Tests have shown that the Lemba possess the 'Kohen gene,' extremely rare among non-Jews, in a proportion similar to that of Jews. DNA, of course, is not the same as Jewish law, but the Lemba, their identity confirmed, are trying to bridge the gap. Greetings of 'Shalom' are drowned out by the pulsating rhythms of local music blasting from speakers in the back of a parked minivan.
Small children play with handmade wire toys in the loose sand.
Nearby, a teenager sits cross-legged, a crackling radio glued to his ear. Blood Determines One's Race-Not the Tongue' is about to begin. The clan has assembled on this same patch of sunbaked land for 42 years. This gathering is designed to confirm the Lemba's identity as 'Grandsons of Abraham,' to help unite them as a family of black Jews. M.J. Chirangwana, among the first to arrive, cuts a startling figure in a leopard-skin shawl.