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Tudor Vernon Parfitt is a British historian, writer, broadcaster, traveller and adventurer. He specialises in the study of Jewish communities around the world, particularly in Africa, Asia and the Americas including some recognised only recently as having ancient Jewish origins. He is Emeritus Professor of Modern Jewish Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), where he was the founding director of the Centre for Jewish Studies. He is now Distinguished Professor at Florida International University, Director of its Global Jewish Studies Program, Alumni Fellow at the Hutchins Center, Harvard College and Senior Associate Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He has published some 70 articles and written, edited or translated twenty-four books. ==Origins of the Lemba == Parfitt's interest in marginal Jewish groups led him in the 1980s to study the Ethiopian Jews. Subsequently he turned his attention to the Lemba tribe of southern Africa, who claimed partial male descent from ancient Jewish ancestors in present-day Yemen. He published ''Journey to the Vanished City'' (1992) about his six-month journey throughout Africa, in which he traced the origins of the tribe to the ancient city of Senna in present-day Yemen. This, together with TV programs about the discoveries, and major newspaper coverage, brought him international attention (and earned him the sobriquet the British 'Indiana Jones').〔(''Tudor Parfitt's Remarkable Quest'' ), NOVA〕 Seeking more data, he helped organise Y-DNA studies of Lemba males in 1996 and later. These found a high proportion of Semitic ancestry, DNA that is common to both Arabs and Jews from the Middle East.〔Parfitt, Tudor and Egorova, Y. (2005) ''Genetics, Mass Media, and Identity: A Case Study of the Genetic Research on the Lemba and Bene Israel'', London: Routledge.〕 The work confirmed that the male line had descended from ancestors in southern Arabia. In recognition of this work, he was made corresponding fellow of the Académie Royale des Sciences d’Outre-Mer. The Lemba have a tradition of having brought a drum, or ''ngoma'', from the Middle East centuries ago. Parfitt noted that their description of the ''ngoma'' was similar to that of the Biblical Ark of the Covenant. Parfitt has observed that rabbinic sources maintain that there were two Arks of the Covenant: one the ceremonial Ark, covered with gold, which was eventually placed in the Holy of Holies in the Temple; the other the Ark of War, which had been carved from wood by Moses and was a relatively simple affair. Parfitt proposed that the Ark of War may have been taken by Jews across the Jordan River and, citing Islamic sources, suggests that they carried it as they migrated south, under rule by Arab tribes. The Lemba claim to have brought their ark/ngoma from Arabia at some point in the past; it was rediscovered in storage in the 21st century. Parfitt wrote ''The Lost Ark of the Covenant: Solving the 2,500 Year Old Mystery of the Fabled Biblical Ark '' (2008), documenting his findings. Associated documentaries were aired on Channel Four and the History Channel. The BBC reported that the discovery of the ngoma "instilled pride among many of the Lemba". In 2010 Parfitt was invited to address a symposium in Harare on the subject; attendees included the cabinet and vice-president John Nkomo. The ngoma has been exhibited at the Zimbabwe Museum of Human Sciences in Zimbabwe. The authentic ngoma was briefly on display but was soon replaced by a replica. The Lemba Ark is now recognised as a major religious artefact in Africa and elsewhere. He subsequently turned his interest to Jewish communities in India and the Pacific. His DNA work on one community, the Bene Israel, the origins of which had never been satisfactorily explained were shown to be in the Middle East.〔http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11013-005-7425-4#page-1〕 These successes led other Judaising groups throughout the world including the Gogodala tribe of Papua New Guinea to seek help in determining their own origins.〔http://www.jns.org/latest-articles/2013/5/6/british-indiana-jones-examines-evidence-for-jewish-origin-of-papua-new-guinea-tribe#.VlxbhoS7zwM=〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tudor Parfitt」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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