Their myths of origin generally tell of migrating from the North. According to Lemba tradition, their male ancestors were Jews who left Judea about 2500 years ago and settled in a place called Senna which was located on the Arabian Peninsula (present-day Yemen). Much later, according to Rudo Mathivha, their oral history relates that they migrated into Northeast Africa (Ethiopia). After these ancestors intermarried with local women and became established in Africa, at some point, the tribe split into two groups, one staying in Ethiopia and the other travelling farther south, along the east coast.