The Awakening & In-Gathering of The Igbos

By: Rabbi Capers C. Funnye, Jr.

On Friday and Saturday, August 30th and 31st of 2002 a historic event took place on the small island of St. Simons, Georgia which is located about seventy miles south of Savannah. A Chicago based group of Nigerians, who are from the Ibo tribe, called together Nigerians and all others from Canada to Haiti and all points in between, to come to the place on St. Simons Island known as Ibo Landing.

The Chicago based group of Nigerian, Ibo have an organization called "Ekwe Nche", which is in the Ibo tongue "A Clarion Call" organized this historic event on St. Simons Island, the event was called to mark the sanctification of the place where thirteen Ibo men cast themselves into the sea rather than live as slaves. It is said that these thirteen men locked arms together and jumped into the sea, to the great surprise and dismay of their captors.

The Ibo Landing event was held to acknowledge the heroism of these thirteen brave men and to give their spirits a proper and fitting memorial through an ecumenical service that was attended by several religious groups. Among the groups represented were, Okpala Eze Nri Chukwuemeka I. Onyesoh, who represented the High Priest and ultimate spiritual leader in Ibo Land. Okechukwu Ikejiani, M.D., a retired physician and professor from Canada, Mr. Bruce Dan Carey from Gary, Indiana and his wife Chief Dele Jane Asawe, who is of the Ibo tribe, Moreh Elisha Israel from Cincinnati, Ohio and Rabbi Capers C. Funnye, Jr. spiritual leader of Beth Shalom B'nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation, in Chicago, Illinois.

On Friday morning all guest attended an opening ceremony, which was the breaking of the Kola Nut, an event by which all Ibo functions are begun which represents the cultural unity of the Ibo people. A tribal elder offered prayer, and everyone present washed their hands, then partook in eating the Kola nut, which was dipped in a mixture of peanut butter, honey and red pepper grounded into a powder. Dr. Justine Aujerize, of Chicago gave the welcome address and explained the purpose of the event.

The speech by elder statesman, Okechukwu Ikejiani, M. D., who is 85 years old, was very moving and insightful. Dr. Ikejiani was moved to tears as he appealed to the Ibos and African Americans present to united and develop the organizations necessary to work to better the lives of the Ibos who are still in Nigeria. Dr. Ikejiani has traveled extensively and he promotes Ibo culture, history and heritage in his lectures.

At 3:30 p.m. Mr. Bruce Dan Judah Carey, presented a paper on the history of the Ibo, Ndi, Igbo and the Hebrew people. Bruce's paper was both insightful and scholarly as he showed the connection between the Ibo people and their ancient Hebrew ancestors. Bruce detailed the various customs of the Ibo that are strikingly similar to the customs of the ancient Hebrews. Which include circumcision of their males on the eighth day after birth, abstention from pork and shellfish, the concept of rest from labor on the seventh day and observance of a day called Yomora Kippura, which comes in early fall, among the Ibo people and Yomora Kippura has all of the customs attached to it that a Jew finds in the laws concerning Yom Kippur.

Okpala Eze Nri Chukwuemeka I. Onyesoh, who represented the High Priest of Ibo Land, gave a powerful lecture on the conditions of the Ibo people under the current government of Nigeria, and he also spoke on the significance of the Kola Nut, in Ibo culture. Eze Nri Onyesoh, wore a red kipah with an eagle feather and a tallith, with 613 fringes, which is the garment worn by all Ibo priest when they officiate at a cultural ceremony. I found the attire of Eze Nri striking, because, I was wearing a Kipah and I wore my tallith, the only difference was that the Eze Nri wore his tallith, vertically, while we Jews wear our tallith horizontally.

Moreh Elisha Israel, spoke about the differences that he saw between the Hebrews and the customs of the Ibo people. Moreh Israel did not understand that the customs of the Ibo people were actually Hebraic in their content and structure.

I was invited to speak and I could only compare what I was witnessing to a true awakening of Ibo people to their Hebraic cultural roots. As I thought about why we were in St. Simons Island, Georgia, my mind returned to an episode in Jewish history concerning the Jews at Massadah, who in 73 a.c.e. cast themselves from the walls of their fortress rather come under the control of the Roman Empire. I was inspired by the history of the thirteen Ibo men, who were led by a chief of the Ibo nation, to revolt and become martyrs rather than slaves. My mind and spirit were led to the song by James Weldon Johnson "Lift Every Voice and Sing", in which the writer says in the last verse "Let us be true to our G-d, and true to our native land".
These thirteen men were in fact true to their G-d and true to their native land, and they followed one of their chiefs into martyrdom, when they refused to bow to their captors and become slaves.

Saturday August 31, 2002 was a momentous and awe stirring event, after the breaking of the Kola Nut and prayer, we all proceeded to the site of the IBO Landing. The owners of the property have maintained the actual site of the Ibo Landing for nearly 200 years. I was awe struck as the elderly white woman invited the group of 150 to come onto her property and conduct our services.

The "Ruach Kodesh" (holy spirit) overwhelmed me, as several of our group went out onto the actual landing site, and we prayed in the Ibo tongue and in the Hebrew tongue, for the spirits of those men that gave their lives for freedom. The pier has been preserved in its original condition; everything in that space was as it was nearly 200 years ago. It is a local legend that fishermen refuse to approach the site of the Ibo Landing, because it is said that you can hear the voices of those brave souls that became martyrs for freedom. The event was powerful, spiritual, awe inspiring and uplifting as we connected in a way that words cannot express with the souls of the departed.

The final part of our services was the sharing of the Kola Nut. An Ibo elder led us in prayer for the departed souls that engulfed the entire group with a singular thought. We became one people, with one G-d, one aim and one destiny.

The Ibo group Ekwe Nche has made a commitment to find other Ibo Landing sites up and down the east coast and to reclaim and redeem the souls of our lost brothers and sisters. The Ibo people are connected to the Gullah speaking people of Haiti, the Caribbean and Florida. The Ibo people are also found among the Geeche speaking people of South Carolina, North Carolina, and Mississippi. I am from South Carolina, I am a Geeche, I am an Ibo, and I am a Jew. Kol Israel Haraybim! (All Israel is responsible for each other).

Michelle Obama's cousin Jewish Rabbi Capers Funnye visits Israel

Clifford Bryan, Examiner

Michelle Obama's Jewish Rabbi cousin Capers Funnye visited the Jewish Agency absorption center for immigrants, in the Jerusalem suburb of Mevasseret Tzion, Israel today and will meet with Ethiopian immigrants to Israel. Nearly 85% of the Ethiopian Beta Israel community, comprising more than 110,700 people, have emigrated to Israel under its Law of Return, which gives Jews and those with Jewish parents or grandparents, and all of their spouses, the right to settle in Israel and obtain citizenship.

Rabbi Capers Funnye who is First lady Michelle Obama's first cousin once removed is also the first African-American member of the Chicago Board of Rabbis, serves on the boards of the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs and the American Jewish Congress of the Midwest, and is active in the Institute for Jewish and Community Research, which reaches out to black Jewish communities outside the United States, such as the Beta Israel in Ethiopia and the Igbo Jews in Nigeria.

Funnye is one of 150,000 African-Americans who practice Judaism in the United States and studies are showing African-Americans adopting Judaism is becoming much more common in the United States. One synagogue even noted about half of the people currently converting to Judaism are African-American.

Beta Israel claim they are descendants of the Tribe of Dan one of the ten lost tribes of Israel. Some believe they are the descendants of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

According to the Hebrew Bible, Jacob (progenitor of Israel) had 12 sons and at least one daughter by two wives and two concubines. The twelve sons fathered the twelve Tribes of Israel.

The Ten Lost Tribes are those Israelites who were deported by the Assyrians. In Jewish popular culture, the ten tribes disappeared from history, leaving only the tribes of Benjamin and Judah to become the ancestors of modern day Jews.

For whatever reason In modern times Israeli leadership has made a concerted effort to identify the lost tribes as part of the Law of Return.

African Jews

Lemba people (Vhalemba) from Southern Africa claim to be descendants of a lost tribe which fled from what is now Yemen and journeyed south. DNA testing has genetically linked the Lemba with modern Jews.

Sefwi tribe(Ghana)-They have practiced Hebraic customs of not eating pork, resting on Sabbath, and circumcision for hundreds of years. The community, largely based in Sefwi Wiawso and Sefwi Sui has been receiving a steady flow of Jewish visitors from the worldwide Jewish community.

Igbo Jews are members of the Igbo people of Nigeria who practice Judaism and are said to be descended from Mediterrenian Israelites migration into West Africa. Historical evidence is conclusive on Ibo Israelite origins. Outreach to Nigerian Jews by the wider Jewish world community gained official status in 1995 – 1997, when Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin sent a team to Nigeria in search of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Western rabbis and educators such as Rabbi Gorin have visited the community at times and Jewish communities in the West support those in Nigeria by sending books, computers, and religious articles. However, the State of Israel has, to date, not officially recognized the Igbo as one of the Lost Tribes.

Money, race, power, politics, the beat goes on. The jewish community in the U.S. has yet to fully accept Rabbi Capers.

As Michelle Obama and the Obama administration know sometimes we get so involved in playing the race card in the U.S. that the distinctions between reality and fiction are hard to define, a hard pill to swallow if this reality can be economically and socially damaging.