IGBO - ISRAEL

The "e;legend"e; of "e;The Lost Tribes of Israel"e; remained forscholars,historians, archeologists, anthropologists and Hebraistsa fascinating topic for millennia. When Israel faced an imperialconquest in the hands of the Assyrian empire in 722 B.C. as earlierwarned by prophets Isaiah and Hosea, the nation also went onexile and into what seemed oblivion. A people who for penalty ofapostasy became a dispersed people across the globe for nearlythree thousand years creating a puzzle of identity and locationfor so long has suddenly began to emerge from the shadows oftime. The account of their journey and experiences over thisperiod had largely remained conjectures as they assimilatedamongst foreign cultures. The Igbo, sojourned in the two sides oflower Niger, one of Africa's great rivers second only to the Nileand like other exiled tribes of Israel was relatively unknown tothose who never had any contacts with them. The era of trans- Atlantic forced migrations and European colonization openedthis connection. The exposition of a people's beliefs, behavior,attitudes and values within religious, cultural and political contexthad only affi rmed their origin and identity.