Igbo-Israel
Igbo-Israel: ‘memories’ and special feelings for Jerusalem (parts 1-3, complete)
By Remi Ilona
I have a special interest in the subject of the Igbo people of Nigeria, and in the widespread belief that the Igbos originated, or descended from, the ancient Israelites. One day, during a seminar on Jerusalem, my professor recommended I try to discover if the Igbos have (or had) any special feelings for Israel’s holy city. I could not forget the emotions my professor displayed as he narrated an encounter he had many years ago with an elderly rabbi who broke into tears on ‘remembering’ the destruction of the Temple and the sacking of Jerusalem thousands of years ago, a calamity that the rabbi considered to be the worst that befell the Jewish people.
My professor also mentioned that an usually large number of Nigerians observe the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Not sure that I had heard correctly, I asked him to repeat what he said. He said that Nigerian groups constitute some of the largest contingents of pilgrims to Jerusalem. A certain mystery surrounds Jerusalem, he said. So why not find out if people in remote locations have a sense of the mystery of Jerusalem?
It seemed unlikely that the Igbo people of Nigeria had special, mystical or unusual feelings for Jerusalem, because from what I had seen over the years, the Igbos didn’t seem to share the loss of Jerusalem that was typically felt by Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews. Also, the Igbo people did not have much information set down in written form. Maybe Jerusalem had been forgotten.
But as my professor is the kind of leader that you can follow without fear, I decided to investigate. Even at this stage I must say the following: whatever we discover about the Igbo people and Jerusalem, it will be quite a discovery. From what I know, nobody has inquired into this area before. This is barely explored terrain. Whatever we find, and write down, will help those who may want to work on this in the future.
ii.
For so many years I have been immersed in studying and writing about the historical connections, cultural similarities, political connections, and present state of relations between the Igbos and the Jews. But I have only barely explored Igbo memory, feelings and emotions. I was aware, however, that uniquely in Nigeria, the Igbos feel a special bond with their own land, a bond that other Nigerians do not seem to have. A little illustration will make my point clearer. Only the Igbo will insist on taking their deceased relative to Igboland (home) to be buried. Every other Nigerian group would bury their dead where they died. Beyond this point I did not think. It wasn’t until my professor prompted me into researching the topic that I began to explore the connection between the Igbo people and Jerusalem.
With very little to work on, I sent out the following question: who knows songs that the Igbos composed in honour of Jerusalem? I had a reason for requesting songs. The Igbos had developed an elaborate tradition of saving vital information in songs, wise sayings and lore. The Igbo are known to guard Omenana (Igbo culture) jealously.
A few examples of Igbo traditions that are saved in song: The Igbo say, ‘okpo ha ndi azu.’ By way of explanation, the ‘okpo’ is a fish that has no scales, and is thus by Omenana (ancient Igbo customs and traditions), not edible, so the Igbos preserved the proscription against eating it by saying, ‘even okpo considers itself (edible) fish’. The fish is mocked and derided in the saying.
And again: the father of modern Igbo music, Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe sang, ‘ogazi amaka ma na ejirie ago Mmuo.’ He meant that though the guinea fowl is very beautiful, it is not fit to be used as a sacrificial bird. I had a good discussion about this with Rabbi Gerard Sussman and members of his New York synagogue recently. If I recall correctly, the rabbi said that for an animal to be kosher for sacrifice, it has to be both clean and domestic. The bird ‘ogazi’ may be clean, but traditionally among the Igbo its not domesticated, so it may not be fully kosher to the Igbo.
It seems the Igbos have composed many songs about Jerusalem. This is strange because majority of Igbos were Catholics when these songs were composed, and much about Jerusalem was not taught to the Igbos in the churches when we were growing up. So when I asked for Igbo songs that honoured Jerusalem, I received many replies. Here are a few of the song lyrics that I received:
Ebe mara mma!
Ebe mara mma!
Yerusalem!
Be anyi!
Beautiful city!
Beautiful city!
Jerusalem!
Our home!
[Translated from the Igbo by Emeka Maduewesi]
And…
Jerusalem, Oh Jerusalem
A city so beautiful and marvellous
Guarded and protected by G-d Himself…
Chorus
Behold! G-d, the L-rd of Hosts
Keeps divine watch over His people.
[Translated from the Igbo by Remigius Agubuonu]
And…
Jerusalem a beautiful city to behold,
Jerusalem a beautiful city to behold;
when shall my eyes behold thee?
When shall my feet touch thee?
My beautiful city to behold….
[Translated from the Igbo by Innocent Anawanti]
iii.
Unlike most of their neighbours, the Igbo people did not have a chief town until the advent of European colonialism. Curiously, when the Igbos got a chief town, it was set up at a location that reminds you of the approach to Jerusalem. This town, called Enugu (Atop Hill) sits atop a prominent hill.
Who chose this location for a chief town of the Igbo? The Europeans who colonised the Igbo? The Igbo themselves, to remind them of an ancient chief town? Enugu is not necessarily the best location for Europeans to settle in Igboland. We have Nsukka, with its semi-temperate climate, which should have attracted Europeans, as Jos, in the middle of Nigeria did. If sitting on a hill is the attraction, the colonialists would have found the rolling hills of Okigwe a more attractive location, with its cooler climate. Could the coal in Enugu have been the lure? We have no idea.
But Nsukka is very close to Enugu, and had such a pleasant climate that the Great Zik, Rt Hon Nnamdi Azikiwe, the first indigenous governor-general, senate-president, president of Nigeria, father of modern African nationalism, and native of Onitsha, acting contrary to Omenana, set up his country home there.
Lastly, what is making thousands of Igbos to leave Christianity which is one of the two ‘official religions’ of Nigeria, and move towards Rabbinic Judaism, a path strewn with so much material disadvantages? To be Igbo in Nigeria is fraught with dangers and risks, and has always been so. Yet these Igbos want to add to the dangers and risks by adding ‘Jew’ to the Igbo. And why do the rest of the Igbo say that they are Jews?
Daniel Lis interviewed five hundred Igbos during his research, and according to him, only one claimed that he was unaware of a historical relationship between the Igbos and Jews, and two were aware, but did not believe that there is a historical connection. If this identification with Israel was new, it may have seemed inconsequential and unimportant to me, but in certain ways the Igbo identification with Israel can be said to be old. Igbos themselves had written over two hundred years ago that they believed that they were related to the Jews.
In conclusion we can say that from the evidence, including the many songs, that the Igbos have deep feelings for Jerusalem. But is it tapped from ancestral memory? My opinion is that more work has to be done.
Remy Ilona is of Igbo extraction. He presents and analyses Judaic history, practices and concept within the Igbo culture of Nigeria. He is the author of
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