Every gene tells a story
Izelle Theunissen, MRC News
Genes reveal more than whether you were going to have a crooked nose or curly
hair. They can also spill the beans about where your ancestors come from. Dr
Himla Soodyall of the MRC's Human Genomic
Diversity and Disease Research Unit tells more about the origins of the Lemba.
The Lemba (or Remba, as they are known in Zimbabwe) is a group of
Bantu-speakers who tell a fascinating account of their ancestry. Now genetic
techniques pioneered by Dr Soodyall and her team bear their legends out.
History and traditions
According to the Lemba's oral history that is passed from generation to
generation, they have Jewish ancestors. Prof. Mativha, head of the Lemba
Cultural Association and author of the book titled The Basena/Vamyena/Balemba
has strongly supported this oral tradition. "Their forefathers were traders
who migrated from the 'north' to the Yemen around 7 BC, where they established a
large community at Sena and several trading posts along the eastern African
coast. The Jewish community at Sena, called 'Basena', was later expanded by
exiles escaping from the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC,"
Prof. Mativha claims.
Later on, when conflict between the 'Basena' and the Arabs surfaced, some 'Basena'
migrated to Africa. Here they split into two groups - one moving westward to
settle in Ethiopia (the Ethiopian Jews) and the Lemba moving southward, finally
establishing communities in Southern Africa.
Some of the traditions practiced by the Lemba today are similar to those
practiced by Jews: they also practise circumcision, bury their dead, offer
animal sacrifices, hold the first and seventh days of the moon to be sacred,
keep kosher, cut the throat of animals during slaughter, keep ritual purity and
don't marry the 'gentiles'.
Several historical facts also set them apart from their Bantu-speaking
neighbours: they are highly skilled metal workers (including iron, copper and
gold) and potters and the men wear long cotton garments.
"The Lemba didn't retain their own language - the Lemba of the former
northern Transvaal speak Venda and in Zimbabwe they speak one or other western
dialects of Shona. But even today, there are still Lemba in Venda who can recall
much about the language spoken by their ancestors from before the end of the
17th century when they migrated to the south of the Limpopo," Dr Soodyall
says.
Research starts
This fascinating story has sparked the interest of many other scientists:
Tudor Parfitt, author of Journey to the vanished city: The search for a lost
tribe of Israel, spent months travelling through Africa and Yemen searching for
the geographic origins of the Lemba. He wrote: "Most of the evidence then
suggests that the past of the Lemba was connected with the Arab world. Ethiopian
or Indian antecedents seemed to be based on far more flimsy evidence. But that
being the case, the question still remains: where was the original Sena?
Somewhere no doubt in the Arabic-speaking world. But where?"
Dr Margaret Nabarro, the well-known ethno-musicologist with a deep knowledge
of Lemba traditions, also became convinced of the Semitic connection of the
Lemba. "She and her husband, Prof. Emeritus Frank Nabarro, encouraged Prof.
Trefor Jenkins from the National Health Laboratory Services (previously SAIMR)
to pursue genetic studies on the Lemba. So, during two visits to the annual
cultural festivals of the Lemba in Venda, Prof. Jenkins collected blood samples
from about 100 volunteers to use for genetic studies," says Dr Soodyall.
What the Y chromosomes tell
In contrast to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) which is passed on exclusively from
mother to child and is useful in tracing the ancestry of human populations along
female lineages, Y chromosomes are found only in males.
"Using mtDNA the Lemba were indistinguishable from other Bantu-speaking
groups. However, when my colleague Mandy Spurdle analysed the Y chromosomes in
the Lemba, she found that approximately 50% of the Y chromosomes present in the
Lemba appeared to be from Semitic (Jewish or Arab) origin. Thirty six per cent
was of African origin, and the ancestry of the remaining 14% could not be
resolved by the methodology used at the time. This study sparked a great deal of
interest among researchers interested in the origins of the 'Black Jews' of
South Africa," says Dr Soodyall.
Origins of Y chromosomes in Lemba and Remba.
"A group of researchers at the University College in London recently
extended a genetic approach first adopted by our laboratory to resolve the Y
chromosome lineages found in the Lemba. These researchers found that a
particular Y chromosome combination or haplotype - known as the Cohen Modal
Haplotype or CMH - was present in the Lemba at a frequency of about 9%. This
haplotype is only found at high frequency in Jewish priests, so this seems to
corroborate the Lemba oral history about their origins," explains Dr
Soodyall.
In her own research Dr Soodyall and her team have found that about 50% of the
Y chromosomes found in the Lemba and Remba have a Middle Eastern origin.
"But the CMH was only found in the South African Lemba. We are presently
analysing the data to establish whether the CMH was introduced recently, perhaps
from a Jewish ancestor into the Lemba, or whether it was introduced from one of
the founders of the Lemba who originated in 'Sena', the presumed homeland of the
Lemba," she says.
For more information about this subject, please contact Dr Himla Soodyall at
tel.: (011) 489-9208 or
e-mail hxsood@global.co.za.
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