Their history goes back 'only' one hundred years, to Semei Kakungulu, a Baganda warrior who helped establish the British rule over much of northern and eastern Uganda. When the British, in 1913, broke their promise to make him Kabaka - king - over the Eastern region of Uganda, he disclaimed them, and Christianity. He joined the Bamalaki - the Malachites - a cult that combined Christianity with Old Testament law. For instance, Malaki forbade his followers to eat pork; he was also opposed to the use of medicines, basing his claim on Jeremiah 46:11. Kakungulu adopted these principals and added his 'own' OT laws when he, in 1919, established his own Jewish community and circumcised his sons and himself. At this point his new faith was still combined with Christianity, as he continued to baptize children after circumcising them, and believed in the New Testament as well as the Old Testament.
In 1926 Kakungulu met with a Jewish trader, who taught him the principals of Judaism and presented the community with a Bible written in Hebrew and English. Following this meeting and other meetings with Jews from the outside, the Abayudaya gradually ceased to believe in the New Testament. They built the Moses synagogue on Nabugoye hill, started covering their heads and observing the Sabbath and all the Jewish holidays. They also kept kosher, which resulted in hardly ever eat meat. They were sporadically visited by traveling Jews who'd heard about them, among them Oded Arye, Israeli ambassador to Kenya. Such visits contributed to bringing the Abayudaya closer to Judaism, as they received religious artifacts and prayer books, which were translated into Luganda. Still, for decades they lived in almost total isolation from the Jewish world, and many were forced to convert during Idi Amin's rule of Uganda in the 70s. In the end of his rule, the Abayudaya counted only 500 members.
Only in the early 90's, when Uganda started enjoying political stability after twenty years of unrest, did they come in contact with larger Jewish communities. Slowly these ties have opened the Abayudaya to new Jewish influences; they no longer accept new members to their community without strict formal conversion by a beit din composed of Conservative rabbis from the US. Through donations they started a Jewish school - the Semei Kakungulu High School - which helps educate the community's children in the ways of their faith. All the members of the community live a religious Jewish life, but still they live among their Christian and Muslim neighbors, who also attend their Jewish school. For more information visit the official site put up by Matthew Meyer who visited the Abayudaya in 1992.
Today the Abayudaya count about 750 members, even though their not recognized by the Israeli 'Rabbanut Rashit' as Jews, they have gotten attention from secular Israeli media, and their community is developing. Rabbi Gereshom Sizomu was the first Abayudaya member to come to Israel, in early 2005, after years of failed attempts to get a visa. The community has also started exporting coffee to the US, all through the help of American Jewish communities. Who also helped the Abayudaya distribute a CD of traditional Jewish African music that was nominated for a Grammy in 2004.
The Abayudaya are scattered around Mbale and Pallisa, with their headquarters still at Nabugoye hill. The Bagisu tribe mainly inhabits Mbale, and many of the Abayudaya families were originally Bagisu. Because the Jews live scattered among their local neighbors, they speak Lugisu - the language of the Bagisu; they also speak Luganda, the language of Semei Kakungulu's tribe - the Baganda - as their prayers and blessings are conducted in Luganda. Both Lugisu and Luganda are Bantu languages, which makes them fairly similar. For instance in both languages, the prefix "Ba" or "Aba" means tribe, while "Lu" indicated language: the Ba-Ganda speak Lu-Ganda; the English were called the Aba-Angereza (Engeleza); the Jews are the Aba-Yudaya, and Hebrew is locally referred to as Lu-Yudaya. Many members of the community, especially men, also speak English, as it is the official langauge used in schools in Uganda; and the community leaders even speak quite a bit of Hebrew.
Brit Olam, The Israeli Jewish International Volunteer Movement has joined the Abuyadaya community to promote and empower the children of the White Nile. Together we have developed a wide supportive community program which includes creating sources of running water, developing educational and medical programs, and building a community center and a health clinic. These programs will address the broad needs of the children and their community, bring it together and empower the weaker groups in the community.
To See more about volunteering programs of Brit Olam click here
