Lemba people

Lemba
Sena
	A Lemba man from the Gutu District
Total population
	150,000+ (estimated)
Regions with significant populations
	South Africa (esp. Limpopo Province), Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe
Languages
	Presently Venda, Karanga and Pedi (Previously Old South Arabian languages)
Religion
	Christianity, Islam, Judaism
Related ethnic groups
	Swahili, Shirazi, Central Semitic speakers, Beta Israel

The Sena, Lemba, Remba, or Mwenye^[1] are an ethnic group which is native to South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe of mixed Bantu, Ethiopian and Yemeni heritage. Within South Africa, they are particularly concentrated in the Limpopo province (historically around Sekhukuneland) and the Mpumalanga province.

Since the late twentieth century, there has been increased media and scholarly attention about the Lemba's claim of common descent from First Temple-era Jews.^[2]^[3]^[4] Genetic Y-DNA analyses have established a paternal Middle-Eastern origin for the majority of the Lemba population.^[5]^[6]

^ le Roux, Magdel (1997). "AFRICAN" JEWS" FOR JESUS A preliminary investigation into the Semitic origins and missionary initiatives of some Lemba communities in southern Africa". Missionalia. Vol. 25. pp. 493–510.
^ Parfitt, Tudor (1993/2000) Journey to the Vanished City: the Search for a Lost Tribe of Israel, New York: Random House (2nd edition)
^ Parfitt(2002), "The Lemba", p. 39
^ Wuriga, Rabson (1999) "The Story of a Lemba Philosopher and His People", Kulanu 6(2): pp.1,11–12 Archived 16 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine
^ Spurdle, AB; Jenkins, T (November 1996), "The origins of the Lemba "Black Jews" of southern Africa: evidence from p12F2 and other Y-chromosome markers.", Am. J. Hum. Genet., 59 (5): 1126–33, PMC 1914832, PMID 8900243
^ Soodyal, H (2013). "Lemba origins revisited: Tracing the ancestry of Y chromosomes in South African and Zimbabwean Lemba". South African Medical Journal. 103 (12). Retrieved 9 May 2014.

[Magdel-1] Roux, Magdel (1997). "AFRICAN" JEWS" FOR JESUS A preliminary investigation into the Semitic origins and missionary initiatives of some Lemba communities in southern Africa". Missionalia. Vol. 25. pp. 493–510.

[Parfitt,_Tudor_2000-2] Parfitt, Tudor (1993/2000) Journey to the Vanished City: the Search for a Lost Tribe of Israel, New York: Random House (2nd edition)

[3] Parfitt(2002), "The Lemba", p. 39

[Wuriga-4] Wuriga, Rabson (1999) "The Story of a Lemba Philosopher and His People", Kulanu 6(2): pp.1,11–12 Archived 16 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine

[SpurdleJenkins-5] Spurdle, AB; Jenkins, T (November 1996), "The origins of the Lemba "Black Jews" of southern Africa: evidence from p12F2 and other Y-chromosome markers.", Am. J. Hum. Genet., 59 (5): 1126–33, PMC 1914832, PMID 8900243

[Soodyal2013-6] Soodyal, H (2013). "Lemba origins revisited: Tracing the ancestry of Y chromosomes in South African and Zimbabwean Lemba". South African Medical Journal. 103 (12). Retrieved 9 May 2014.

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