LEMBA

This page is dedicated to the Lemba people who claim to be of Jewish descent and indeed practice some Jewish traditions.  This information is provided without any prejudice or endorsement to the claims. The Lemba live mainly in Zimbabwe and in the Limpopo Province of South Africa and are thought to number in the tens of thousands.

(This following extract is from the Wikipedia post on the Lemba)

What is possibly the oldest recorded origin story of the Lemba people was documented by Henri-Alexandre Junod (a Swiss-born South African missionary). In 1908, he wrote:

Some old Balemba of both the Spelonken and the Duiwelskloof country told my informant the following legend:

‘[We] have come from a very remote place, on the other side of the sea. We were on a big boat. A terrible storm nearly destroyed us all. The boat was broken into two pieces. One half of us reached the shores of this country; the others were taken away with the second half of the boat, and we do not know where they are now. We climbed the mountains and arrived among the Banyai. There we settled, and after a time we moved southwards to the Transvaal; but we are not the Banyai.

Tudor Parfitt interprets that the legend about the destruction of the boat and the division of the tribe is perhaps a way of explaining the fact that Lemba clans are to be found in several separate locations. However, it could equally be taken as an expression of a fractured sense of identity.

The original Sena was most likely located in Yemen, specifically in the ancient town of Sanā (also known as Sanāw) which is located within the easternmost portion of the Hadhramaut.

For the detailed description of the Lemba with many references – see via this external link on Wikipedia 

Here are some external references on YouTube videos about the Lemba people:

The Lemba people have been documented by a number of researchers including Tudor Parfitt and extensively written about by Bryan Orford of Bulawayo in his book  “The Stone Builders of Great Zimbabwe: Secrets of Zimbabwe, Sena and the Black Jews”.  Bryan has a Facebook group  “Zimbabwe & Rhodesia history 50 years or more back” where he posts material from his book.  He recently posted a link to this YouTube below.

 

The pictures below were taken by Nobble Moyo who attended the Lemba  conference in 2025. There are photos of young boys who given an “induction” ceremony. 

I know this story is not mainstream ZJC however I was curious and made a time to meet Moderick Maeresera of the LEMBA community based in the suburb of Mabelreign, Harare. Moderick underwent a Conservative Jewish conversion in the USA and he heads a small community of people who attended Shabbat services. They have siddurim and a Torah (see images below) and at their last service they had 40 people. He told me how the Lemba have a couple of main “factions” – the messianic congregations and his community who are more “orthodox”. There are apparently numerous congregations of both around the country including Masvingo. His community received financial support from Kulanu – an American Jewish organisation that reaches out to and supports “lost tribes”. Moderick makes a living as a building contractor.
The house in the picture below is their Shul and Moderick’s family home.
For more background on the Lemba – see https://zjc.org.il/history/lemba/
 

Report by Nobble Moyo – 2nd August 2025

A few weeks ago I was commissioned to travel from Masvingo to Mberengwa regional council to attend the annual Lemba Festival, based on the invitation below. I hoped we get some insights into the Lemba of Zimbabwe. He sent this report which I have slightly edited but is mostly in his words and includes some images/videos. We thank him for his efforts:
 
This report  outlines my experience from attending the Lemba Cultural Festival and also highlights the problems that the community is facing. 
I traveled from Masvingo and from Mberengwa turn off to Danga the place that hosted the Lemba festival, which is a  prominently gold mining area, apparently lots of veins, evidenced by the random scrapping on the road sides and young men carrying gold detectors. 
I also learned that there is Lithium, Emeralds to mention a few minerals that are currently being mined in the area. Most mines are owned by Chinese, I heard there was a mine called Rebecca that was mined by Jews, but that it had closed down. 
 
Upon arrival at Danga I booked at the cheapest lodge ever, the only lodge in sight, for 10 USD I got a bed, however the electric sockets did not work, the toilet system was a Blair toilet which was 50 meters away from the rooms. 
 
The Lemba people don’t eat pork, I went out looking for a canteen and noticed that all restaurants only had beef and goat meat. I heard that they have a way of slaughtering their chickens and goats. Its done by specific people, there is a special prayer that they do before they slaughter.  
The young men in the photos are initiates from the Lemba school. The boys are circumcised at the school. The whips they have are from a Mukamasani or Munyaingwe trees. The hat that they wear is called kippa (sp) I heard that the Lemba people did not have these hats, but adopted them from the Jews. The girls also go to these initiation schools to be taught how to respect men and womanhood generally. 
 
On the day of the function I woke up early and got the chance to take photos, however as the function progressed the ZBC journalist and others seemed to take over and I got restricted from taking photos. There are some Lemba people in Thoyandou in Limpopo, it seems the Lemba people came from up north as far as Ethiopia and Senna in Yemen (editor: as researched by Tudor Parfitt). Most of the officials that I tried to speak to seemed to loose interest once they noticed that I was a visitor. Most people that held information became pre-occupied with the event. The leader of the headquarters was untouchable and one person hinted that I needed to come back on a less busier time. 
 
In a separate but nearby location is the headquarters of the Lemba people, (see photos) was established 15 years ago and it hosts Jews and learners at the synagogue. These people do not drink alcohol, but there is a drink called kambucha…. Its a common drink here, it has alcohol and I see a lot of people who claim not to drink alcohol drinking it. It evidently gets one sloshed, but that was non of my business. I felt that the people seem to have more or less similarities with the Muslim culture. The Lemba people are known as healers, if you check the shona word “ chiremba”-doctor. Its said their ancestors are known for that. 
 
Furthermore there is an ark of the covenant that was found in the Mberengwa Mountain, its still a sacred mountain. They called it the Ngomalungundu, its a clay shaped pot like think with four handles and was never allowed to touch the ground, I heard that the ‘ark’ is now in Harare in a museum of sorts. 
 
I also heard that Julius Malema, of the EEF party in SA who claims to be a member of the Lemba, was supposed to grace the event. As the function progressed the Lemba people had some intermittent sessions that seemed to be specifically for them, for example the awards and touring the school. The highly respected chief is called their president and there is a strong bond between the Lemba in Mberengwa and the ones in South Africa, both sides don’t miss the other’s ceremonies. After this festival there will be a ceremony in Limpopo and there is a Lemba delegation from Danga under chief Mposi that is going to grace the ceremony. 
 
The road accessibility is a serious challenge for this community. The road from Yoko shops to Danga has some bad gravel. The shopping center has a water crisis and can do with one or two boreholes. The clinic does not have an ambulance and the baby mortality rate is abnormally high due to lack of proper maternal care equipment and facilities. 
 
I have forgotten the Shona term that they kept referring to. Its a term used for the non Lembas, its like when Muslims call non Muslim infidels. The star of David was used during prayers. It also opened my eyes to other instances, that star is used by spiritualists in Africa. The Lemba leaders believe that the Ngomalungundu is the actual covenant that was taken from biblical times. They said some carbon dating on the wood showed that it was very ancient. They also spoke of how their DNA matched people from the middle east. 
 
The location of the conference is based on the fact that its a shopping center. Many converged from the villages to come to the event. I am assuming it became a central meeting point. 
 
Sadly the leadership seemed conservative and too busy to entertain me that much. One member said sometimes outside help is thwarted by politicians who are quick to jump into confisticating funds.
 
The End. Uyu
Message: To: All Lemba
5 June 2025
Invitation to Mberengwa Lemba Cultural Association Annual Festival
Date: 19 July 2025
Venue: Mposi High School
On behalf of Mberengwa Cultural Association, I hereby invite Lemba across Zimbabwe to our annual festival in Mberengwa. The Mberengwa LCA has since its infancy in 1972 celebrated the Lemba legacy and history. On such an important day, the Lemba take stock and barrel of their cultural heritage, history, and place nationally, regionally, continentally and globally. The Lemba showcase their lemba dances, reaffirm their collective wisdom and contribute to a strong sense of identity.
We therefore, invite our Lemba brothers and sisters to an important event tailor-made not only to preserve our past but also to shape the present and future. Connecting Lemba to their roots, instilling values and maintaining a strong sense of cultural identity is a collective responsibility of all Lemba people nationally, regionally, continentally and globally. It is for this reason that we invite you to Mberengwa in order to enhance synergies in our collective efforts as Lemba. All Lemba interested in attending must confirm this through my office.
Hope our invitation will receive your favourable consideration.
Thank you
Dr Takavafira M Zhou, Secretary for External Ministry of Diaspora 
Affairs  
Editor: based on the photograph of the Lemba Mission’s doctrine shown in one of the images below and its reference to Romans 1-16 in the New Testament I would submit that despite all the Jewish symbols in their rituals – the Lemba beliefs are well outside those of mainstream Judaism.