![]() Their two older sons have not embraced Judaism and live in their village Keiphelmandi, in Kangpokpi district, about 100 km away. They also recite their prayers in Hebrew thrice a day, and observe Sabbath on Saturday, in keeping with the faith. They have given up eating pork, a dietary mainstay of the tribal community, and have switched to chicken, beef and vegetables. Singsit wears the Kippah, like many others in Churachandpur, which indicates that they are followers of Judaism. In their home, the Star of David hangs on the wall. While they await the green signal from the Israeli government, Singsit and Zivah have shifted to a rented accommodation in the district headquarters town of Churachandpur. Before converting to Christianity, these tribal people who followed Jewish customs were worshippers of nature, of pythons, lakes, and hills, he adds. ![]() Chomlhum and Pastor Hnamthinkhum, in 2011”. He claims that “they were brothers and descendants of Manasseh, as God clearly revealed to His servants, Rev. Haokip, president of the Kuki National Organisation (KNO), all the Kuki tribals are Bnei Menashe with Jewish roots, and about 90% of those in Manipur are Christians. The community’s belief in a Jewish identity was reinforced in the early 1950s when Mei Chalah, a priest in Mizoram, dreamt that his people belonged to Jerusalem. It was only after they were introduced to the Bible that the Bnei Menashe identified Manmasi or Menasia, a legendary ancestor of theirs, as the Biblical Manasseh, the son of Joseph. ![]() A majority of them converted to Christianity in the 19th century. It is believed that they practised their ancient Jewish traditions for centuries, unaware that they were the descendants of one of the lost tribes of Israel. While there is no historical record of this mass migration, the Bnei Menashe tribe believes that they settled in northeastern India and in countries adjoining the region several centuries ago, and that, while passing through China, they lived in caves to escape religious persecution.Ī section of the Kuki population living in the hilly areas of Manipur believe they are the Bnei Menashe just as some of the Mizos in neighbouring Mizoram do. Singsit had heard his grandfather tell him stories about their ancestors who lived in caves before fleeing to India. A batch of 162 persons from Churachandpur, who had been shortlisted in 2014, moved to Israel a few weeks ago, attracting prominent coverage in the Israeli press. But there are still more than 7,000 Bnei Menashe living in India and practising Judaism, nearly all of whom wish to immigrate to Israel. So far, around 3,000 people from Manipur and Mizoram have already emigrated to Israel after embracing Judaism. Both adopted Jewish names after converting to Judaism - Avihu Singsit was earlier Thangkam Singsit and Zivah Singsit was Aneng Singsit. ![]() ![]() Singsit and his wife Zivah Singsit (65), who have lived all their life in Manipur, embraced Judaism formally in 2009, four years after he retired as a Zonal Education Officer at Kangpokpi. He is among the thousands of tribal people of Manipur keen to leave India for Israel.Īlthough their Jewish connections became apparent in the 1950s, Singsit and others began practising Judaism in Manipur sometime in the 1970s, after coming to know that they were the ‘Bnei Menashe’ (Hebrew for ‘the sons of Manasseh’), descendants of the tribe of Manasseh, which is one of the 10 ‘lost tribes of Israel’ that were exiled by the Assyrian empire more than 2,700 years ago. “I have been waiting to go to the holy land which God chose for my ancestors,” he says. Seventy-year-old Avihu Singsit, a native of Churachandpur district in Manipur, is excited about migrating to Israel. ![]()
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