The Jews of Africa -- The House of Israel of Ghana

The House of Israel Community of Ghana

history

In 1976 a Ghanaian man named Aaron Ahomtre Toakyirafa had a vision. Sitting deep in the Ghanaian bush, in the village of Sefwi Sui, a seventeen hour drive from the capital of Accra and much further away from the mainstream of the international Jewish community, Toakyirafa "spoke with spirits" which inspired him to believe that he and his fellow villagers were actually descendants of the lost tribes of Israel.

Toakyirafa realized that the traditions of his ancestors were very similar to traditions of ancient Jews. Before Christian missionaries had come to convert much of Ghana nearly a hundred year ago, the Sefwi people followed many "unusual" traditions. Though they were farmers like most others in their region, the Sefwi strictly adhered to a Saturday day of rest. Community leaders punished members who broke the prohibition against work on the day of rest, sometimes even by death. Members of the Sefwi community followed dietary restrictions that forbade them from eating pork. Male community members were circumcised in youth; women in the community were forced into isolation during their menstrual period, just as ancient Jews were according to the Torah. As Toakyirafa did more research he became more and more convinced that his Sefwi ancestors had a direct connection to ancient Jews.

Toakyirafa, neighbor David Ahenkorah and others from the surrounding area traveled to the Ivory Coast to investigate the history of their people. They discovered that indeed the Sefwi people had migrated south through the land that is now the Ivory Coast. Their investigation stopped there but they are convinced that the former Jewish community of the Ivory Coast had migrated there from other places, perhaps even Timbuktu, where there is a historically documented Jewish community.

The convinced members of the Sefwi Sui community and another area called Adiembra began to learn about Jewish practices. They called themselves the House of Israel and began to preach about Judaism. Christians in the Adiembra area did not appreciate the introduction of a new religion. They beat and imprisoned House of Israel leaders. A judge released them from prison but many of them decided to move from Adiembra. After Toakyirafa died in a stabbing incident while he was working in the Ivory Coast, David Ahenkorah became the primary leader of the community. He and other members of the House of Israel community moved to a newly developed area outside of the small city of Sefwi Wiawso. They called their area New Adiembra and have since built a synagogue and several family compounds.