Journey to the Vanished City: The Search for a Lost Tribe of Israel FROM THE PUBLISHER
Who are the strange Lemba people of Zimbabwe and South Africa? Are they indeed, as they claim, a lost biblical Jewish tribe directly descended from the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon? Or are they impostors, claiming to be Jewish merely to expedite a modern-day exodus to Israel, following a path undertaken by the Ethiopian Falasha Jews? These are the questions that noted historian Tudor Parfitt tackles in this absorbing narrative, Journey to the Vanished City. Tracing the origins of these self-proclaimed black Jews in compelling whodunit fashion, Parfitt searches for the fabled city of Sena, from which the Lemba claim to have come centuries before. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that this is not merely an expedition through uncharted African territory, for the book takes on the aura of an epic journey through the terrain of myth. Along the way, the reader encounters fascinating stories of the Queen of Sheba, of long-lost Jewish kingdoms, of King Solomon's mines, and of Ophir, the legendary biblical land of gold. A compelling travel narrative in the best tradition of Paul Theroux and John McPhee, this is a work that through its controversial thesis is bound to generate public debate. Journey to the Vanished City opens up a new and exciting chapter in Jewish history.
FROM THE CRITICS
BookList - Ilene Cooper
While giving a speech in Johannesburg on his book "Operation Moses" (1985), a history of the Falashas of Ethiopia, Parfitt noticed, at the back of the room, a small group of shabbily dressed black men wearing skullcaps. When he spoke to them afterwards, these members of the Lemba tribe proudly announced that, like the Falashas, they, too, were Jews. Moreover, they claimed to be a lost tribe of Israel. Attempting to prove or disprove their claims (Are they, in fact, descendants from King Solomon, or are they impostors, feigning Jewish ancestry to escape South Africa for Israel?), Parfitt retraced the supposed path of the Lemba's ancestors from the Venda, one of the "homelands" in the northeast corner of South Africa, to Zimbabwe and the remains of the stone city Great Zimbabwe, into Malawi, and up through Tanzania. Like Paul Theroux, but with a scholarly edge, Parfitt has the enviable knack of turning his journey into a compelling, multifaceted travelogue; his precise descriptions of the people and places of central and southern Africa linger vividly in the reader's mind. Interwoven with the arid lands and abject poverty are the fables of Solomon and Sheba and of King Solomon's Mines, which Parfitt skillfully connects with African history. His conclusion about the Lemba--that their racial and religious origins are mixed--is perhaps the least interesting part of the book. But as Parfitt tells it, the story of the Lemba is much more than the question of their Jewishness. It is a story about the way mythology, reality, and ideology mesh in a synergy all their own. Like the best ancient fables, the myths and legends of the Lemba move us far beyond what can be known of the truth.
Kirkus Reviews
A haunting history-cum-travelogue, as Parfitt (Hebrew & Jewish Studies/Univ. of London) sleuths out the claims of the Lemba of South Africa, a black people who believe themselves to be the legendary lost tribe of Israel. As Parfitt showed in The Thirteenth Gate (1987), scattered groups around the world claim, usually on little evidence, to be Jews (the Falasha of Ethiopia are the best-known example). The Lemba, too, insist that once they were white, rich, and free—a Hebrew tribe that traveled to Africa, built the ancient city of Great Zimbabwe, and then somehow became black, poor, and disenfranchised in South Africa. Why these claims, asks Parfitt? Is it because Jewishness is a "symbol of uniqueness or exclusivity"? Is it because the Lemba wish to emigrate to Israel? No clear answer emerges, but Parfitt's Africa is an unforgettable land of kooks, crooks, and dreamers. In an Afrikaaner stronghold in South Africa, he runs up against nasty white racism, and, in a black township, a professor in a lizard-infested house rants about his own genius while delivering salvos of Lemba lore. Meanwhile, Afrocentrists lash out at Parfitt for challenging Great Zimbabwe's black origins. Then it's on to Zimbabwe, where Parfitt eats fried ants and dances with naked revelers before being socked in the jaw as a friendly warning to keep his distance. A visit to Ian Smith, embittered ex-president of Rhodesia, does nothing to alleviate the dotty atmosphere. Finally, heading home, Parfitt is robbed twice by police, a fitting wrap-up to his bizarre journey. In an epilogue, the author springs a last surprise: perhaps the Lemba are not Jews, but Muslims who have forgotten Mohammed and the Koran, leaving aresidue of Judaic practice (fasting, circumcision) carried on to this day. Like Paul Theroux with a Ph.D.: the best in adventure-scholarship. (Photos—not seen.)
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