The Ten Tribes: Burma
In the mountainous region which lies on both sides of the border between India and Myanmar (former Burma), lives the Menashe (Shinlung) tribe which numbers between 1-2 million people. They intermarried with the Chinese and look Chinese-Burmas, but the entire tribe is conscious of their Israeli ancestry.
In the mountainous region which lies on both sides of the border between India and Myanmar (former Burma), lives the Menashe (Shinlung) tribe which numbers between 1-2 million people. They intermarried with the Chinese and look Chinese-Burmas, but the entire tribe is conscious of their Israeli ancestry.
Among the tribe of Menashe we can see the custom of animal sacrifice in the same way which had been done among the Ten Tribes of Israel.
The word Menashe appears often in their poetry and prayer. It is the name of their ancestor and they call themselves children of Menashe (Beni Menashe). When they pray, they say, "Oh, God of Menashe," which is from the name Manasseh, one of the Ten Lost Tribe of Israel.
According to the history which they state, They were exiled to Assyria in 722 BCE with other Tribes of Israel. Later, Assyria was conquered by Babylon (607 BCE), which later was conquered by Persia (457 BCE), which later was conquered by Greece of Alexander the Great (331 BCE), when the people of Menashe were deported from Persia to Afghanistan and other places.
There they became shepherds and Idol worshipers. With the conquest of Islam, they were forced to convert to Islam. Because of their speaking Hebrew they were called the Semitic speakers.
Throughout this entire period they possessed a Hebrew Torah scroll which they guarded with their elders and their priest.
From Afghanistan their migration continued eastward until they reached the area of the Tibetan-Chinese border. From there they continued into China following the Wei River until they reach the central China. They settled there at about 231 BCE.
But the Chinese were cruel to them and made them as slaves. Some of them escaped and lived in caves in the mountainous areas called Shinlung, which became another name for the tribe of Menashe. They are also called the cave people or the mountain people.
Menashe people lived in caves in poverty for about two generations but they still kept the Torah scroll with them. But they started to assimilate and have Chinese influences. Later they were banished from their cave area and went west through Thailand and eventually reached the area in Myanmar.
There they wandered along the river until they reached Mandaley. From there they reached the Chin Mountains. In the 18th century a part of them migrated to Manipur and Mizoram which are in northeastern India. Generally, they maintained the tradition about their wandering and they realized that they were not Chinese even though they spoke the local language.
They call them themselves Lusi which means the Ten Tribe ("Lu" means tribes, and "si" means ten).
Israeli Customs Among the Tribe of Menashe
According to the history which Menashe people state, when they were banished from their cave area they lost their Torah scroll when or perhaps it was stolen or burnt by the Chinese. But the priests of the tribe of Menashe continued to hand down their tradition orally including their ritual observances until the 19th century.
They had kept the custom of circumcision, which when it became difficult was no longer practiced but they blessed the child in a special ceremony on the 8th day. They also had holy days which were very similar to the Jewish days, and even practice levirate marriage where the younger brother had to marry the older brother's widow to keep the name within the family.
The following poem accompanied them throughout their migrations. It is a traditional song about the crossing of the Red Sea which was written by their ancestors. This is the English translation:
We must keep the Passover feastBecause we crossed the Red Sea by dry land
At night we crossed with a fire
And By day with a cloud
Enemies pursued us with chariots
And the sea swallowed them up
And used them as food for the fish
And when we were thirsty
We received water from the rock
At night we crossed with a fire
And By day with a cloud
Enemies pursued us with chariots
And the sea swallowed them up
And used them as food for the fish
And when we were thirsty
We received water from the rock
This content is similar to the experience of Israelites written in Exodus. The people of Menashe call their God Y'wa, which is similar to God's Biblical name.
In every village they had a priest whose name was always Aaron, the brother of Moses and the first Jewish priest. One of his duties was to watch over the village. There were two priests in the larger villages.
The priesthood was passed down only by inheritance. They were involved with worshiping and the offering of sacrifices. The priest wore a tunic and a breastplate and an embroidered coat fastened with a belt and a crown on his head. And they always sang about Menashe at the beginning of each gathering.
In case of illness the priest was called to bless the sick person and to offer sacrifice for his recovery. The priest would slaughter a sheep or a goat and smear the blood on the ear, back and legs of the sick person while reciting verses from the Torah at the same time, similar to Leviticus 14:14.
For the atonement of sins a goat was offered in an altar just as it was in the ancient temple and the blood was sprinkled on the horns of the altar and the meat was eaten by the people. Yom Kippur was observed as a day of atonement once a year same as among Jews. The holy vessels of the priest were not made of metal but of clay, cloth or wood.
Special ceremonies were held by the priest in the case of certain illnesses. This is a form of atonement carried out with a bird the wings of which were sacrificed and the feathers thrown in the wind. In the case of leprosy the priest would offer a bird in the field.
It is also apparent that they practice idol worship and had superstitions regarding spirits and demons. They also believed in reincarnation but at the same time they believed in a God in heaven to whom they would turn in times of trouble.
I met this group in the jungles of Burma in 1963 or 1964 and I can describe their offerings and sacrifices as exactly the same as was offered in the Bible.
The Mizo Tribe
What is so amazing to me that in Burma, the Mizo tribe, untouched by the missionaries, and the source of the Bnai Menashe, have so many ancient Jewish ceremonies and rituals, as circumcision, Sabbath, holidays, etc. and this group must be studied seriously. I think the Israeli universities should send a team of scholars, historians, anthropologists, biologists, rabbis to study the Mizo in Burma. I will gladly join them.
In 1854 with the arrival of the first American missionary, V. Petigrore of the Baptist Mission, the church was established. In 1910 more missionaries came and they established churches in their area of northern India. As a result, the tribal priest lost his stature and the community was subjected to Christian influences and pressure. With the spread of Christianity along the land, they were again subject to great pressures and many of their religious articles were then thrown away or burned by the British and American missionaries between 1854-1910.
Recently a return to Judaism began. Several thousand people of Menashe decided to observe the laws of the Torah and returned to Judaism. They have synagogues in Manipur, Assam, and Mizoram. There are also those who emigrated to Israel. Thousands long for returning to Israel
Hi Hrinsor kong ka hmuh ah hin kalung phundang pi in aum,Ka lungthin cu kai lawmh maw si ka ngaih dek achia ka lungdek aleng ka khuaruah atam. Manasseh le Efraim hi Jacob fapa an zuarmi Josef fapa an si. Hi Kanan ram Jordan tiva ral an phak ah anpa le an thi dih. Joshuah nih an co ding ram aphawt hna ,Josef fale vo cu Jeriko pawng Jordan tiva in bethel tlangram, Bethel in Luz, Arki,Ataroth. nitlak lei ah Japhet ram Behthoron tiang, Cun Gezer in Rili ah adong.( Joshuah 16,17 ah rel khawh si)
Torah scroll=Nunphung tial mi ca zual,System
Hi Hrinsor kong ka hmuh ah hin kalung phundang pi in aum,Ka lungthin cu kai lawmh maw si ka ngaih dek achia ka lungdek aleng ka khuaruah atam. Manasseh le Efraim hi Jacob fapa an zuarmi Josef fapa an si. Hi Kanan ram Jordan tiva ral an phak ah anpa le an thi dih. Joshuah nih an co ding ram aphawt hna ,Josef fale vo cu Jeriko pawng Jordan tiva in bethel tlangram, Bethel in Luz, Arki,Ataroth. nitlak lei ah Japhet ram Behthoron tiang, Cun Gezer in Rili ah adong.( Joshuah 16,17 ah rel khawh si)
Torah scroll=Nunphung tial mi ca zual,System
The Northern Chins form the uppermost section of the Chin belt, which extends down the western edge of Burma. The Chins course in their descent from the far north has been indicated in an earlier portion of this note. The Northern Chin country extends roughly from the 22nd to the 26th parallel of latitude, and includes the Chin Hills proper and a narrow strip of upland on the west of the Upper Chindwin District. What little is known of the inhabitants of this latter area, who are called the Kaswa Aswa, Nantaleik, Piya or Somra Chins, has for the most part been gleaned during the course of punitive expeditions.[1] They merge in the far north into the Nagas (Tangkhuls or Luhupas) and others and only comparatively few of their villages are in administered British territory. Of the residents of the Chin Hills proper far more is known. Their home forms a compact block of mountainous country lying to the west of the Chindwin river between 21°45' and 24°N and 93°20' and 94°5'E and having an area of about 8,000 square miles, In 1901 they numbered about 84,000 souls. They are closely connected with the Lushais of Assam. The following are the principal tribes in the Chin Hills proper: the Soktes (including the Kanhow clan), Siyins, Tashons, Yahows, Whennohs, Lais (or Hakas), Klangklangs and Yokwas. The Soktes number about 9,000, the Siyins between 1,500 and 2,000. The total of the Tashons is approximately 39,000 and that of the Hakas (who are known to the Burmans by the nickname "Baungshe") 14,000. The Yahows and Whennohs number about 11,500, the Klang-klangs about 5,000 and the Yokwas between 2,500 and 3,000. For full particulars regarding the Northern Chins the reader is referred to the authorities quoted in the bibliographical note appended (vide page 53).
EXCEPT KAMIS AND MROS).
The Central Chins occupy the highland immediately to the south of the Chin Hills proper in the Pakokku Chin Hill Tract and in portions of the adjoining districts of Northern Arakan, Akyab and Kyaukpyu. The Southern Chins comprise the remnant who are found at the southern end of the Arakan Yoma on the borders of the Minbu, Sandoway, Thayetmyo, Prome and Henzada Districts, as well as the small scattered communities who have crossed the Iirawaddy and established themselves here and there in the country to the east of it. Owing to various causes the Central Chins have never been systematically studied as a whole and, though ample information has been collected regarding some of them, not only are there others—for the most part in the unadministered tracts—of whom little is known, but also the relation the different tribes bear to one another has never been fully brought out. Roughly speaking, however, there are four main tribes of Central Chins, namely, the Chinboks, the Yindus, the Kara is and the Mros. The last two—who have been inhabitants of Lower Burma for many years and have been commented on independently by several writers—will be dealt with separately. " Chinbok " and "Yindu"
he Tribes of Burma/Migration Waves
| ←The Tribes of Burma | The Tribes of Burma by The Three Migration Waves | Map of Migration Waves→ |
THE THREE MIGRATION WAVES.
We shall never be able to trace all the people who now inhabit Burma back fully to their original seats or say precisely where they had their beginnings as separate racial units and when they left their primaeval homes, but geography, philology and legend all help us to form a fairly shrewd general idea of their Genesis and roughly to trace their Exodus into the lands they ultimately occupied. Far north of Burma in Central Asia, where Tibet and China merge into one another, is the lofty cradle of great rivers. Thence flow the Yantze-kiang, the Hoang Ho, the Mekong and the Salween ; from the southernmost edge of this gigantic mass of upland come the Irrawaddy, the Chindwin and some of the affluents of the Brahmaputra, and it is an undoubted fact that whenever we have a reliable clue of speech or tradition to follow, it leads us up northwards in the direction of this prehistoric breeding ground which shed in the dim past its tribes, like its waters, over the whole of South-Eastern Asia. The chain may seem to break here and there, the threads may show signs of crossing and re-crossing, but the general trend is eventually the same and the conclusion ever identical.
There are, as is well known, relics of this southward tendency still. For years it has been an interesting object-lesson for observers to note how, during the past generation, one of the most conspicuous of the tribes of Burma, the Kachins, have been pressing down from the north, displacing in their search for fresh ground the less virile tribes with whom they have come in contact. So and no otherwise we may imagine the predecessors of all the present inhabitants of the Province to have from time immemorial moved down from the north, following the line of least resistance along the hill ridges or the river valleys, as the case might be, till they found a final resting place for their feet. By watching the movement of the Kachins we can guess how the Burmans, and indeed all the indigenous inhabitants of Burma, came.
As to the time and order of their coming we can form but the very roughest idea. There are chronicles that give us a general conception of how the ethnical elements in Burma were disposed at the beginning of the historical period. So far as they go they merely show a distribution of tribes, much as it exists now–Burmans and Talaings in the plains, Chins and Karens in the hills—a distribution, moreover, that is such that proximity cannot be looked upon as any test of relationship. Here and there, too, there has been such fusion of different tribes that even custom and legend is shared in common. What geography and history tell us is too often fallacious. It is language alone that shows relatively few anomalies and gaps and exhibits a development along the surest lines. So it is that if we are to attempt a classification of the peoples of Burma, we must look for our guide, not to chronicles or custom or folklore or propinquity on the map, but to speech, and only employ the other tests to check the criterion of language.
Now research has shown that, with the solitary exception of Salon, (the speech of the sea-gypsies of the Mergui Archipelago in the far south) all the languages spoken in Burma belong either to one or the other of two main language families, the Mon Khmer and the Tibeto-Chinese. Of these the Mon Khmer has comparatively few, the Tibeto-Chinese a large number of representatives in the Province. Of groups and sub-groups there are many, but all the Tibeto- Chinese languages of Burma take off from one of two main branches, the Tibeto-Burman and the Siamese-Chinese. It will be safe to take the above linguistic division as a basis for ethnical classification and divide the tribes (always excepting the Salons) up into Mon Khmers, Tibeto-Burmans and Siamese-Chinese.
We need not at this stage concern ourselves with the composition of the different groups and sub-groups of these families and branches, of which there are many, but for convenience of reference it may be mentioned here at the outset that the main representatives in Burma of the Mon Khmer race family are the Talaings, the Was and the Palaungs, while those of the Tibeto-Burman branch of the Tibeto-Chinese family are the Burmans, the Chins and the Kachins, and those of the Siamese-Chinese branch of the Tibeto-Chinese family the Shans and the Karens.
It is impossible, as stated above, to give any idea of the order in which these migration waves came down from Central Asia, for they were not single streams, but rather a succession of intermittent spates, the first separated by millenniums from the last; but it is probable, if for no other reason than that its traces seem the most diffuse and faint, that the Mon Khmer was in its beginnings the remotest in point of time. We know that the Shans and the Kachins represent comparatively late movements; but it wrould be most unsafe to hazard a conjecture as to whether the Chins or the Karens were the first to arrive in the country they now occupy, whether the Palaungs were in Tawngpeng before the Marus reached the Confluence, or even whether the Burmans had corne down into the Irrawaddy valley before or after the Talaings had crossed the Salween.
In the map attached to this article an attempt has been made to indicate, as far as can now be conjectured, the paths followed by the tribes in making for their southern seats and to show how much of the journey they performed with their fellow tribes and where their ways diverged. The paragraphs that follow are designed to explain the map so far as it relates to each of the three main ethnical divisions with which we are here dealing.
The Tribes of Burma/Map
| ←The Three Migration Waves | The Tribes of Burma by Map of Migration Waves | The Tibeto-Burman Wave→ |
made to indicate, as far as can now be conjectured, the paths followed by the tribes in making for their southern seats and to show how much of the journey they performed with their fellow tribes and where their ways diverged. The paragraphs that follow are designed to explain the map so far as it relates to each of the three main ethnical divisions with which we are here dealing.
