Stories about indigenous groups claiming descent from the Lost Tribes of Israel surface across the globe. In some cases – most notably the Lemba of Southern Africa – genetic evidence has supported those claims. In other cases, there is no explicit assertion of Israelite origin, yet certain customs and traditions invite comparison. The Ga people of Ghana belong to this latter category.

It is tempting, perhaps inevitably so, to imagine that such traditions might trace back to ancient exile. After the Assyrian conquest of the northern Kingdom of Israel around 722 BCE, large portions of the population were deported and dispersed across the empire in a deliberate effort to dismantle national identity. Over time, these communities assimilated and disappeared from the historical record. (I’m ignoring current efforts which seem to be attempting the same.)

At the same time, other explanations may be equally plausible: similarities may reflect centuries of cultural exchange, including contact with Jewish traders along established trade routes, rather than shared ancestry.

The story took an unexpected turn in 2009, when Dr. Sherry Schwartz, PhD in Social Studies Education, was teaching at SUNY Geneseo. She recalls the excitement of her superior, Dr. O.A.(1), Dean of the School of Education and a native Ghanaian, who rushed to tell her about a rock ’n’ roll song he had heard on the radio. Sung in the Ga language, the song referred to the Ga people as “coming from Israel.” Though not Ga himself, Dr. O.A. was........

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