Bnei Israel, Maharashtra, Western India
Bene Israel are descendants of one of the tribes of the Kingdom of Israel, as most Bene Israel scholars agree, the tribe of Zebulon. The tradition says that more than 2000 years ago their ancestors were trying to escape the seized Kingdom of Israel by sea when they were shipwrecked and washed to the shores of the Konkan Coast, the western coast of India. According to the belief, Elijah the Prophet passed on his chariot and brought fourteen people ashore where they were later found by local fishermen and given shelter. The survivors buried their dead on the shore, which became the first Bene Israel cemetery. They settled down in Konkan villages and adopted the occupation of oil pressing, for what they have been called “Shanwar Telis”, lit. “Shabat observing oil pressers.” Since they lost all the holy books in the wreckage, they forgot many of the Hebrew traditions, but they continued observing Shabat, the laws of kashrut and circumcision. Of all the Hebrew prayers, they remembered only “Shema”. Their spiritual revival began when they were discovered by a learned Cochin Jew David Rahabi, according to Bene Israel tradition in 1000 CE. He taught them about Jewish holidays. Since then Bene Israel were educated by Cochin Jews. Bene Israel have always lived in peace and harmony with their Hindu and Muslim neighbours. By 1948 the number of Bene Israel reached 20000. Among them there were renowned doctors, lawyers, architects and professors. After the establishment of the State of Israel, most of Bene Israel repatriated to Israel. Today there are about 60000 Bene Israel living in Israel and about 4000 remaining in India, mostly in Mumbai, Pune and other towns of Maharashtra State of India. Bene Israel have unique traditions, among them a thanksgiving ceremony called the Malida, or Eliyahu Hanavi. It is a colourful ceremony where fruit, rice and flowers are blessed as an act of gratitude. It is common to perform the Malida at the rock in a village on the Konkan Coast where it is believed Elijah the prophet passed to revive Bene Israel after the wreckage, leaving traces of on the rock with his chariot when he was ascending to heaven, and in the cave of Elijah the prophet on Mount Carmel in Israel.
Bnei Menashe, Manipur, North-Eastern India
Manipur and Mizoram have long been torn by the tribal conflict, therefore, announced as a military zone, remained for many years out of sight of tourists. These North Eastern states of India have much to offer - green hills, pure lakes and unique culture. A large part of the population are the descendants of the lost Israelite tribe of Menashe that settled in North Eastern states of India as well as in bordering North-West Burma. They belong to the Kuki, Mizo and Chin people who derive from the common ancestor Manmase. Their oral tradition narrates that they were exiled from Assyria with other ten tribes of Israel, from where they were deported to Medo-Persia and Afghanistan. Their migration continued eastward till they reached Hindu Kush, then Tibet and finally China. In China they had a Torah scroll in their possession which according to their traditional song was eaten by “the dog”, supposedly by a cruel Chinese ruler. In China Menashe people were enslaved. Some managed to escape and hid in the mountain caves, for which they were called mountain people. They called themselves “Lu si” which means ten tribe in Chinese. Menashe migrated to Manipur, Mizoram and Burma in the 18th century. Though their Torah scroll had been lost, they managed to preserve many Hebrew believes and customs. They believed in one supreme God, observed the seventh day of rest, seven days of mourning after burial, a special ear piercing ceremony for a newborn male on the 8th day that symbolized circumcision abandoned due to lack of medical skills, leverage marriage, and animal sacrifices similar to those prescribed in the Torah. When a natural disaster occurred the elders were crying “Manmase is still alive” to announce other clans that they survived the disaster. In the 19th century with the arrival of British missionaries, many of the Menashe converted into Christianity, while others remained faithful to their own believes. In late 50th Bnei Menashe started their return to Judaism and 50 years later were recognized as the lost tribe of Menashe by the chief rabbi of Israel. 2000 Bnei Menashe are currently living in Israel, and about 7000 more will repatriate within two years. The Menashe songs are incredible source of their oral history. One of them tells an exact story of Exodus, crossing the sea and roaming through the desert, while another presented on the CD "Music of Israelites and Jews of Africa and Asia" tells about their exile and long journey from Assyria to Manipur.
Bnei Ephraim, Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, South India
Bnei Ephraim, or Telugu Jews, is a group of about sixty families in villages and towns with two functioning synagogues on the Krishna river bank in Andhra Pradesh of South India. Bnei Ephraim belong to sub-castes of Mala and Madiga. Many Madiga and Mala adopted Christianity and Buddhism, while most describe themselves as people with no religion, and only a small group practices Judaism. According to the oral tradition, as well as comprehensive research conducted by the leader of the community and prominent scholar Shmuel Yacobi, Bnei Ephraim descend from the Israelite tribe of Ephraim taken into captivity by the Assyrians. They travelled together with the Menashe tribe from Persia through Afghanistan to Jammu and Magadha Kingdom. The stories of their brave warriors can be found in the Legends of Jambu and in the Buddhist Jataka Tales. From there some of the Ephraim moved down to the South. According to their forefathers, about 120 families came to Telugu country thousands of years ago. There they were joined to Madiga and Mala castes because of cultural similarities. The customs of Bnei Ephraim are carefully preserved in the summary of laws called Kavilah, many of which trace back to the ancient Biblical laws related to birth, marriage, coming of age, burial and diet. There are many Aramaic words in their language and some of their sub-caste names are of distinctively Semitic origin. Mala and Madiga are skilled in buffalo slaughter and eat meat, one of the reasons of being labelled as untouchable, the holy cow eaters, by the Aryans. Being outcastes, or as they call themselves Dalits, lit. “broken to pieces”, Mala and Madiga are severely discriminated and humiliated by higher castes, even though untouchability is formally prohibited by the Indian constitution. Drum making, drumming and dance are customary occupations of Madiga and Mala and important part of their deep and ancient culture. The Dappu (Tappeta) drum accompanies the traditional warrior dance Chindu. It is the oldest drum in India and probably one of the oldest instruments on Earth, though it is neither recognized as a classical instrument nor taught in music schools. The virtuoso Dappu drummers do not normally perform on stages. The rhythms and techniques are handed down from generation to generation in villages. Today the Dappu drum has become the symbol of struggle for equality.
To learn more about Irene's visit to Bnei Ephraim, click here to read her article in Asian Jewish Life