In the year 2018 of our Lord Beyoncé, I have dismissed any worries about the government having access to my DNA because …they probably already have it. Also, I am ready to visit my ancestral plane. I know my ancestors were stolen people brought to stolen land, but I wanted to know from which country (or countries) they were stolen.
I was hoping they would tell me I’m from Wakanda, but apparently, Wakanda is a fictional place. Le sigh. The good (and not at all surprising) news is that I definitely have African blood. I was, however, surprised by the amount of European heritage mixed in there. Also, I do not have any “Indian blood.” If you’re interested in knowing what makes me me, according to the current scientific techniques of Ancestry DNA, then keep reading!
Africa Takes the Biggest Slice … DUH!
Sitting with the biggest slice of pie is Cameroon, Congo, and Southern Bantu Peoples Nigeria with 40% of my DNA! Cameroon / Congo / Western Bantu Peoples sits at 25%. What makes this such a surprise is that Congo is located in Central Africa. Before my DNA results, I thought only the Western parts of Africa were involved in the Atlantic Slave Trade. Thanks to a quick Google search, I learned parts of Central Africa were also used to capture people. The demand for slave labor was that high!! Rounding out the highest percentage of my African-ness is Benin/Togo, which is 31%, so it looks like I am part of the real Dora Milaje! #WakandaForever
Luck of the Irish No More
The next approximately one-third of my DNA is a mixture of African and European heritage! At 9% is the England, Wales, and Northwestern Europe trifecta. The next highest percentage is Scotland at 10%, and Irish is now nowhere to be found. Then comes 8% of Benin / Togo. Next is Mali at 6% 4%. Someone from the Motherland told me I looked like people from Mali, so it was cool to see that pop up in my results. Sitting with 3% 2% each is Ireland/Scotland England / Northwestern Europe, France Senegal, Ivory Coast/Ghana, Wales, and Nigeria Germanic Europe. I was hoping that Ghana would be a higher percentage. During college, I spent a semester abroad and the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi. Lots of people assumed I was a native Ghanaian. With this latest update, some ancestries moved waaaay up. Some got the boot, and others popped up out of the blue!
Mother (Russia) is Gone!
The remaining amount of DNA is mostly European with a small about of African heritage and Indigenous American. At 1% each is Germanic Europe, Senegal Sweden, Portugal, and Eastern Europe/Russia Indigenous Americas-North. (WUT?!) As previously mentioned, there was no American indigenous heritage. The official percentage was less than 1%. Although the Indigenous heritage is now sitting at 1%, I still have to say … My Native American ethnicity is basically non-existent.
Another aspect of my ancestry DNA I loved was the added knowledge that my enslaved African American ancestry comes from Virginia, Texas, and Louisiana. That’s amazing because I know one of my grandmothers was born and raised in Baton Rouge, and I have a lot of distant relatives from Houston. I still have my fingers crossed about one day learning I’m somehow related to Beyoncé.
Have you discovered the ancestry of your DNA?
Updated: September 18, 2020