It is fashionable these days to have your DNA examined.
I did so in 2011 out of curiosity. I keep the results on my computer screen for
periodic review and reflection.
I was born in the island of Sicily. The island, over
the millennia, has been a stopping place for many adventurers, colonizers, and
conquerors. It is a well-documented fact that it was invaded 17 times. Each
left behind his calling card in its collective DNA.
Highlights
of My DNA Report
I chose DNA Tribes
for my analysis. The report includes four sections:
· Generic
Profile
· Native
Population Match
· Global
Population Match
· World Region
Match
The highlights of my DNA profile:
· My ancestors were
European and Near-Easterner.
· My ancestors were
primarily Basques, Spaniards, and Greek Cypriots, and secondarily, Romanians,
Turks, and Portuguese.
· My profile
includes a smidgen of Israeli Arab, Jewish, Venetian, and French.
· My ancestors were
primarily Mediterranean and Levantine (Aegean), and secondarily North African,
Mesopotamian, North and Eastern European, and Arabian.
· I have no markers
that connect me to Australia’s Aborigines, Sub-Sahara Africa, the Americas,
Asia, and Polynesia.
At this point, you might say: So What? What does it mean? What did you learn that you did not already know?
So What?
Besides satisfying my curiosity, I found answers to a
couple questions. Why my brothers and I do not match the stereotypical looks of
a Sicilian: Black hair, dark skin, and on the short side? Why my mother and
youngest brother were fair skinned and with blue eyes? My middle brother has
green eyes.
On a more serious vein, I reviewed Sicily’s history
and I did find the following possible connections:
· The Sicanians,
a people that came to Sicily from the Iberian Peninsula, colonized Sicily
around 4,000 B.C. They came long before the Sikels from Italy, the Phoenicians
from Lebanon, and the Greeks from throughout the Aegean. Are the Sicanians my
forbearers? Possibly.
· The Greeks
started to arrive in Sicily in mass around 750 B.C. The Elymnians were Greeks from Asia Minor (now Turkey). Many came from
the Greek islands as well. Did they contribute to my DNA stew? Possibly.
· The Phoenicians
(and its descendants the Carthaginians)
began to set up trading outposts along the island’s coastline around the 1,000
B.C. Were they part of my connection to the Levant (Mesopotamian and Arabian)
and Cyprus? Possibly.
· The Arabs
came from North Africa around 800 A.D. They would remain in Sicily for two
centuries. Are they my connection to North Africa? I remember an uncle from my
mother’s family say that we had Berber ancestors. Possibly.
· The Spaniards
(primarily Aragonese) wrestled control of Sicily around the 1,300 A.D. and they
held control over Sicily until the unification of Italy in 1860. Is it during
this wave that my ancestors found their way from the Iberian Peninsula?
Possibly.
The amazing thing for me is that, through DNA
analysis, I can connect some dots by overlaying the historical map of the
island.
There is still an unresolved question regarding my DNA
connection to the Iberian Peninsula. The Sicanian or Aragonese? I will let the
mystery rest. It is a detail of inconsequential nature.
I remember vividly a strange episode during my visit
to Toledo with my wife some 30 years ago. I was waiting in a café for Cassandra
to finish her third tour of the El Greco
Museum.
Sitting there, sipping my drink, I had some kind of
epiphany. I felt that I had been there before, in a previous life. I told this
to Cassandra when she joined me. She smiled and deadpanned: What have you been drinking? I responded
seriously that I even had the sensation of wearing heavy, dark green wool
clothes, military clothes. She smiled … and we moved on. Coincidence, premonition or the after effect
of the strong drink?
I have been to Spain numerous times during the past 35
years. I have always felt at home there. I like the regional cuisine,
especially the Basque, the preference for fresh ingredients, and the many men’s
clubs devoted to cooking. I also encounter many folks who resemble my extended
family.
I spent 5 years in the Middle East; and during the last
two, I lived in the Gulf region. During my many visits to Lebanon, I often came
across dishes that my mon used to make for us and fish selection similar to the
one in Sicily. Affectionately, many Arab friends would call me cousin in
recognition of the Arab presence in Sicily. I felt right at home in the region.
In Closing
Knowing your DNA is more than what percentage of this
or that you are. It is a key to understanding the meandering nature of man. Migrating from place to place in search of better conditions or more opportunities … economic, climactic,
religious, marital, and so forth.
It provides clues to when and where our ancestors might have intermingled with other groups, giving birth to a more diverse stock. It satisfies our
curiosity to have an idea regarding from whence we come from.
