markers. American Journal of Human Genetics, 591126-1133. 15 Stumpf MPH, and DB Goldstein. 2001. Genealogical and evolutionary inference with the human Y chromosome.Science. 2911738-1742. Thomas MG, Parfitt T, Weiss DA, Skorecki K, Wilson JF, le Roux M, Bradman N, and DB Goldstein. 2000. Y chromosomes travelling south the Cohen modal haplotype and the origins of the Lembathe Black Jews of Southern Africa. American Journal of Human Genetics, 66 (2) 674-686. Thomas MG, Skorecki K, Ben-Ami H, Parfitt T, Bradman N, and DB Goldstein. 1998. Origins of old testament priests. Nature, 394138-140. Wilson JF, and DB Goldstein. 2000. Consistent long linkage disequilibrium generated by admixture in a Bantu-Semitic hybrid population. American Journal of Human Genetics, 67926-935. 16.