Are Ewes Ghanaian Jews? Don't Bet On It

Sarpong, Justice

I was on the verge of submitting this article for publication when My friend Daniel Pryce article, " I am very proud of my Ewe heritage" was published in the forum on 8/11/11. This is a proud Ewe man who should be an inspiration to all those Ewes who lack self-esteem to call themselves Ghanaian Jews. A proud tribe like Ewe should not be demeaned by low self-esteemd people like GERSIS and others. Ewes should hold the banner of their 'Eweness' proudly and bury this 'Ewe Jewishness' milage nonsense now.

My friendly nemesis, GERSIS started this fad of calling Ewes Ghanaian Jews which I initially thought might come to pass quickly as stupidly as it sounds. Why will a proud tribe like Ewe want to be linked with Jews before feeling whole? Boy was I wrong. It seems the Ewes were trying to grab on to something, anything that will elevate their status in Ghanaian society as the creme de la creme of the tribes in Ghana and why not Jews? The Jews might be the most successful people in the world both economically and the will to survive despite being surrounded by enemy countries in Isreal. Can you blame a lame brain like GERSIS and his cohorts trying to have a free ride on somebody's achievement?

The Jews are known to be hardworking, very intelligent with a business savvy unmatched by any group in the world. They succeed in any endevour they embark upon, whether in the field of business, science or the arts. Anywhere they migrate to, they become a force to reckon with despite their numbers. Hitlers German holocaust claimed six million Jews and despite living in a neighborhood surrounded by their sworn enemies, the Jews continue to prosper and maintain military superiority despite being less than six million surrounded by an enemy population more than hundred million. There might not be more than ten million Jews in the whole world but it is assumed they have a mystery hand in controlling the world economy. Are there similarities between Jews and Ewes? Definitely, there might be one or two similarities between the Ewes and Jews so are some similarities between Jews and other people around the world so the similarity between the Ewes and Jews is not unique.

The only similarity amongst the Jews with Isreal as the main country has more Jews living outside Isreal so are the Ewes. There are more Ewes living in other regions in Ghana than Ewes living in Volta region. The Ewes are known to migrate from Volta region to other regions in Ghana and there is no city in Ghana where you will not find a large Ewe enclave, so in that sense, the Ewe migration pattern mimics that of Jews except that the Jews migrate to other countries whilst the Ewes move within Ghana in search of employment.

I think this is where the similarities between the Ewes and Jews part ways because wherever you see the Jews whether in USA, Britain, Germany or any other European country, the Jews being as industrious as they are control their own destinies by establishing their own businesses unlike the Ewes who migrate to other cities due to government jobs or mostly working for the indigenes of that region as farm laborers, watchmen or hotel workers.The point here is not to demean the kind of jobs they do because I don't think Ewes demean Akans, particularly Asantis when they call them Shoeshineboys and dog chain sellers, do they? The point here is not to demean Ewes but to differentiate how Ewes and Jews are different when they migrate. Whereas the Jews become mostly employers, the Ewes apart from being self employed as carpenters mostly become employees. There are some Ewes who are risk takers and venture into the self employment line but they are far and few, they will rather have a job with a monthly stipend that is lasting and assured than to risk. It is because of this reason why some Ewes look down on young shoeshineboys and dog chain sellers who eventually end up owning companies.

The Jews by average are richer in any community they live in compared to others, Ewes on the other hand are not. In Ghana, I will rather call the Kwahus as the Ghanaian Jews because by their numbers, Kwahus on average might be the richest tribe in Ghana having the same business acumen like the Jews. They mostly control their own destinies by going into employment for themselves and going through any Kwahu town attests to their success instead of fighting to be government employees. There are some successful Ewes in business but their numbers are minimal considering they are the second biggest tribe in Ghana. Why then do they want to call themselves Ghanaian Jews? Is it lack of confidence in their own capabilities? Ewes should not be selling themselves short with that mentality because they have made their mark as one of the best educated tribes in Ghana.

I thought that we are 'Ghanaian Jews disease' is just a GERSIS disease but now most of the Ewes in the Ghanaweb forum have been afflicted with it. Now you can't read any comment from some Ewes without being introduced to their "Jewishness". One Robert Barker even wrote an article struggling mightly trying to tie the Ewe trailer camper to the Jews winnebago RV. Mr Barker cited some examples why Ewes are Jews that were pathetically demeaning to some Ewes who broke ranks with him.

Roberts' article created a bedlam in the forum with both supporters and detractors of his Erverh eisegesis being vociferous in their comments, maybe we should all try to find our ancestory to a country we should be proud of.The people pf Gyaman in Brong Ahafo Region sounds like German to me so maybe the 'Gyamans' should trace their ancestry to Germany. The people from Bremang in Ashanti region and Breman Asikuma in Central region might also be from Bremen in Germany, it sounds the same to me.The Ewes also have a name, Yao that you can also find among Chinese male population, like Yao Ming, maybe the Ewes might have gone through China before going through the Ibo land in Nigeria before settling in present day Volta Region. China, prepare a place for your Isreal brethren in Ghana their exodus to the promised land is about to start now that China is an Economic power, brother Robert Barker should be tasked with the mission of unlocking the mystery of the Yao name and how the Erverhs can unlock their China ancestry.

What is wrong with being Ewe, Ghanaian, African, proud, majestic, dignified and graceful with all the attributes the Almighty created us with, instead of running around and pinning our kites unto someone's fame? Listen we can cut through this convoluted figment by doing a little small test.Let's draft Gersis and do a DNA to establish his 'Jewishness' if he is ready put this subject to rest. Let's do a DNA test of a thousand Erverhs and compare them to that of a thousand Jews and see what the facts say. The author wouldn't assume the DNAs have also been lost in “translation” by whatever his excuses, or will he? All you need is the Y-Chromosomes to trace and establish any linkages along patrilineal lines.

There are Chinese out there with Ewe sounding names, e.g. Yao. May be it can also be argued that the Eves are also Chinese, isn't it? This write-up is nothing more than an Alice in Wonderland or Latter-Day Saints cacophony and whimsical thinking. You roll up to the gates of Israel and tell them you are coming home on the authority of their Law of Return, which is granted to ALL peoples of Jewish ancestry and descent, and you will see how far they will kick your ass. Where are your Torahs, Menorahs, Star of David, and other cultural attributes and symbols, as it is a known fact that where ever the Jews migrated to or settled, they brought along their millennium old religious observations, artifacts and traditions.

There are black Jews out there, and they are called the Falashas of Ethiopia and Lemba of Southern Africa. They never lost their religious symbols and practices, like our brothers Ewes and Gas would want us to believe. In order to make the claims the author is making, he must abandon the ridiculous and use anthropological processes to establish, say, linkages between voodoo and Judaism. You cannot just dwell on the mere coincidence of semblance of sounds, like somebody was saying the other day, between Nikoi (Nii Kwei?) and Nicholas, to make the same claim for Gas and Jews.

The Incas of Mexico, unbeknownst to the Old World, built pyramids and did things identical to ancient Egyptians, but even there nobody would make the risible claim that the Incas are ancient or lost Egyptians, much less Ewes who have nothing in common, anthropologically with Jews. Before the white man came you did not have any lettered or written alphabets or numerals, whereas people of Hebrew or Jewish descent have had them throughout where they have settled, in the Middle-East, North Africa, Far East, Asia, and amongst the Falashas and Lembas. Where are your tell tale signs, raffia skirt, calico and idol worship? That is not unique to Ewes. Don't embarrass my people with your bogus attempt at scholarship. We are not children here, listening to "toli".

Whilst we await any empirical evidence, backed by DNA tests, any unproven ancestry linkages will remain outlandish and quixotic. If by these claims this author is hoping for some special or unique “chosen race” hubris with the Creator of the universe, I wish to tell him he didn’t need to invoke such contortion, since at the bottom of all the debates, all humanity on the surface of the Earth can be traced to Africa, not Israel, let us put on our thinking caps and stop being cheap and wannabes. We are all Africans, which is where we all began. This anywhere but home nonsense must stop. It borders on lack of self-esteem, and you and I know that Ewes are not chicken-hearted but a very courageous people, noted for their militancy and advocacy. They are not the appendage of Israel, period. Be Black and proud, not some lost race or tribe. That breaks my heart. Seriously you do not need to be a Jew or anything other than who you truly are, to feel good about yourself.

Don't you dare trying to pick up a proud and dignified African tribe, such as the Ewes are, and make them appendix of someone's race and tradition. My candid opinion is you do more harm than good. You are making my people the butt of joke to another race. Where is Ephraim Amu? He must be rolling in his grave.

Mr Pryce is not one of those Ewe rabble rousers in this forum and his article is a breath of fresh air being happy as an Ewe and not calling himself a Ghanaian Jew. There is nothing in his article that shows he has inferiority complex, he is a proud Ewe and there is nothing wrong with the sentiments he expressed in his article as some people have been accusing him of. I wish the Ewes will be this proud of themselves instead of some trying to be Jews. Mr Pryce article attracted about 170 comments when I was sending this article to Ghanaweb for publication and most of the responses were positive and praises to Mr Pryce for being proud of his Ewe ancestry but there were others who called him a tribalist or bigot. Mr Pryce has no ethnocentric or tribal bone in his body and those who disagreed with him might not have been reading his articles which have been more objective. His article on 8/11/11 should be a clarion call on Ewes to be proud of who they are instead of the brain dead, "We are Ghanaian Jews" low seif-esteened stupidity under the tutelage of Gersis.

Justice Sarpong

Houston, Texas