The writer alleged, or better, asserted that the Igbo (Nd'Igbo) were originally a Jewish Hebrew kindred.They migrated from the Middle East to their present settlement. He based his stance on two premises: socio-dynamic similarities between the two peoples, and a purpoted "divine" revelation to a man named Okorie.
True. Socio-culturally, the Igbo and the Jews have many similarities in their ways of living: worshipping; punishing vices; rewarding or celebrating virtues et cetera.They are commercially astute, and they are moneymongers, generally. Plus: they have been visited with attempted extermination which they survived resiliently. Good.
I do not share his faith in this Jewish origin.
I am of the view that any genealogical link between Nd'Igbo and the Jews is in the context of the common ancestry of mankind. Igbo people might be older in origination than the Jews.
Nd'Igbo are Negroid; Jews are not. Jews went with their religion wherever; Yahwh or Yehovah, the central supernate of the Jewish religion and philosophy was unknown among Nd'Igbo before 1800. Even Christianism, which was originally an outgrowth of Judaism, took root in Igbo-land only in the second half of the nineteenth century. The Jews had always been a highly literate people ( the Bible, especially the Old Covenant is a great testimony to this); the Igbo had not always been, though they are intellectually extra-inquisitive. The Jews do not believe in re-incarnation, biblically (they recorded almost all events and conditions of their living = the Bible. None of them depcts a faith in the re-embodiment of dis-embodied entity).The Igbo do. The Jews had always had the 7-day week. Primordial Igbo week is of 4 days.The Jews are (were) an emotional people ( the story of: the crucifixion; the execution of Stephan by stoning; the Golden Calf, are three of the many instances of Jews' emotional tendencies, in The Book). They reason. But they emote equally. The Igbo are an analytical, calculating, people. They exercise their rational faculties more than they do their emotional ones.
In linguistic congruity, Hausa and Tuareg are closer to the languages of Middle Easterners, Jews included, than Igbo is. In economic industry, surely the Igbo is extra-ordinary. They differ a bit from most of their regional neighbours. But Ogbukagu concentrated on the Igbo of South East Nigeria. There are other ethnic kindreds in the central Africa zone, just extending eastward of the Nigerian igbo, who are similar. Bamu(n) is an industrious, intellectually oriented people. Bamileke (of Bamenda region) can be regarded as a differentiated Igbo ethnicity. Their points of difference are mainly language, location, number (population), and the fact of Bamileke not having been genocidally visited by external forces. There other peoples too who have strong willpower and great love of individual independence.
Professor ogbukagu blundered a bit. He was inconsistent about the physique (especially complexion) of his proposed genetic forbears of Nd'Igbo.He said they were black people, and proceeded to describe the present Igbo as blackly (complexionally) different from their fair-complexioned (white) "Jewish" progenitors, due to climatic and intermarital influences.
I have one grouse here: this piece of work may become an intellectual mask, a source of cognitive delusion, to the future generations who may see it as a canon for an intellectual faith.
There are many factors minimizing the acceptability of Ogbukagu's assertions. The Igbo is Negro-African proper. If they emanated from somewhere or some people, those were not the Jews.
I think you ahve not done enough research on the Igbo Hebrew dialecthic. You Igbo language is actually Hebrew language. If you doubt me ask yourself what the meaning of Igbo or Ibo means in Hebrew. The word to look for is \'El gibbor\'...that is Mighty God. You see Igbos are Jewish descendants from Spain, in fcat my research in a book that might be coming in a few years would demonstrate that Igbos were the main body of the Spainish Jewry.
You in Igbo as in many Arab and Hebrew nations there is what they call Ala...a form of course that has to with God and the convenant of the people. You see Ala Igbo...which is what the Igbos call thier country is especially Jewish and as exercised encomiumastic for convenant...Ala does not easily mean land, it means \'God\'s land\' or \'God\'s covenented land\'. That is the land must be cleans from \'aru\' which means \'evil\' in Hebrew and Igbo for God to dwell among us...his children. Failure to do this...is a curse. So Ala igbo or Ala Ibo simply means in
redaction...Al Gibbor, with Canaanim incursion, we can say El gibbor/Mighty God or \'land for the Mighty God\'
2, There is a man they call Jakob Milgrom...who seem to be the leading commentator on Leviticus. He once interpreted Edda a \'community of priest\'. You see in old days of Israel there ia people called Elders in Number and in Exodus, and there were 72 in number. The original number is 70 expeted to help Moses in his duty...these elders and Aaron and Moses made up teh initial Edda that has managed the Jewish Society...since those of times Moses till the years of Jewish exile, through those desert years till Jewish years in Spain, from thier dispatching to variuos other places of the world, till the foundation of Israel nation, Edda comprising of 72 elders and priest has been the inner council.
From much of Jewish history that I was able to fecund...the original \'Septuagint\' were misplaced after the expulsion from Spain in 1492. There were about 150 thousand Jews expelled in that Apocalytic 1492 year and only 30 thousand were accounted for. With many Jewish Historian citing North Africa and Turkimanian Asia as places of rescend and refugee, it is impossible that anyone will point to Africa, to West Africa were a language is spoken that in all humility is Medieval Hebrew. Howard Sacher, Leon Sacher and to some degree Cecil Roth all cited West Africa as part of the refugee state but not enough research has followed that wend given the color barrier.
In Nigeria, among the Igbos...in that ala igbo, there is a place called Edda. It is a village which to my awakening has these 72 villages. These villages were beleieved to have descended from 72 priestly families. It is obvious that Idol became a part of thier existence but if you can elevate your psychology to the heights of probability..., you wil gradually begin to see that such arts and art form that we find in Igbo are serious imitation of the actual; Judaism. In sunset if not in foresight,
a people would arrived in that part of the world without much else in communication. They would have lost the Tora over those years...and would have barely carried on in tradition that eventually acquired the style of thier neighbours.
In addition to Edda in south east fo Nigeria, there is also the Essaa...which in my interpretation comes out as Misraa or simply Israa...all meaning Israel. This village is beside the village called Edda...which is where in keeping to early Igbo tradition, priest seem to have come to establish several society. The Hebrew word \'Eze\' is a common example of the word \'crown\', the \'crown of the priest\' and by this it becomes eager to see that Igbos did not have kings because the heads of thier society were high priestS. Like in Nkpo-oro, the head of that society is Eze Eja/head of the sacrifice and burnt offerings. It means taht they were probably equals and such had to choose who will lead. The same is in the meaning of the word Eze Nri...Nri refers to convenent...part of the onomasticon Eri...Be-Eri/son of convenent.
The Hebrew word Judah...is not found anywhere in Hebrew language, it is in fact the word Uda...also called Ude in both languages and in many ways it also mean \'praise\' or \'loud praise\' in both language. The word Nyako or Yako is Igbo word for more Jewsih word Yakob which in English in Jakob/Jacob...you see the course word in these word ako...which means in Igbo and in Hebrew trickster or surplanter or clever man...that is the actualmeaning of the word JACOB