Abayudaya

Abayudaya

Regions with significant populations
Uganda:   >750 (estimate)
Languages
Luganda, Hebrew
Religion
Judaism
Related ethnic groups
Tradition : Jews   African Jews     Abayudaya Ethnobiology :   Baganda    Abayudaya

The Abayudaya (Abayudaya is Luganda for "People of Judah", analogous to Children of Israel) are a Baganda community in eastern Uganda near the town of Mbale who practice Judaism. Although they are not genetically or historically related to other ethnic Jews , they are generally devout in their practice of the religion, keeping kashruth, and observing Shabbat. Today, the group is recognized by members of the Reform and Conservative sects of Judaism.

Their population is estimated at over 750, having once been as large as 3,000 (prior to the persecutions of the Idi Amin regime); like their neighbors, they are subsistence farmers. They speak Luganda, although some have learned Hebrew as well.

History

The sect owes its origin to Muganda military leader Semei Kakungulu. Originally, Kakungulu was converted to Christianity by British missionaries around 1880. He believed that by doing so, the British would allow him to be the chief ruler of the territories he conquered in battle for the English. However, when the British limited his territory to a significantly smaller size, Kakungulu began to distance himself from them. In 1913, he became a Malachite, a belief system combining Christianity, Judaism, and Christian Science. However, upon further study of the Bible, Kakungulu came to believe that the customs and laws described in the first 5 books of Moses (Torah) were quite true. When told that only Jews observe such customs, he exclaimed, "Then we will be Jewish!" In 1919, Kakungulu had become far more clearly Jewish in his practices: he circumcised his sons and himself and declared his community Jewish. According to Henry Lubega, "he fled to the foot of Mt. Elgon at a place called Gangama where he started a separatist sect known as Kibina Kya Bayudaya Absesiga Katonda (the Community of Jews who trust in the Lord)." The British were infuriated by such an act and effectively cut off ties with him and his followers.

The arrival of a foreign Jew known as "Yosef" in 1920 whose ancestral roots are believed to have been European, contributed much towards the community's discovery about the seasons in which Jewish Festivals such as Pesach, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Succot, and others take place. A source in the Abayudaya community confirms that the first Jew to visit the community was Yosef, who stayed with and taught the community for about six months, and would appear to have first brought the Jewish calendar to the Abayudaya community.

Furthermore, the laws concerning Kashrut were first introduced to the community by Yosef. The She'erit Yisrael community continues to practice kashrut today. Yosef's teachings influenced Semei Kakungulu to establish a school that acted as a Yeshiva, with the purpose of passing on and teaching the skills and knowledge first attained from Yosef.

After Kakungulu's death from tetanus in 1928, his followers divided into a group that reverted to Christianity and another, the Abayudaya, that became devout Jews. They isolated themselves for self-protection and survived persecution, including that of Idi Amin, who outlawed Jewish rituals and destroyed synagogues. During the persecutions of Idi Amin, some 80-90% of the Abayudaya community converted to either Christianity or Islam in the face of religious persecution. A core group of roughly 300 members remained, however, committed to Judaism, worshipping secretly, in fear of being discovered by their neighbors and being reported to the authorities.

In the 1960s and '70s, the Abayudaya began a moderately successful effort to establish contacts with Jews in Israel and elsewhere in the world. The sect underwent a revival in the 1980s, centered on a self-described "Kibbutz Movement."

Today

As of 2002, most of the community lives around the Moses synagogue in Mbale or the nearby synagogue in the village of Namanyoyi. Others live several miles away from Mbale in Pallisa, which has two synagogues. A fifth synagogue is in Namatumba, approximately 70 km distant.

Currently the She'erit Yisrael community is looking for help in their desire to undergo an orthodox giur (conversion to Judaism) and make aliyah, and move to Israel. This community is centered around the Putti synagogue and consist of roughly 130 members.

Gershom Sizomu, one of the leaders of the Abayudaya, has been enrolled in a 5-year program at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles where he studies Hebrew, rabbinic literature, Bible, Jewish philosophy, and other subjects. The program entails studies both in the USA and in Israel, upon completion of which, he will receive ordination as a rabbi under the auspices of the Conservative Movement, and then return to Uganda to lead the Jewish community.

Once looked upon with disdain and hatred by their Christian and Muslim neighbors, the Abayudaya have been given significant amounts of respect in recent times. Relations with neighbors have become significantly better and many view members of the Abayudaya with respect and admiration. It should also be noted that the community has been growing at a steady rate. Down to 300 individuals after the fall of Idi Amin, the Abayudaya have grown to as many as 750 individuals since that time. Jewish schools have been established with outside help from individuals and organizations such as Kulanu where secular as well as Jewish themed subjects are taught. What is unique is that unlike many Christian run schools, learning Hebrew and Judaism is merely optional for non-Jewish students. Christian, Muslim and Jewish students attend these schools. Scholarships given by outside sources have enabled some students to attend Universities as well.

Religious Life and Customs

The Abayudaya initially practiced a form of biblical Judaism, maintaining animal sacrifice among other customs. However, as the community increased their ties and interactions to the outside Jewish communities, namely in the United States and Israel, their religious ideology and customs shifted towards mainstream, normative Judaism. Members attend Shabbat services regularly both on Friday evenings and Saturdays. Congregations remove their shoes before entering the synagogue. This custom is suspected to have been practiced among Jews in biblical times and is still practiced among a few Jewish communities today. The Abayudaya maintain a Kosher diet and slaughter their own animals in accordance.

Music

Music has been an important aspect in the lives of the Abayudaya. In recent years, the community has produced two CD's that have centered around religious themes. In fact, one of the albums, entitled "Abayudaya: Music from the Jewish people of Uganda" produced by Jeffrey Summit. was nominated for Best Traditional World Music album at the 47th Grammy Awards.

In addition to this, their community has received further recognition and respect within the Jewish community because of the work of Noam Katz, a Jewish American musician. His 2005 CD, Mirembe ("peace" in Lugandan), featured the Abayudaya on the majority of its songs. Between studying at a seminary, Katz travels North America, and gives a slideshow/concert which showcases the music of the Abayudaya.

The music of the Abayudaya is distinctly African yet Jewish at the same time. Many of the songs combine words in Lugandan as well as Hebrew. Additionally, Psalms and prayers are set to a distinctly African tune and rhythm. Music is viewed as important by the community due to a variety of reasons. Some elders of the community have maintained that it was music that enabled the community to persevere through the harsh conditions that they had to endure under the reign of Idi Amin.

See also

• In 1903 Joseph Chamberlain proposed the Zionists the British Uganda Program, settling persecuted Jews in a part of the British Empire that is now Kenya. However, Jewish migration to Uganda or Kenya was very small.

References

• Sobol, Richard: Abayudaya: The Jews of Uganda, Abbeville Press: 2003. Includes music CD.

External links

• Official website
• Abayudaya, in their own words, a descriptive article by an Abayudaya Jew
• Abayudaya - Mbale’s Jews
• The Abayudaya of Uganda
• Kulanu ("All of Us") main page for Abayudaya-related articles
• BBC photo journal featuring the Abayudaya
• The Jews of Uganda photograps