Subject: Abayudaya, from the Luganda word for Jews.
Welcome, The eastern Ugandan town of Mbale is home to a small Jewish community,
known as
Abayudaya, from the Luganda word for Jews.
Shalom - welcome in Hebrew - is painted on the wall of the Hadassah infant and
elementary school just outside Mbale. It is the only Jewish primary
school in the country and caters to its small community.
Hands up!
Children wave their hands in the air in
response to the question: "Who here is Jewish?" Pupils are taught to
chant the Hebrew alphabet and can sing the Israeli national anthem. "We
teach them that because all Jewish people are connected to the land of Israel,"
Headmaster Aerron Kintu Moses explains.
Music is important to the Abayudaya, who have produced two CDs of religious
songs.
Warrior
The synagogue, in the grounds of the Semei Kakungulu secondary
school, was recently constructed. Kakungulu, a warrior, was used by the British
to help conquer Uganda. He fell out with the colonialists,
settled in Mbale and in 1919 converted to Judaism, without ever having met a
Jew. By the time of his death a decade later, he had 2,000 followers.
Dressing up
The headmaster at the secondary school prepares
to pray. The Abayudaya are a tiny minority and few Ugandans even know that they
exist. The group have also been through difficult times, particularly in the
1970s when then-President Idi Amin, a Muslim, forbade Jewish observance. Many
Abayudaya converted to Christianity or Islam, and numbers dwindled to around
200.
School walk
The Abayudaya are currently experiencing a
revival, with more than 750 members. After years of being off the tourist map,
Uganda has greater contact with international Jewry,
particularly from the United States. Well-wishers have donated money, and
facilities have expanded. Now, Muslim and Christian students walk through the
lush green hills to attend the Jewish schools.
Convert
The community mikvah - a bath for ritual
purification - has been used twice in the past three years by foreign rabbis to
officially convert 345 Abayudaya to Judaism, including Jeje pictured here.
Judaism is not an evangelical religion; Jews normally inherit the faith from
their mother. Until the ceremony the Abayudaya were not even considered Jewish
in the eyes of world Jewry.
Decorated doorway
The door of an Abayudaya home, decorated with
religious symbols and a mezuzah - a religious parchment attached to doorposts
of Jewish houses. Contact with foreign Jews means that the Abayudaya are more
knowledgeable about mainstream Jewish beliefs. And they will be even better
served when their rabbi returns from Israel, where - thanks to foreign
sponsorship - he is
attending religious college.
Confident
Twenty years ago Jewish children, like these,
would have been mocked or marginalised. But as the community grows, so does
their confidence. As one young man put it: "Being called Jewish used to be
an abuse. We even used to fear to say our religion. "But now if you say
you are Jewish, people take it as normal. And some even admire you."
Pictures and words by
Anna Borzello.
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