The Temne Jews of Sierra Leone, West Africa:

The Second Witness

By: Yahshurun Obai Agyemang(Brandon Coleman)

SPECIAL THANKS

Special thanks and praises to the Creator YAHUAH Elohim for waking my peopleup to their heritage. Blessed be his Name and reign forever.

Special thanks to my Wife, The Congregation of YAHUAH, Lord of the SabbathAssembly, Bowenson Phillips, Alie Lewish(Zekaryah ban Yisrael), and my people inSierra Leone, the Lion Mountains of Yahudah/Judah.

"The Congregation of YAHUAH in Sierra Leone" ia an Israelite assembly located in Freetown.

Since my last book, "The Hebraic Origins of the Temne: According to Biblical andOral History" YAHUAH has used my book in a mighty way. There are Temne peoplegradually waking up, and returning back to the Torah. Not just the Temnes, butthe Limba,Mandingo, Mende, Kono,Krio, Fulas, and other tribes. They are allaccepting the fact that they are really Israelites. I think the Torah(instruction) ofYAHUAH will be a great way to unite all the tribes when we understand that wehave a common ancestry. We all descend from the twelve tribes of Israel.

The Temne are from the tribe of Judah and have connections linking them withKing David, the great warrior king of Israel.

The two most popular stories that I have been told were that they migrated fromIsrael to Africa in 70 C.E. after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Laterthey migrated through Ethiopia, Mali, Guinea, then finally Sierra Leone WestAfrica. Another account tells us that the Temne migrated from Israel to the IberianPenninsula in 70 C.E., then to Morrocco in 1492, after the expulsion of the Jewsfrom Spain. If that is the case, that would mean that a large amount of Temnesare actually Sephardic Jews. Later they migrated through Mali, Guinea, then toSierra Leone.

The tribe of Judah symbolism is all over Sierra Leone. From the coat of arms, landmarks, and currency. First we will look at the Sierra Leone Coat of Arms.

On the left is the Coat of arms of Salone. On the right is a symbol that you can find in mostIsraelite synagogues. It represents the House of Judah. One Lion symbolizes King Davidand the other symbolizes YAHUSHA, the Hebrew Messiah who the world erroneously callsJesus Christ.

Next lets look at the currency of Sierra Leone.

Yahudah/Judah is a lionscub; from the prey you havegone up, my son! He boweddown, he crouched like a lion.And like a lion, who does rousehim?(Genesis 49:9)

Now lets compare the next two coins.

This is a coin from AddisAbaba,Ethiopia. This is the Lionof Judah depicted on the coin.

This is a coin from SierraLeone. Notice the Lion.Also notice the Lion'sposition and stance. It isthe same as theEthiopian coin. Only thestaff and crown ismissing.

The next coin is from British colonization.

These coins were issued after the fact that the British found a relic among theIgbo Israelites in Nigeria with the Shield of David on it. The six points on the shield

symbolizes the sixcolonies, one of thembeing Sierra Leone. TheBritish didn't do this fordecoration. They knewthat the true Childrenof Israel were living inthose colonies.

Shield of David

Whether the Shield is really David's is not the question. The point is that theBritish really believe that it is.

There is no denying the House of Yahudah's(Judah) presence in SierraLeone. The Temne being one of the most dominant tribes carries thesymbol of Judah within them. Some even say the Temne have Lion in theirblood. They would even wear Lion skin when going to battle. The Temnekings are called the Lion.

Temne President Ernest Bai Koroma "The sceptre shall not turn aside fromYahudah(Judah)...."(Genesis 49:10 ) ISR translation

When we look at the Temne language we can find many Shemetic wordsof Hebraic, Aramaic, and Arabic origin.

Temne Hebrew

O Mankne=hiding place Mankne=hiding place

O yira=to dwell ma-yira=to dwell

O-ko=one going,go bo=going

Ya=greeting elderly woman Yah= YAHUAH the Creator

Rabai=chief Rabbi=chief,great one

Yahudi=Jew Yahudi=Jew

Yisrael=Israel Yisrael=Israel,Yasharal

onasa=one fearing,afraid yara=one fearing,afraid

Mori=teacher Moreh=teacher

Basara=work for,good news Basorah=goodnews

Ami=I,me Ani=I,me

Amina=so be it Amain=so be it

Bakar= to make great Barak= to bless to make shine

Eyin=eyelids Ayin= Hebrew letter symbol is the eye

Tsin=nothing, empty Tsin= desert area south of Israel

Mara=flame,fire Marah=bitterness, bitter,fierce

Misra=Egypt Mitsrayim=Egypt

Nabi=prophet,messiah Nabi=prophet

Yehofa=Kuru Masaba,Creator YAHUAH=Creator

Oka=father Abba=father

Yahannama=hell Gehenna=hell(Aramaic)

Maleika=messenger Malak=messenger

Sabat=Sabbath Shabbat=Sabbath

Ruhu=Spirit Ruach=Spirit

Kafri=unbeliever Kaffir=unbeliever(Arabic)

Baki=sad distressing news Baki=mourning weeping

Raka=nothing Raka=fool(Aramaic)

There are more Israelite customs that I have discovered among the the Themnes.Such as:

When a woman is on her menstrual cycle she cannot touch anything or it willbecome unclean. She must separate herself until her cycle is finished, andafterwards purify herself in water.

And when a woman has a discharge, and the discharge from her flesh is blood,she has to be in her separation for seven days. And whoever touches her isunclean until evening. 20And whatever she lies on during her separation isunclean. And whatever she sits on is unclean. 21And anyone who touches herbed has to wash his garments, and shall bathe in water, and be unclean untilevening. 22And whoever touches any object that she sat on has to wash his

garments, and shall bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 23And if it ison the bed or on any object on which she sits, when he touches it, he is uncleanuntil evening. 24And if any man lies with her at all, and her monthly flow is on him,he shall be unclean seven days. And any bed he lies on is unclean. 25And whena woman has a discharge of blood for many days, other than at the time of hermonthly separation, or when she discharges beyond her usual time of monthlyseparation, all the days of her unclean discharge shall be as the days of hermonthly separation. She is unclean. 26Any bed on which she lies all the days ofher discharge is to her as the bed of her monthly separation. And whatever shesits on is unclean, as the uncleanness of her monthly separation."(Leviticus15:19-26, ISR translation)

When doing sacrifices traditional Temnes say,"Nabi(prophet,Messiah) Okakashu(my Father), Yashu, or Yisua. There are some Temnes who believe that using Yashuor Yisua when making sacrifices came after colonization. Some don't know whythey say it. They will just explain that it was handed down to them by theirforefathers before colonization. If this is true this is great evidence that they knewof YAHUSHA Messiah and his Divinity. This would also confirm that they leftJerusalem after the destruction of the Temple since YAHUSHA was impaled aboutforty years before.

Traditional Temne garments have what we call "Conliyor". These are fringes. In theTorah you will find them too. The only thing that is missing in these fringes is thecord of blue.

And YAHUAH spoke to Mosheh, saying, 38Speak to the children of Yisrael, andyou shall say to them to make tzitziyot (tassels) on the corners of their garmentsthroughout their generations, and to put a blue cord in the tzitzit(tassels) of thecorners. 39And it shall be to you for a tzitzit , and you shall see it, and shallremember all the commands of YAHUAH and shall do them, and not search afteryour own heart and your own eyes after which you went whoring, 40so that youremember, and shall do all My commands, and be set-apart unto yourElohim.(Numbers 15:37-40,ISR Translation)

Temne Chiefs have in their possession what we call the "Sacred Box". It is the mostsacred object among the Themne. No one except the Chiefs know what is withinit. Only Chiefs and those nominated can touch the box. This is reminiscent of theArk of the Covenant among our Israelite ancestors. Only the Levite priests couldtouch the Ark.

"Then Dawid said, No one is to lift the ark of Elohim but the Lewites, for YAHUAHhas chosen them to lift the ark of Elohim and to serve Him forever. (1 Chronicle15:2)

The Kalapra is a skull cap that is identical to the Hebrew cap called the "Kippah."What is funny is that alot of people believe that the European converts(Ashkenazi)started this custom. The Kippah and Tallits(Shawls) were and are still being used byIsraelites in the African diaspora.

Temne wearing Kalapra skullcap

As I mentioned, the Tallit is worn among the Temne by the name "Brenea." It isused as part of set-apart garments in prayer. Here is a picture of a Temne Fulawearing what looks like a Brenea.

Temne wearing what looks like a Brenea

Prophecy is definitely being fulfilled among the tribes in Sierra Leone. Before theybegan to return to Torah their were a series of prophecies about the House ofJudah residing in Sierra Leone. One such vision a person saw the Lion of Judah inSierra Leone without a mane, but then the mane began to grow in. Here isanother vision that someone had.

This is a picture of a vision that a prophet from South Africa had about SierraLeone(Lion Mountains) West Africa. This is the Lion of Yahudah/Judah roaring onthe mountain ranges surrounding coastal Freetown,Sierra Leone.

This is a picture of a vision that someone from Beth El Supernatural Ministries had ofthe Lion of Yahudah/Judah roaring from Sierra Leone(Lion Mountains) Specialthanks to my brother Bowenson Phillips for the two photos

Let me also mention that every Israelite that is returning to the Commandments ofYAHUAH are not being touch by the Ebola virus that has been unleashed inSalone. Just like when our forefathers were in Egypt those who clanged toYAHUAH were not touched by the plagues. Death and sickness passed over them.Here are some photos of the great awakening and prophecy being fulfilled.

Temne Yahudim/Jews

Temne/Fula with a Mezuzah on the doorposts in fulfilment of the commandmentgiven in the Torah. Hear, O Yisrael: YAHUAH our Elohim, YAHUAH is one! 5Andyou shall love YAHUAH your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, andwith all your might. 6And these Words which I am commanding you today shallbe in your heart, 7and you shall impress them upon your children, and shall speakof them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and whenyou lie down, and when you rise up, 8and shall bind them as a sign on your hand,and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9And you shall write them onthe doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

Israelites in Calaba Town, Sierra Leone on the Day of Atonement

Israelites in Freetown, Sierra Leone on Feast of Weeks(Pentecost)

Israelites of Sierra Leone