This blog post is going to be the start of short series of posts I will do about my husband’s 23andMe DNA testing results. We were able to get the kit for free because the company is trying to expand their database of African-American DNA. Currently, most of the health results available are based on a mostly European population. This initiative is part of their Roots Into the Future Initiative.
There is so much to go over his results, so I’ll have to spend some time working my way through them. For now, let me start with his maternal lineage.
Kalonji’s maternal haplotype group is: L2a1a2
This haplogroup is a subgroup of the L2 Haplogroup. L2 is the most common haplogroup among Africans and African-Americans. From what I have read, the origin of L2a1a2 seems to be West or NorthWest Africa, but it underwent an expansion with Bantu migrations and is associated with SouthEast Africa. Currently, the highest percentages of Africans of this haplogroup are in the Mozambique area (36%). The haplotype is also found in Afro-Brazilian populations too. You can see in the image that the darker spots on the map correlate to an are in West African and then right around Mozambique.
I don’t believe this is enough information for us to know with any certainty where in Africa Kalonji’s ancestors may have lived, but I am continuing to do more research. From a link shared in the 23andMe community forums, downloaded a spreadsheet with very specific genome data and there also seems to be an association with the Mozambique area. I guess we will have to get him tested with African Ancestry to see if we can potentially get a tribe match. More to come soon!
This is so interesting and fun–like a miniseries with a cliffhanger. Can’t wait to read more!
Yes, June it is isn’t it? And there is definitely more! 🙂
Can’t wait until I get my results back!
Be sure to blog about it so we can know! 🙂
I sure will!
I used both African Ancestry and 23andme for genetic testing. I’m L2a1a2 just like you are. My African Ancestry results were 100% Kru and Mende. This means that you will probably test both Kru and Mende as well. There are probably a lot of Fulani and Themne who are L2a1a2, being that they are so close. 🙂
Hi Justice – thanks so much for commenting on my blog post! I am not sure what Kalonji’s results would be but I do thank you for sharing your experience. Of course, as you probably know, our maternal haplotypes only represent just a fraction of our overall ancestry as they are generated from a direct maternal lineage. For example, we all have 8 2nd great-grandmothers but our haplotype only reflects one of them :-). Therefore, I personally am not as interested in trying to figure out what tribes we come from – much more interested in making connections with other relatives and filling in gaps in our trees. Have you by any chance had any of your cousins do their maternal haplotypes as well so you can trace more of your lines? I’ve seen people do that and get a better understanding of the different ancestry. That would be interesting, but I certainly can’t fit that into my budget right now. If only I’d win the lottery 🙂
I too just found out through 23andMe that I have L2a1a2 haplogroup, but I’m not sure where to go from there being that a large percentage of African Americans share that same Haplogroup. I’m curious to know where your search for your husbands ancestry has taken you so far. I may try the African Ancestry next, but they say they cannot use the testing from 23andMe or Autosomal DNA testing. Does that mean it may not be accurate? Not sure but I’m curious to know where you are with the process. 🙂