{"id":5503,"date":"2025-11-19T14:59:46","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T14:59:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toponomastics.com\/en\/?p=5503"},"modified":"2026-04-20T16:54:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T16:54:09","slug":"meru-and-lemba-origins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toponomastics.com\/en\/meru-and-lemba-origins\/","title":{"rendered":"Meru and Lemba Origins"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Meru and Ameru origins:<\/mark><\/strong> The Meru, also known as the Ameru, constitute a Bantu-speaking community residing in Kenya\u2019s Meru region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These people, trace their beginnings to a place remembered in their oral traditions as Mbwaa\u2014sometimes spoken of as an island, sometimes as a distant coastal settlement beyond the Red Sea. In these stories, Mbwaa is the land where their ancestors lived under the harsh rule of the Nguo Ntuni, the \u201cRed People,\u201d whose authority eventually became unbearable. It is from this place that the Meru recount a dramatic escape, a journey said to include a crossing of the Red Sea and a long passage westward into Egypt before their gradual movement south into what is now Kenya. Yet the true point of origin for this odyssey remains shrouded in uncertainty. The earliest chapters of their migration are still only lightly explored by scholars, leaving much of this ancestral landscape suspended between memory and mystery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lemba origins:<\/mark><\/strong> The Lemba are a Bantu-speaking people primarily from Southern Africa (South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Malawi) who claim Semitic ancestry and have genetic markers supporting their oral traditions<\/mark>. These people believe their ancestors were Jewish men who left “Land of Israel” around 2,500 years ago. The oral tradition of the Lemba tells that their origin is a place called: “Senna<\/strong>\u201d. The location of this “Senna<\/strong>” is speculated by some scholars to be Yemen or Hadhramaut (in Southern Arabian Peninsula<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lemba do not form a socio-political unit, but often live among other groups, such as the Shona , Venda , or Pedi , whose languages \u200b\u200bthey also speak. The Lemba people focus on the production of trade goods and are valued for their metalworking skills<\/a><\/strong> . In contrast, agriculture and animal husbandry play only a minor role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What do they have in common?:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite their geographical separation, these oral traditions share common themes:
01<\/mark><\/strong>-Groups of people immigrated from the Arabian Peninsula and the Fertile Crescent to the Continent of Africa.
02<\/mark><\/strong>-These People have typical African features.
03<\/mark><\/strong>-They crossed the Red Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More details:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

04<\/mark><\/strong>-Before their immigration, Lemba ancestors lived close to the Israelites<\/strong> and practiced Judaism. Their origin is a place called: “Senna<\/strong>\u201d.
05<\/mark><\/strong>-Before their immigration, Meru ancestors suffered harsh oppression at the hand of a “red people<\/strong>“. They moved to Egypt<\/strong> before they continued southward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key words:<\/strong> Israelites<\/mark>, Red People<\/mark>, Senna<\/mark>, Red Sea<\/mark> and Egypt<\/mark>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Piecing the Puzzle Together<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They fled their homeland “Senna”, (a place near the Israelites<\/mark>), because they were oppressed by a “Red People<\/mark><\/strong>“. They crossed the Red Sea towards Egypt before they headed south.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nguo Ntuni (Red People)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apparently, Nguo Ntuni<\/strong> refers to the Edomites<\/mark><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Edomites were the people who inhabited the ancient land of Edom.
According to Wikipedia: {Edom was an ancient kingdom that stretched across areas in the south of present-day Jordan and Palestine<\/mark><\/strong>. Edom and the Edomites appear in several written sources relating to the late Bronze Age and to the Iron Age in the Levant. The Hebrew word Edom means “red<\/mark><\/strong>“, and the Hebrew Bible relates it to the name of its founder Esau, the elder son of the Hebrew patriarch Isaac, because he was born “red all over<\/mark><\/strong>“.}<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This leaves little doubt about the location of their homeland, it is almost certainly: The Land Of Midian.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fatherland<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There are some historical and linguistic indications, that the eastern coast of the Gulf of Aqaba (including \u1e24ism\u0101 region<\/strong><\/a>), was once inhabited by indigenous black people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ancient ethnonym (a name for ethnic group, tribe, or nation) of these people appears to be “kina<\/strong>” or “Kisa<\/strong>“. The culture of kina-people<\/strong> was predominantly Semitic, and the faith they practiced was more likely Judaism. Apparently, “kina-people<\/strong><\/strong>” introduced metalworking to the Semitic world, as well as some innovative musical instruments .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, these brilliant people, suffered what can be described as: “Ethnic Succession”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This occurs, when one ethnic or cultural group gradually replaces another in a specific geographical area, often adopting aspects of the previous group’s identity, including their ethnonym<\/mark>.
For example: “Britons”, an ethnonym initially refers to the Celtic inhabitants of Britain, before the Anglo-Saxon invasions in the 5th century AD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, ethnonyms in Semitic world, for the most part, are topoethnonyms (derived from place-names). They do not hint at the ethnicity, culture, history, or way of life of the people they refer to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ethnonyms such Bel-Qayn<\/strong>, Midianites<\/mark><\/strong>, Kenites<\/strong>, Sarak\u0113no\u00ed<\/strong> (\u03a3\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03ba\u03b7\u03bd\u03bf\u03af) and biblical Cushites<\/strong> initially refer to Zanj<\/a>-Semites<\/strong> (black Semites) once inhabited the Land of Midian<\/mark><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the disappearance of these black people, their ethnonyms were transferred to different groups of people inhabiting the same territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a common phenomenon in the evolution of group identities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unsurprisingly, the historical existence of black Midianites<\/mark><\/strong> is already known to scholars and NOT a recent finding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor the rest of the article, kina-people<\/strong> will be called \u2018kinanos<\/strong>\u2019<\/strong>, and their land will be called kina<\/strong>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Land of Qayn<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In early\u2011medieval and pre\u2011Islamic Arabian sources, this region is designated as Bil\u0101d Bel\u2011Qayn<\/em> (\u0628\u0644\u0627\u062f \u0628\u0627\u0644\u0642\u064a\u0646) or Bil\u0101d Qayn<\/em> (\u0628\u0644\u0627\u062f \u0642\u064a\u0646), \u201cthe Land of Bel\u2011Qayn\/Qayn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The term Qayn<\/strong> is a well\u2011attested Semitic lexeme. It is Akkadian qin\u0101y<\/em>,<\/strong> Aramaic qayn\u0101y<\/strong><\/em> (\u05e7\u05b5\u05d9\u05e0\u05b8\u05d9), Syriac qayn\u0101y\u0101<\/strong><\/em> (\u0729\u0732\u071d\u0722\u0735\u071d\u0735\u0710) and Arabic q\u0101na<\/strong><\/em>. In these languages, this word functions as an occupational designation for a metalworker or blacksmith. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notably, pre\u2011Islamic Arabian religious tradition preserves the figure of Qayn\u2011an<\/strong>, a deity associated with blacksmiths and metallurgical craft, suggesting that the root Q\u2011Y\u2011N<\/em> carried both professional and mythological significance. The semantic range of qayn<\/em> further extends to denote \u201cslave,\u201d particularly \u201cblack slave,\u201d as well as \u201csinger,\u201d indicating a complex interplay of social and occupational meanings. A related variant, khin<\/em> (\u062e\u0650\u0646), appears as an epithet describing the \u201cbroad\u2011nosed\u201d physiognomy stereotypically attributed to Zanj individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On this basis, the toponym Bil\u0101d Qayn<\/em> may be rendered both as \u201cLand of the Blacksmiths\u201d and, in a socio\u2011ethnographic sense, \u201cLand of the Blacks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The semantic field of Q\u2011Y\u2011N<\/em> also encompasses the domain of singing. In Ethio\u2011Semitic, Amharic qen\u0113<\/em> denotes \u201csong, poetic chant,\u201d while Arabic ghin\u0101\u02be<\/em> \u201csinging\u201d is plausibly related through regular phonological developments. A typological comparison may be drawn with Latin cano<\/em> \u201cto sing,\u201d though the possibility of a Semitic loan into Latin remains speculative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A second term for the metalworker in Semitic languages is tabal\/tabbal<\/strong>, denoting one who works metal by hammering it while hot and malleable. This lexeme exhibits a striking semantic bifurcation: in Ugaritic, tabal<\/em> signifies \u201csmith,\u201d whereas its Arabic cognate tabb\u0101l<\/em> denotes both \u201cforger\u201d and \u201cdrummer.\u201d The semantic overlap between hammering metal and rhythmic percussion is characteristic of several ancient Near Eastern lexemes associated with artisanal and musical labor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Metal hammering led to the art of making rhythms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ugaritic tabal<\/strong> means: smith, its Arabic cognate tabbal<\/strong> means: forger and drummer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This make the root word [q-n<\/strong>] (or [k-n<\/strong>]) a polysemous word: black, striker, blacksmith, drummer or singer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This kind of sense development<\/em> is called: semantic change<\/mark><\/strong>, it refers to the evolution of word meanings over time, involving the addition, removal, or alteration of senses and connotations. It involves shifts from original to different usage, including narrowing, widening, metaphor, or metonymy, which can lead to entirely different meanings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kina and Sina<\/strong> (Sinai)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A scene from Midian , Gulf of Aqaba Hinterland<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The ancient heartland of Kina<\/strong> was what later came to be known as: “Midian<\/strong>” and “\u1e24ism\u0101 region<\/strong><\/a>” (Midian is cognate with Arabic: Ma’adan<\/strong> = a site where minerals are extracted, a Mine). This heartland of Kina<\/strong>, was a polyonymous place, known by several different names, including: Biblical: “Shur<\/strong>\/\u05e9\u05d5\u05e8” (calf or gulf) and “Land of Uz<\/strong>\/\u05d0\u05b6\u05e8\u05b6\u05e5\u05be\u05e2\u05d5\u05bc\u05e5” (rod, tree branch or bow).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wadi Araba<\/strong> stretches between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. This valley was once underwater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This unique natural feature gave rise to many placenames, such as: Biblical “Land of Uz<\/strong>” (land of arrow or bow), and Arabic: “q\u0103<\/strong>ys \u0103<\/strong>yl\u0101<\/strong>n\/\u0642\u064a\u0633 \u0639\u064a\u0644\u0627\u0646” (tree bough<\/strong>). Here, English “bough” is doublet of “bow”. Likewise, Arabic “q\u0103<\/strong>ys” is a by-form of “q\u0103ws<\/strong>” (bow), and doublet of “\u0121\u016d\u1e63<\/strong>–\u016dn<\/mark><\/strong>\/\u063a\u0635\u0646” (bough\/shoot). “–\u016dn<\/mark><\/strong>” in “\u0121\u016d\u1e63<\/strong>–\u016dn<\/mark><\/strong>” is a diachronic excrescence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A<\/strong> sound change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many cases around the world, sound change is the sole reason behind toponymic ambiguity, and consequently: historical uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The phoneme “k<\/strong>” in kina<\/strong> underwent a sound change:
\/k<\/strong>\/ developed into \/ts<\/strong>\/ and then into \/s<\/strong>\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\/k<\/strong>\/ \u2192 \/ts<\/strong>\/ \u2192 \/s<\/strong>\/
kina \u2192 tsina \u2192 sina<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is to say: the name kina<\/em><\/strong> still exist as Sina<\/em><\/strong> (in Arabic) or Sinai<\/strong><\/em> (in English)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This kind of sound change<\/em> is called: Palatalization of \/k\/<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Palatalization of \/k\/ (the ‘k’ sound) is a common sound change where the velar consonant \/k\/ shifts its place of articulation forward, closer to the palate, especially before front vowels (like \/i\/ or \/e\/), often resulting in a palatal stop [c], an affricate like t\u0361\u0283 (ch), \/d\u0292\/ or t\u0361s, or even a fricative like [s] or [sh]. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latin: centum<\/mark><\/strong> (pronounced KEN-tum<\/strong><\/mark> ) \u2192 Italian: cento<\/mark><\/strong> (pronounced CHEN-toh<\/strong><\/mark>) \u2192 French: cent<\/mark><\/strong> (pronounced  SAN<\/strong><\/mark>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Old English: c\u012bsan (pronounced KEE-san<\/strong><\/mark> ) \u2192 cheese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a natural physiological shift to match the tongue position for front vowels, simplifying the transition and leading to varied outcomes like ‘ch’, ‘ts’, ‘s’, or ‘sh’ in modern languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(e.g., Latin c<\/mark>atta<\/strong> (cat) \u2192 Old French: ts<\/mark>at<\/strong> \u2192 Modern French: sh<\/mark>at<\/strong>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, \/k<\/strong>\/ in K<\/mark>ina<\/strong> developed into \/ts<\/strong>\/ and then into \/s<\/strong>\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\/ts\/ was part of the consonant inventory of Old Egyptian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This can be evident in \u201cSarak<\/mark>ene<\/strong>\u201d and \u201cSarac<\/mark>eni<\/strong>\u201d two variants of the same ethonym.
Sarakene is a Greek exonym, originally, refers to a group of people, once inhabited the Land of Midian.
Sarakene is a compound word: Sara<\/strong> + kene<\/strong>.
Sara<\/strong> means Bull, cognate with Hebrew: \u0161\u014dr<\/strong> \u05e9\u05c1\u05d5\u05c2\u05e8 (bull).
kene<\/strong> means nose or nostril, cognate with Arabic: Khin<\/strong> \u062e\u0646 (nostril).
Sarakene<\/strong> = Bullnose (or Bull nostril).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kinanos<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong> in the Bible<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kinanos<\/strong><\/strong> are the original referents of biblical: Midianites<\/strong>, Kenites<\/strong> and Semitic<\/strong> Cushites<\/strong>, three different names for the same people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ethnonyms can be transferred to different groups due to historical events like migrations, where a name associated with one group becomes applied to a new one inhabiting the same territory. This is a common phenomenon in the evolution of group identities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Midianites<\/strong> and Kenites<\/strong> are topoethnonyms, (ethnonyms derived from place-names), they do not hint at the ethnicity, culture, history, or way of life of the people they refer to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cushite<\/strong>, on the other hand, is originally a racial epithet for black people. Its Semantic equivalent in English can be: “Woolly hair<\/strong><\/strong>\u201d. Its Arabic cognate is “uksha\/\u0639\u0643\u0634\u0629”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A companion of Prophet Muhammad was given the name: “Ukasha\/\u0639\u0643\u0627\u0634\u0629” because he was originally from Midian (Tabuk).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Biblical Cushites<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cushites are usually portrayed in the Bible as dark-skinned inhabitants of Midian<\/strong>. The word “Midian<\/strong>” is an ancient toponym for Gulf of Aqaba Hinterland<\/strong>. [01]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Can the Cushite change his skin, or a leopard his spots? If so, you might be able to do what is good, you who are instructed in evil.” (Jeremiah 13:23<\/strong><\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Midian is cognate with Arabic: Ma\u2019adan<\/strong>, which means both: Metal and a Mine (a site where minerals are extracted).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Martin Luther ‘s translation of the Bible, Cushites were originally called “Mohr<\/mark><\/strong>“, pronounced (m\u016bwar). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mohr<\/strong> is an obsolete German term for dark-skinned Africans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The name Kush also appears in Egyptian sources, where it refers to the region of Nubia<\/strong>. However, the Bible also mentions Cushites as inhabitants of Palestine and North Western Arabia<\/mark><\/strong> . [Wikipedia\/Cush<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The LORD aroused against Jehoram the hostility of the Philistines and of the Arabs who lived near the Cushites<\/mark>.<\/em>” (2 Chronicles 21:16<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Land of Kushan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“As a scene of havoc, I behold the tents of Cushan<\/mark>; shaken are the pavilions of the land of Midian<\/mark>!” (Habakkuk 3:7<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Midian and Kushan here are parallel. The name Kushan is a lengthened form of Kush. Such lengthening is found with other Biblical Hebrew place-names; note the Na\u02bfaman\/Na\u02bfami parallel in Numbers 26:40, the Salmah\/Salmon parallel in Ruth 4:20\u201321, and Yehudan or Yudan for Yehuda, found in inscriptions and in the Dead Sea material. [Moses and Zipporah the Midianite<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since Midian is located in the same general area as these Negev\/north-Arabian Kushu, that is northwest Arabia<\/mark><\/strong>, and since the name Kushan is a lengthened form of Kush, scholars have therefore concluded that there is some historical connection between Kush(an) and Midian.<\/mark> [02]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scholars generally thought that the Arabian Kushu assimilated among the Midianites<\/mark>, just as the Midianites later assimilated among the Ishmaelites, and the Ishmaelites among the Arabs. Thus, Kush(an) is the ancient name of Midian<\/mark> or the name of a tribe that had close ties to Midian, and the report in Numbers 12 is a description of Moses\u2019 marriage to Zipporah, the Midianite. [02]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses, because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite<\/mark><\/em>.”  (Numbers 12:1<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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[01]- de.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kusch_(Bibel)
[02]- thetorah.com\/article\/moses-kushite-wife-was-zipporah-the-midianite<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Meru and Ameru origins: The Meru, also known as the Ameru, constitute a Bantu-speaking community residing in Kenya\u2019s Meru region. These people, trace their beginnings to a place remembered in their oral traditions as Mbwaa\u2014sometimes spoken of as an island, sometimes as a distant coastal settlement beyond the Red Sea. In these stories, Mbwaa is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMeru and Lemba Origins - Toponomastics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/toponomastics.com\/en\/meru-and-lemba-origins\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meru and Lemba Origins - Toponomastics\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Meru and Ameru origins: The Meru, also known as the Ameru, constitute a Bantu-speaking community residing in Kenya\u2019s Meru region. These people, trace their beginnings to a place remembered in their oral traditions as Mbwaa\u2014sometimes spoken of as an island, sometimes as a distant coastal settlement beyond the Red Sea. 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