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The Falasha of Ethiopia
| Article
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12067 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
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12 / 1987 |
4,992 Words |
| Author
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Marc Shapiro
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Ethiopia's Falasha are perhaps the most exotic of all Jewish enclaves. This community of African Jews currently numbers approximately fifteen thousand. The Falasha live in northwest Ethiopia, around the city of Gondar in the Lake Tana region, and in secluded villages in the Semien mountains. The word Falasha, the common way of referring to these peoples, means "stranger" or "exile" in Ge'ez (Ethiopic) and is used pejoratively by other Ethiopians. The Falasha call themselves "Beta Israel," which means "House of Israel." Their history dates back thousands of years, yet their origin is shrouded in mystery.
There are probably more than a dozen theories concerning just how Jews came to Ethiopia. According to Falasha tradition, they are descended from Jews who accompanied Menelik, the son of King Solomon and the reputedly Ethiopic Queen of Sheba, on their journey from Jerusalem to Ethiopia. More scientific theories place the Falasha in the Agau tribal family. It is claimed that Judaism reached them from Jews living in southern Arabia, Egypt (possibly on Elephantine), or even from a permanent Jewish community in Ethiopia. The total or partial conversion of segments of the Agau population to Judaism is an example of cultural diffusion. Other groups were also influenced by Judaism, for example, the Kemant, who follow a religion with certain Judaic elements.
Even those scholars who believe the Falasha converted to Judaism differ on whether they did so in the fourth or sixth century A.D. Edward Ullendorf, a scholar of Ethiopian history, believes that the Falasha are remnants of the great Axumite kingdom who resisted conversion to Christianity. His theory is more credible than an old Ethiopian tradition (which is not entirely without validity) holding that half of the country was Jewish before the fourth century, when, in an effort to eradicate polytheism, King Ezana proclaimed Christianity to be the official religion.
It is very likely that political considerations played a part in his decision to favor Christianity rather than the already widespread (though declining) Judaism, as conversion to Christianity would align Ethiopia with the powerful Byzantine Empire. Yet even after conversion, many Judaic features remained in Ethiopian Christian observances, such as circumcision, abstention from pork, and observance of Saturday as well as Sunday as a Sabbath. Efforts by Portuguese Jesuit missionaries in the sixteenth century to cleanse the Ethiopian Christians of such Judaized practices were to no avail.
It is thought that Jews were subject to persecution following the mass conversion. They were forced to retreat to the mountains north of Lake Tana. Here they were isolated from other Jewish groups, but were able to live independently under their own monarchs. Although the rest of world Jewry was long aware of their existence, the Falasha thought they were the only remaining Jews and looked upon themselves as the sole guardians of the Torah. Isolation caused the Falasha to develop a unique pre-Talmudic religious tradition not found elsewhere.
The Falasha lived autonomously and relatively peacefully of hundreds of years. It is estimated that at their peak they numbered over a million (although certain scholars believe the correct figure is half that). It was only in the thirteenth century that the Christian Amhara kings of Ethiopia began a campaign to destroy Falasha independence. For the next three hundred
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