By the mid Nineteenth century Europeans had conquered or explored all of the Americas, Asia and even remote Pacific outposts that we know today as Australia, New Zealand, and Tahiti. But bizarrely one area remained largely unexplored and it was right on Europe's doorstep: Sub Saharan Africa.
As you might expect, explorers, missionaries and of course colonialists soon made their way down South. They encountered new languages, customs, ethnic groups and evidence of previously unknown (to Europeans) civilizations. But more surprisingly, they also encountered a group of people who identified as Jews. These were not converts to the religion but rather African people who claimed they were ethnically the descendants of Abraham, and perhaps even one of "The Lost Tribes of Israel." More remarkably, they also had an explanation for what had happened to the Ark of the covenant. It wasn't in Ethiopia, Israel, or in a huge CIA operated warehouse full of crates. No, it was in their own backyard.
British Scholar Tudor Parfitt who has specialized in studying Jewish history decided to investigate these seemingly outlandish claims. Had these people in Zimbabwe merely adopted a form of Judaism introduced by Christian missionaries? Was there any evidence aside from oral tradition to substantiate their claims? The results of his research stunned the world.
In this episode I speak with Tudor Parfitt.
Guest:
Music: Pixabay