Bnei Menashe
 |
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 10,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 India
|
7,000 |
 Israel
|
3,000 |
| Languages | |
| Kuki, Mizo, Hebrew | |
| Religion | |
| Judaism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Mizo, Kuki, Chin, Kachin, Shan and Karen. | |
The Bnei Menashe (Hebrew: בני מנשה, "Sons of Menasseh") are a small group within the indigenous people of India's North-Eastern border states of Manipur and Mizoram; since the late 20th century, they claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel and have adopted the practice of Judaism. The Bnei Menashe are made up of Mizo, Kuki and Chin peoples, who all speak Tibeto-Burman languages, and whose ancestors migrated into northeast India from Burma mostly in the 17th and 18th centuries. They are called Chin in Burma. In the late 20th century, Israeli Rabbi Eliyahu Avichail of the group Amishav named them Bnei Menashe, based on their account of descent from Menasseh. Most of the peoples in these two northeast states, who number more than 3.7 million, do not identify with these claims. Some have supported other movements to separate from India.
Prior to conversion in the 19th century to Christianity by Welsh Baptist missionaries, the Chin, Kuki, and Mizo peoples were animists; among their practices was ritual headhunting. Since the late 20th century, some of these peoples have begun following Messianic Judaism. The Bnei Menashe are a small group who started studying and practicing Judaism since the 1970s in a desire to return to what they believe is the religion of their ancestors. The total population of Manipur and Mizoram is more than 3.7 million. The Bnei Menashe number below 9,000; several hundred have emigrated to Israel.
...
Wikipedia