Tracing the ancestors of mpondo clans along the wild coast of the Eastern Cape
Date
2016
Authors
De Veredicis, David
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Abstract
Oral history and anthropological data indicate that several Xhosa clans in the mPondoland region of the Eastern Cape (formerly the Transkei) were established by individuals of non-African ancestry. Several oral and few written accounts state that circa 1730, survivors from trade- and slave-bearing vessels shipwrecked along the Wild coast of the Eastern Cape. Castaways who had survived the shipwrecking events had assimilated with the indigenous people of the area, married local women, and established clans of their own. The group of clans, which claim their ancestors to be of European and/or Eurasian descent, are known as the abeLungu, meaning “the Whites”. These clans are discerned from other local groups by variations in the practice of rituals from that of traditional Xhosa rituals, as these clans retain an affiliation with the European culture to which their ancestors belonged. Nowadays they still retain subtle phenotypic features like blue eyes, which are seen in several clan members. The identity of these clans has, to date, been shrouded in myth due to conflicting versions in the oral history and anthropological data, which leave the picture of the cultural identity of the abeLungu people unresolved.
With the advent of molecular biology, it has been shown that DNA may be used as a tool to trace population ancestry. The non-recombining region of the Y chromosome (NRY) serves as a marker for patrilineal ancestry and similarly mitochondrial DNA, which is inherited from mother to progeny, serves as a record for the matrilineal human history.
This study aims at exploring the degree of agreement between culture and genetics by investigating the genetic variation of the abeLungu - a culturally and geographically defined group. Focus is placed on their patrilineal history, since their oral history indicates clan progenitors to be predominantly male, but also due to the patriarchal social structure with regards to marriage and kinship of the abeLungu.
Buccal swabs were taken from which extracted DNA was used to perform Y chromosome microsatellite short-tandem repeat (STR) and SNP minisequencing using a total of 60 SNPs and 19 STRs taken from 146 abeLungu clan-affiliated individuals and 42 non-clan members from the greater region of mPondoland. Mitochondrial DNA SNP determination and sequencing analyses were also performed on 188 males and 10 females (the wives/ direct relatives of primary male clan elders), so as to trace the matrilineal origins and examine the congruence between the molecular and anthropological data.
The frequency of European and Eurasian haplogroups in the male samples was 69.86%, which are delineated predominantly by European haplogroups R1b, and West Asian haplogroup R1a1a. Haplogroups G, I and Q which occur at high frequencies in Europe and Eurasia were observed as well. It has also been observed (which was as expected) that culturally defined groups with a unique (or a limited number of) common origins whose membership is inherited only through the male line showed a relatively low intragroup variation for genetic markers similarly transmitted. The maternal lineages of the abeLungu clan members segregate with ancient and deeply-rooted African haplogroup L lineages, with increased diversity on account of migration due to their exogamous marriage practices.
This study affirms the non-African paternal origin of the abeLungu clans of lineages originating from few distinct founders, and elucidates the previously unresolved oral accounts of genealogical information, which has been transferred across generations with considerable accuracy, despite its propensity for change over time.
Description
A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Medicine in the Division of Human Genetics
Pretoria, 2016