African Ancestry & DNA Test: My Results

About six weeks ago, I took a mitochondrial DNA test which traces the mother's mother's mother's line, etc. Both males and females inherit mitochondrial DNA from their mothers, but only females pass it down mitochondrial DNA. Last month's edition of National Geographic magazine discussed how genetic markers passed down to us from our ancestors are leading scientists back across time to trace human migration patterns. The results represent only about 1 percent of my total genetic makeup, but identifies this matrilineal line. I'll take a little information, over none at all. Especially since my oldest known ancestor in my mother's mother's mother's etc. line, my great-great-great-grandmother C.D., was born in 1845 in Mississippi and the trail stops there. I had guessed - an admittedly very wild guess - that the C.D. line was descended from the Mende, who cluster in modern-day Liberia. Way off.

My results: my mtDNA has a 100% genetic sequence similarity match with the Mafa, Kotoko, and Masa tribes, which are neighboring tribes. The Mafas cluster in modern-day northern Cameroon, the Kotokos in northern Cameroon / northeastern Nigeria / southwestern Chad, and the Masas in northern Cameroon / southwestern Chad (map here). The results show my mtDNA sequence, and how it is identical to these three tribes (other people's results have shown 98.6%).

I have had people guess that I was of Ghanaian, Nigerian, Senegalese, Liberian, or Angolan descent. Some folks have even guessed East African, which I dismissed due to history. However, only one person pointed at Cameroon (although not specific tribes)...and she was a Portuguese scientist visiting the United States just a few days ago. Ater getting the test results, I feel much the same. Other folks cry when they get their results, which I did not do. However, it is very nice and exciting to have more specific information about at least one line in my family tree. It also made for very interesting conversations with family members over the weekend. More importantly, it provides concrete scientific information about my past and is a tangible reminder that our family's history did not begin with slavery. Although this question crossed my mind: have I now gone from African-American to Mafa-Kotoko-Masa American? Or is that Cameroonian-Chadian-Nigerian American? I have settled on American of Mafa, Kotoko, and Masa descent. Below is some information about the Mafas, Kotokos, and Masas:

Mafa: Also known as the Matakam, they cluster in the highlands (and their adjacent plains) of the Mandara Mountains in what is now northern Cameroon. The Mafas - who are the largest ethnic group in these highlands are known for their Sares, or conical roofs on their huts, Each Sare is occupied by one family. However, the more wives that a man has then the more Sares that are grouped together. The Mafas are also known for their religious art and arts & crafts.

Water has an extremely important spiritual (and economic....they are mainly corn farmers) dimension in their culture. It is considered a source of fertility and wealth, but also danger, magic, and psychological pitfalls. The Mafas consider water to be a cultural rather a natural resource, and have rain priests. Twins have a special position in Mafa culture. The birth of tsakalay (twins) is considered a great blessing, as they are believed to be endowed with special gifts from the gods and are considered to be clairvoyant. However, they are also believed to possess dangerous powers: They can bring blindness, madness, or, as in the case above, premature death to their parents.

Mokolo is the urban area that is the center of the Mafa people. University of Calgary (Canada) researchers found a a set of ancient granite fortresses - believed to be tombs, and called the Strongholds of Cameroon - in their home mountainous region back in 2002.

Kotoko: They cluster in what is modern-day northern Cameroon / northeastern Nigeria / southwestern Chad. The Kotokos had an ancient monarchy - which rose after the Sao civilization went into decline - which included several smaller kingdoms. Islam spread in most of the area by the 19th century, through missionaries and conquerors (given that my oldest known ancestor in this line, C.D., was born in Mississippi in 1845 and U.S. Census records report that her parents were also both born in Mississippi, my ancestors may have already been in the United States by this point). The monarchy was eventually subsumed into the Bornu empire. Divided into small states with fortified cities as their capitals, the Kotokos consider themselves "owners of the land" by virtue of their long residence. For example, neighboring Arabs in Chad pay tribute for the right to farm and herd. The Kotokos also have a monopoly over fishing and water transport. Rights to the waters of the Logone and Chari rivers are divided among the cities, each of which has a "chief of the waters," whose communications with the water spirits determine the opening of the fishing season. However, strife with neighboring Arabs have pushed the Chadic Kotokos more into Cameroon.

Masa: Appears to be a pretty small tribe, residing along the banks of the Logone River and along the border of what is now northern Cameroon / southwestern Chad.

All three groups speak Afro-Asiatic languages, and are in the Chadic language group. There is a debate among biologists and linguists in the Annals of Human Biology over whether all three tribes of which I am a descendant (plus a fourth one, the Hide people) are more genetically and linguistically similar to other tribes in Western Africa, or to tribes in Eastern Africa and the Upper and Middle Nile Valley.

As I have mentioned in the past, I had promised that the first African country or countries that I would visit would depend on the results of the test. That means a trip to northern Cameroon, southeastern Nigeria, and southwestern Chad to help complete the circle. That is a key next step. Read up more on the history and culture. Oh yeah, and don't be surprised to see more posts related to northern Cameroon / southern Nigeria / southern Chad on this blog.