Putti

For the winged human babies in art, see Putto.

Putti is a village in the Pallisa District of Uganda. Putti is inhabited entirely by the Abayudaya people. The villagers of Putti are currently seeking an Orthodox Jewish giur or conversion to Judaism.

Community Life

Putti is an agrarian village. The community centers around the Beit Knesset She'erit Yisrael, the Orthodox synagogue, which has about 130 members. The congregation is collectively known as the Kahal Kadosh She'erti Yisrael (Holy Community Remnant of Israel). Putti villagers currently practice Judaism according to Orthodox halacha, as candidates for Orthodox conversion. Villagers perform brit milah on baby boys at 8 days old, keep kosher, obeserve the Shabbat, the Jewish sabbath, and holy days and Taharat haMishpacha: family purity.

One of the ways the community supports itself is through coffee farming. The coffee farm in Putti village is in its infancy but coffee is should be available for sale by September of 2008. Documentation is being sought from the government and lawyers in Uganda to make the selling of coffee abroad legal. When this documentation has been obtained it will be posted at http://thejewsofuganda.org/coffee.php.

Persecution

During the reign of Idi Amin, a ban was placed on Judaism in Uganda. Many practitioners of Judaism converted to other religions due to the ban. As a result, the community calls itself 'Remnant of Israel' because they are the remaining practitioners of Judaism in their area.

External Links

• The Committee To Save Ugandan Jewry
• Yahoo!Groups Ugandan Jewry Page where most volunteers and activists communicate
• Facebook Ugandan Jewry Page

References