Jews in Madagascar
Part of a series on |
Jews and Judaism |
---|
History of Madagascar |
---|
|
Accounts of Jews in Madagascar go back to the earliest ethnographic descriptions of the island, from the mid-17th century.
Madagascar's small Jewish community faced challenges during the Vichy regime, which implemented antisemitic laws affecting the few Jews on the island. In the 21st century, some indigenous Malagasy communities informally identified with Jews and Judaism have adopted rabbinic Judaism, studying the Torah and Talmud across three small congregations and undergoing Orthodox conversion. The unified rabbinic Jewish community refers to its ethnic division within Judaism as Madagascar Sepharad.
Theories of Jewish origin of Malagasy people
The "Malagasy secret"
There is a widespread, centuries-old[2] belief in Madagascar that Malagasy people are descended from Jews, with "probably millions" of people in Madagascar claiming genealogical origins in ancient Israel.[3] This belief is termed the "Malagasy secret", and is so common that some Malagasy refer to their people(s) as the Diaspora Jiosy Gasy (Malagasy Jewish Diaspora).[4] The origin myths, which vary across clans, often include ancestors arriving at the shores of Madagascar bearing "red zebu", a localized adaptation of the biblical red heifer tradition.[5] Further belief holds that Madagascar has been settled by Jews since ancient times, and that the island was associated with ancient Ophir.[6] These same legends assert that the rosewood used in the construction of the Temple of Solomon came from the lowland forests of Madagascar.[3] Descent from members of this Solomonic fleet is prominently claimed by the Merina and Betsileo peoples.[7] The Merina royal line has often claimed to descend from an ancient wave of Israelite migration that arrived via Asia in Madagascar, after being exiled by the Neo-Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar.[8] Antemoro people claim Moses as their forebearer. Sakalava and Antandroy people explain certain taboos within their respective cultures as originating with ancient Israelite ancestors. Some Malagasy theories of Jewish provenance suggest ancestral origin in one or more of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, most commonly Gad, Issachar, Dan, and Asher. Another narrative linking ancient Hebrews to Madagascar asserts that Madagascar was the site of the Garden of Eden (with various island rivers around the Malagasy settlement of Mananzara cited as the true Biblical Pishon), and that Noah's Ark departed from Madagascar at the time of the flood.[9][10][11]
Similar "crypto-Jewish" legends exist in neighboring Comoros and Mozambique.[11]
The "Jewish thesis"
The theory that Malagasy people can trace their ancestry to ancient Jews—termed the "Jewish thesis"—is asserted in the earliest writings on the question of Malagasy origins, and by the late 19th and early 20th centuries had become a "conviction" of the many European chroniclers of the island.[7] Common substantiations for the thesis included observations of "linguistic similarities [between Hebrew and Malagasy]; common physiognomic traits; alimentary and hygiene taboos; some sort of monotheism [with the Malagasy naming Zanahary as their one, un-picturable God];[12] observance of a lunar calendar; and life-cycle events resembling those in the Jewish tradition, circumcision in particular".[13][7] A similar "Arab thesis" was also prevalent, though less persistent and popular than its Jewish counterpart.[5]
The British merchant Richard Boothby of the
Lars Dahle wrote critically on the comparative arguments for the thesis in 1833: "The truth is, I think, that similarity of customs is nearly worthless as a sign of relationship, if not supported and borne out by other proofs of more importance".[7] The British explorer Samuel Copeland argued in 1847 that Malagasy people have "neither customs, traditions, rites, nor ceremonies sufficiently analogous to justify us in assigning their origin to that [Jewish] people."[22] In 1924, Chase Osborn protested at the Jewish thesis that "not one of the [Malagasy] tribes have the great Jewish nose which has followed that people during all time and is a sign of strength."[23]
Contemporary analyses of colonial European theories of Jewish Malagasy origin have noted that "the identification of Levitical customs was an obsession of the missionaries and early European anthropologists,"[11] and that "squaring the Bible's assertion of universality and shared descent from Noah's three sons with the realities of global diversity was [...] a central preoccupation of generations of ecclesiasts and Christian voyagers."[7] Eric T. Jennings argues that the discourses about Jewish roots in Madagascar led to the selection of the island by Nazi Germany for the Madagascar Plan, a proposed forcible relocation of Europe's Jews to Madagascar.[7]
Alakamisy Ambohimaha
A site called Ivolamena in
The Ivolamena and Vohisoratra sites are today revered as a supernatural holy site by Betsileo claimants of ancient Israelite ancestry, who believe that both cliffs' inscriptions were left by their forebearers during a voyage to gather materials for Solomon's Temple during which they married the locals of a legendary "Zafindrandoto" tribe and settled to found the earliest Betsileo communities.
Later investigations
No genetic testing has been done on specific Malagasy populations to corroborate claims of Jewish phylogenetic heritage. Genetic and linguistic studies that inquire broadly about Malagasy origins generally point to Austronesian settlement as the earliest human presence on the island, followed by waves of migration from other regions including East Africa.[11] A 2013 DNA study of the Antemoro people found two haplogroups linked to Middle Eastern origins in their parental lineages. Haplogroup J1 was found to connect the Antemoro with, among others, Portuguese Jews and people from Israel and Palestine. Haplogroup T1 connected the Antemoro to Israel, Spain, Lebanon, and Palestine.[27][28]
Nathan Devir judged the possibility of Malagasy racial descent from one of the Ten Lost Tribes to be "unlikely but possible" given the body of genetic research on Malagasy origins.[29] It has been alternatively proposed that Jews or their converted descendants may have been among the 10th-century Arab traders, or among the 15th-century sailors fleeing the Portuguese Inquisition, who came to Madagascar.[30][31] Tudor Parfitt, who describes 18th and 19th-century Merina royal tombstones with Hebrew writing, asserts that "There is good reason to believe that Portuguese anusim settled in Madagascar … There is no reason to doubt a historic connection with the Jews, but in the absence of any proof, it would be audacious to say there was a connection."[32]
Jewish communities in Madagascar
Zafy Ibrahim
17th century French colonial governor Étienne de Flacourt reported of a group called the Zafy Ibrahim, whom he'd encountered between 1644 and 1648 in the vicinity of the island of Nosy Boraha and judged to be of Jewish identity and descent.[33] The 500-600 people constituting the group were described in de Flacourt's account as being unfamiliar with Muhammad (considering his followers to be "lawless men"), celebrating and resting on Saturdays (unlike members of the island's Muslim population, who rested on Fridays), and bearing Hebrew names like Moses, Isaac, Jacob, Rachel and Noah.[12] The group collectively maintained a regional monopoly on religious animal sacrifice.[33] The Zafy Ibrahim have been theorized variously to be Yemenite Jews, Khajirites, Qarmatian Ismaili Gnostics, Coptic or Nestorian Christians, and descendants of pre-Islamic Arabs coming from Ethiopia.[33] In 1880, James Sibree published an account of the Zafy Ibrahim in Ambohipeno, quoting one in affirmation: "we are altogether Jews".[33] An 1888 report described the Zafy Ibrahim's Hebraic rites and observances as "only a remote vibration of Judeo-Arabic influence."[34] By the French colonial period, Zafy Ibrahim began to identify themselves as Arabs and integrate into the Betsimisaraka people, and the people of Nosy Boraha today call themselves "Arabs".[33]
Colonial Period
After France colonized the island and Europeans began settling there in the 19th century, a small number of Jewish families settled in Antananarivo, but did not establish a Jewish community.[35]
Madagascar was governed between August 1918 and July 1919 by a
On July 5, 1941, Madagascar, then under Vichy France's colonial rule, instituted a law mandating a census of all Jewish residents. Jews had to register and declare their wealth within a month of the law's enactment.
In 2011, Adam Rovner found one Jewish grave on the island, belonging to Captain Israel Solomon Genussow. Genussow was a
A series of letters from a Jew in Madagascar to the
In 1950, a council of Haredi rabbis in Paris sought the guidance of the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, regarding the permissibility of consuming zebu meat under Jewish dietary laws. Their inquiry was part of an effort to set up kosher slaughterhouses in Madagascar for the purpose of exporting meat to Israel. The inquiry generated a halakhic controversy among rabbinic authorities. Rabbi Herzog's positive stance was prominently challenged by Rabbi Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz. Ultimately, the Chief Rabbinate declined to approve the Malagasy meat, in deference to Rabbi Karelitz's argument.[46]
In 1955, the
Communauté Juive de Madagascar
The country is home to a small normative Jewish Malagasy population (in addition to a greater number of Jewish-identifying practitioners of syncretic combinations of Christianity, Judaism, Islam and traditional ancestor-worship and animism, including the 2,000 members of the roughly twelve Messianic Jewish congregations in Madagascar, which syncretically incorporate Judaic elements into Christian belief).[3][52] The community of "a couple hundred" Malagasy Jews in Ampanotokana arrived at rabbinic Judaism in 2010 as the result of three regional Messianic Jewish groups splintering off and studying the Torah.[31][30] In 2012, the state recognized the unified rabbinic Jewish organization as the formal Communauté Juive de Madagascar (Jewish Community of Madagascar).[11]
The community's president is Ashrey Dayves (born Andrianarisao Asarery), who leads alongside Peteola (Andre Jacque Rabisisoa), who serves as the Hebrew teacher, and Touvya (Ferdinand Jean Andriatovomanana), the community's
Conversion and post-conversion activities
In 2013, group members came in contact with a
Nathan Devir analyzes Malagasy Judaic adherence in context of the ancestor-honoring traditions of Madagascar's culture, writing that for Madagascar's new Jews, "the imperative to live Jewishly is a way to honour the ancestors more truly and efficiently." He also notes that Malagasy Jews reject the ancestor-venerating funerary practice of famadihana because it is effectively prohibited by Jewish burial custom.[11]
Members of the Communauté Juive de Madagascar reported
In 2018, 11 more members of the Ampanotokana Jewish community underwent Orthodox conversion, presided over by a Belgian-Malagasy rabbi.[61] In November 2019, the group formed a Vaad (rabbinical council) to handle and publish guidance of halakha (Jewish law).[62] In 2021, the Communauté Juive de Madagascar opened a printing shop to generate income for the community and print Jewish texts.[63][64]
Aaronites
William F.S. Miles documents various Malagasy religious communities claiming Jewish lineage, including a robe-wearing, animal-sacrificing "
Other Judaic groups
The Église du Judaïsme Hébraïque is a charismatic cult in Madagascar led by the Judaic mystic Rivo Lala, whose teachings circulate via the internet.[3] Nathan Devir describes Lala's religion as "a mélange of spiritualism, Catholicism, and theosophy with a healthy dose of Aaronite-descent propaganda and a cultlike emphasis on his own supernatural abilities." Lala's followers are described as wearing kippot and flowing tunics similar to Arabian thawbs.[11] In 2012, Lala publicly claimed that he could guarantee a return to acceptance and power for the then-exiled former President of Madagascar Marc Ravalomanana "if he accepts me as [his] rabbi and agrees to follow the religion of Hebraic Judaism".[11][67] Lala has been arrested several times, and in November 2015 was arrested in Miandrivazo for "witchcraft against around fifty high school girls" after authorities alleged to have found found wooden idols in his car.[68][11] His arrest incited a frenzy in the town, with the families of the allegedly possessed girls demanding that Lala be handed over to them.[69] He was sentenced to one year in prison for witchcraft in January 2016, and was acquitted in June of that year.[70][71]
Since 2004, a Malagasy organization called Trano koltoraly malagasy has advocated for a Jewish origin and identity among Malagasy people, proposing origins among the Israelites of the Exodus. The group observes a "Malagasy new year" at the end of March or beginning of April.[9]
Foreign affairs
The Madagascar Plan
In the summer of 1940, following various similar proposals made by Jews and anti-semites alike since the late 19th century, Nazi Germany proposed the Madagascar Plan, according to which 4 million European Jews would be expelled and forcibly relocated to the island. Eric T. Jennings has argued that the plan's persistence, from its earliest public proposals to its explorations by the French, Polish, and German governments during World War II, stems from the "Jewish thesis" discourse regarding Madagascar's supposed ancient Jewish roots.[7]: 174 In 1937, Bealanana and Ankaizinana, two very remote areas with high elevations and low population densities, were identified by a French "expert" delegation of three men, two of whom were Jews, as a possible site for Jewish relocation.[36][7]
The plan, which relied on the French colony of Madagascar being handed over to Germany, was shelved after the British capture of Madagascar from Vichy in 1942. It was permanently abandoned with the commencement of the Final Solution, the policy of systematic genocide of Jews.[73][7]
Relations with Israel
When Madagascar gained independence as the Malagasy Republic in 1960, Israel was one of the first countries to recognize its independence, send an ambassador, and establish an embassy on the island. President Philibert Tsiranana of Madagascar and President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi of Israel each visited the other’s country during their overlapping terms. Bilateral relations were suspended after the Yom Kippur War in 1973.[74][35] In 1992, Malagasy politician Raherimasoandro "Hery" Andriamamonjy Andriamamonjy founded Club Shalom Madagascar, an organization liaising diplomatic, cultural, and commercial relations between the two countries.[66] Bilateral relations were restored in 1994.[35] In 2020, Madagascar formed a parliamentary Israel Allies Caucus, chaired by Retsanga Tovondray Brillant de l’Or, as part of the Israel Allies Foundation.[75]
See also
- Religion in Madagascar
- Lemba people
- Crypto-judaism
- Igbo Jews
- Kaifeng Jews
References
- ^ Faces Of Africa: The Jews of Madagascar, retrieved 2024-01-13
- S2CID 239843895.
- ^ ISSN 0268-540X.
- ^ Devir, Natan. "Origins and Motivations of Madagascar's Normative Jewish Movement." Becoming Jewish (2016): 49
- ^ ISBN 978-0-85745-893-3, retrieved 2024-01-10
- ^ Parfitt, Tudor (2002) The Lost Tribes of Israel: the History of a Myth. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson p.203.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-137-59690-1.
- ISBN 978-1-5275-2345-6.
- ^ a b Domenichini, Jean-Pierre. "LE PEUPLEMENT DE MADAGASCAR Des migrations et origines mythiques aux réalités de l'histoire". Madagascar Environmental Justice Network.
- ISSN 2385-4472.
- ^ S2CID 239810675, retrieved 2024-01-10
- ^ JSTOR 23661459.
- ISSN 2385-4472.
- ^ Jakka, Sarath Chandra (September 2018). Fictive Possessions: English Utopian Writing and the Colonial Promotion of Madagascar as the "Greatest Island in the World" (1640 - 1668) (PDF) (phd thesis). University of Kent, University of Porto.
- ^ Drury, Robert (1729). "Introduction". In Mackett, William (ed.). Madagascar: Or, Robert Drury's Journal, During Fifteen Years Captivity on that Island (1st ed.). London: W. Meadows.
- ISBN 978-1-120-25217-3.
- ^ "Jews and Madagascar". premium.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
- ^ Grandidier, Histoire, vol. 4, part 1, 96–103
- S2CID 13251803.
- JSTOR 1257737.
- ISBN 978-0-415-31838-9.
- ^ Samuel Copeland, A History of the Island of Madagascar, Comprising a Political Account of the Island, the Religion, Manners, and Customs of Its Inhabitants, and Its Natural Productions (London: Burton and Smith, 1822), 56
- ^ Osborn, Chase Salmon (1924). Madagascar, Land of the Man-eating Tree. Republic Publishing Company. pp. 44–45.
- ^ "Sensationnelle découverte d'inscriptions rupestres," Tana Journal July 17, 1953.
- JSTOR 42928938.
- ^ maitso (2010-05-12). "Le "rocher qui parle" à Alakamisy-Ambohimaha Fianarantsoa MADAGASCAR". Mystères et conspirations (in French). Retrieved 2024-01-13.
- ^ Capredon, Mélanie (2011-11-25). Histoire biologique d'une population du sud-est malgache : les Antemoro (phdthesis thesis) (in French). Université de la Réunion.
- PMID 24278350.
- ^ a b Dolsten, Josefin (7 December 2016). "In Madagascar, 'world's newest Jewish community' seeks roots". The Times of Israel.
- ^ a b c "The secrets of the Malagasy Jews of Madagascar". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2015-09-26. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ a b c d e Josefson, Deborah (5 June 2016). "In remote Madagascar, a new community chooses to be Jewish". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- ^ Berkowitz, Adam Eliyahu (2016-05-30). "Mysterious Madagascar Community Practicing Jewish Rituals Officially Enters Covenant of Abraham [PHOTOS]". Israel365 News. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-374-61020-3.
- ^ "PASEUDO-JEWS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 15, 682. New South Wales, Australia. 28 June 1888. p. 11. Retrieved 10 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b c Skolnik, Fred (2006). "Madagascar". Encyclopedia Judaica. Vol. 13. Detroit: Macmillan Reference. p. 330.
- ^ S2CID 250109046.
- ISBN 978-0-02-865929-9.
- ISBN 978-1-349-65771-1.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8047-4179-8.
- ^ ISSN 0003-9837.
- ^ Rovner, Adam (2011-11-02). "Madagascar: An Almost Jewish Homeland - Page 4 of 5". Moment Magazine. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
- ^ Greenspan, Ari; Zivotofsky, Ari (February 2017). "The Jews of Madagascar: Jewish Core in Island Lore" (PDF). Mishpacha. pp. 69–77.
- ^ Madagascar: Tananarive - Jews of Madagascar 1947-1948, retrieved 2024-01-17
- ^ Goldstein, Melvin S. (5 December 1947), Letter from Melvin S. Goldstein to American Jewish Committee, retrieved 2024-01-19
- ^ Mussard, Lionel (3 February 1948), Letter to Dr. Joel D. Wolfsohn, retrieved 2024-01-19
- ISBN 978-1-56871-353-3.
- ^ a b Rabinowitz, Louis Isaac (29 August 2023). "Where There Are No Jews". No Small Jew: Stories of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and the Infinite Value of the Individual. Hasidic Archives. pp. 32–39.
- ^ Zaklikowski, Dovid (June 27, 2012). ""Globetrotting Ambassador" Fueled Jewish Life in the Farthest Reaches of the Globe". Chabad.
- ^ Wineberg, Yosef. ""There Are No Jews in Madagascar"". Chabad.
- ^ Wineberg, Yosef (29 August 2023). "Responsibility for Your Corner". No Small Jew: Stories of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and the Infinite Value of the Individual. Hasidic Archives. pp. 40–45.
- ^ Schneerson, Menachem (Fall 1961). "A Jew in Madagascar". Chabad.
- ^ a b Kestenbaum, Sam. "'Joining Fabric of World Jewish Community,' 100 Convert on African Island of Madagascar". The Forward. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
- ^ Sussman, Bonita (September 2016). "International Conference on Bnei Anousim: Address by Bonita Nathan Sussman" (PDF). p. 18.
- ^ US State Dept 2022 report
- ISBN 978-1-4438-9965-9.
- ^ Josefson, Deborah (2016-06-05). "In remote Madagascar, a new community chooses to be Jewish". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
- ^ "The Other Side of the World: My Journey to Jewish Madagascar". www.brandeis.edu. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
- ^ Hayyim, Mayyim (2016-07-20). "Mikveh Moments in Madagascar: Immersion and Conversion on the Other Side of the World". Mayyim Hayyim. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
- ^ Vinick, Barbara (September 2022). "Jewish Weddings Around the World" (PDF). Kulanu.
- ^ "Madagascar". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
- ^ Page, Posted In Home; Uncategorized (2018-12-03). "Madagascar Community Members Convert to Judaism". Kulanu. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
- ^ "Madagascar Jewish Community Forms Vaad" (PDF). Kulanu. Fall 2019.
- ^ "Mini-Grants Update" (PDF). Kulanu. Winter 2021. p. 15.
- ^ Kulanu Year End Celebration | Kulanu, Inc was live. | By Kulanu, Inc | Facebook, retrieved 2024-01-14
- ISSN 2152-0844.
- ^ a b Weisfield, Cynthia. "Madagascar Groups Seek Closer Jewish Ties". Kulanu. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ "Kohen Rivo Lala : " Je peux faire revenir Marc Ravalomanana si… " : TANANEWS". 2012-04-24. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
- ^ "Sorcellerie présumée : le Kohen Rivolala écroué - NewsMada". 28 November 2015. Archived from the original on 2 January 2016. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
- ^ "Madagascar : arrestation d'un gourou soupçonné d'avoir jeté des mauvais sorts". lexpress.mu (in French). 2015-11-28. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
- ^ Andriamarohasina, Seth (22 January 2016). "Madagascar: Sorcellerie - Le Kohen Rivolala condamné à un an ferme". L'Express de Madagascar.
- ^ Andriamarohasina, Seth (9 June 2016). "Sorcellerie - Kohen Rivolala acquitté". L'Express de Madagascar.
- ISBN 978-3-486-56384-9.
- ISBN 978-0-521-55878-5.
- S2CID 143846951.
- ^ "Madagascar initiates Parliamentary Israel Allies Caucus". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2020-09-07. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
External links
- Jewish Virtual Library website
- Jewish Photo Library images from Madagascar
- Faces of Africa: The Jews of Madagascar — Documentary short by CGTN Africa
- Journey to Judaism — Documentary short about the conversion of the Malagasy Sepharad Jews