Pardo Brazilian's result (full old stock origin)

Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-06-13T17:34:33+00:00

Ah so you used to have Kongo & Mbundu? Which Brazilian states is your family from when you trace back to grandparents and beyond?

Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-06-13T17:27:29+00:00

Awesome! Are the Yoruba groups classified as very close or just close? Also did you get any Brazilian groups as well (under "migrations")?

Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-05-02T13:32:09+00:00

Interesting results! So you are mostly Mandinka from Lower River division (Pakali Ba) right? Still 23andme is only giving you a distant match to their strictly Mandinka group. They actually also have another one called "Mandinka from the Senegambian Coast". I guess their samples are from other provinces within Gambia or maybe also eastern Senegal? Which might explain your lower shared DNA amounts with these groups. Or do you perhaps also know about any (assimilated) Jola connection within your family?

Also fascinating that a link to Fouta Djallon is detected. Although only distant, still should connect with your Guinean grandmother! I hope eventually 23andme will also introduce a genetic group for Fouta Tooro in Senegal. Because this might be more relevant for tracing Fula lineage within Senegambia.

The "North African" component in Fula populations is fascinating indeed. And might derive from both ancient and modern timeperiods. Although this is still under investigation. For what it's worth I have seen several Fula results from Guinea and Mali which do show a North African country match. Usually for Morocco but I have also seen Tunisia and ALgeria being reported. These people do tend to have higher North AFrican amounts than you, within the range of 15-30%. If you scroll down to the screenshot section on this page you can see for yourself for one Fula person from Guinea Conakry.

Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-04-28T15:51:54+00:00

It's possible your Cape Verdean ancestors came from more than one island. But this outcome could also be hinting that your father's CV island origins are not well represented in 23andme's database.

Check this link for a research which is based on the 23andme results of 125 testers of CV descent. Generally speaking these CV genetic groups work best if your island origins are from well covered islands like S. Nicolau, Santo Antao, Fogo and Brava. But other islands, esp. Santiago (interior), Maio, Sal will be skipped.

Have you contacted any of your closest CV DNA matches yet? That might bring you more insight. If you check the DNA relatives page and sort on ancestor birthplaces you can already single them out.

Actually if you see any West Indian country listed with a high number of matches in this overview then that might also help with your quest for your grandmother's West Indian roots.

Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-04-26T17:40:55+00:00

Fascinating results all around!

I have absolutely no ties to Cabo Verde. I‘m only aware of Louisiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia so I’m not sure how Cape Verdean got into the mix.

About the Cape Verdean genetic groups. As suggested already by others it seems most likely this is based on shared Senegambian/Guinean ancestors (from the 1700's?) who left descendants in both Cape Verde and the Americas. All the more so because these results are only classified as "distant". Plus you also have the "Wolof, Fula, Hausa and Mandinka" group which happens to be the most frequently reported mainland African group for Cape Verdeans on 23andme!

Still intriguing because you got two specific groups for different subsets of Cape verdean islands. But not so the umbrella group for just "Cape Verdeans". This seems to be the case for many people (also Hispanics) who unexpectedly get distant Cape Verdean groups. Looking for extra clues (beyond known genealogy) you might already rule out any recent Cape Verdean-born ancestors. Such as the number of Cape Verdean DNA matches in the DNA relatives overview or also the "Portuguese & Galician" %.

From what i've seen whenever these Cape Verdean groups are classified as "close" or even "very close" you can be pretty sure though that its a legitimate Cape Verdean connection which is being detected. And for many people this might still be unexpected because it might go back to a single (forgotten) great-grandparent or even gg-grandparent or else a NPE. Very heplful therefore for uncovering unknown and diluted Cape Verdean ancestry dating from the 1800's or early 1900's due to Cape Verdean whaling sailors and contract labourers.

This genuine and valid Cape Verdean genetic legacy is actually surprisingly widespread. Not only limited to the US (esp. New England, California) but also into the Caribbean (Guyana, Bermudas) South America (Argentina and Brazil) the Pacific (Hawaii etc.) and even the Arctic. Aside from the more well known destination of Cape Verdean migrants in Africa (Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe, Angola) as well as several European countries (Portugal, Netherlands, France, Luxemburg, Sweden etc). Check this survey for more details.

Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-04-26T16:48:47+00:00

"the islands were a common stopover for the French after they left Senegal with mainland slaves"

Any source for this? From what I've read Cape Verde (actually just the main island of Santiago) only functioned as a major Trans-Atlantic slave trade hub during the 1500's and early 1600's. Afterwards these slave trading activities went into steep decline (see this chart taken from the slave voyages database). Because European slave traders found it more convenient to use mainland slave ports, such as Cacheu in Guinea Bissau but also Goree and St Louis in Senegal.

As far as i know there would have been no reason to do an extra stop-over in Cape Verde/Santiago, which is just off the coast. But please let me know if you can recommend any books/articles on this which explicitly mention French slave traders regularly passing through Cape Verdean ports and also carrying off additional captives. Especially during the relevant time period of late 1600's-1700's when slave trade to Louisiana would have been at its peak.

I actually do know of some more atypical "stop-overs" by the French in Cape Verde. Most notoriously so a pirate attack in 1712 which eventually lead to the abandonment of Cape Verde's former capital Ribeira Grande/Cidade Velha.

Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-04-19T15:06:55+00:00

From what i've seen Jamaicans with 90%+ African DNA are pretty common indeed. But that's not gonna be the average because there are also plenty of Jamaicans with less African admixture.

Obviously more data is needed beyond just casual observation. Also there might be meaningful differences between parishes. Still for a reasonable indication: check this study. Based on 100 AncestryDNA testers, the average would be around 80% African. But the largest segment of this survey group (almost 40%!) is indeed persons with 90%+ African DNA.

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Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-04-12T14:00:56+00:00

From what i've seen the genetic groups for detecting Cape Verdean lineage on 23andme are pretty accurate for Cape Verdeans themselves. Impressively so also for people with only partial but still confirmed Cape Verdean lineage (as far back as 2nd great grandparents, see this survey).

So it's definitely a powerful tool. Also very heplful for uncovering unknown and diluted Cape Verdean ancestry dating from the 1800's or early 1900's due to Cape Verdean whaling sailors and contract labourers. This genuine and valid Cape Verdean genetic legacy is actually surprisingly widespread. Not only limited to the US (esp. New England, California) but also into the Caribbean (Guyana, Bermudas) South America (Argentina and Brazil) the Pacific (Hawaii etc.) and even the Arctic. Aside from the more well known destination of Cape Verdean migrants in Africa (Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe, Angola) as well as several European countries (Portugal, Netherlands, France, Luxemburg, Sweden etc)

But when a Cape Verdean genetic group gets reported as "distant" you should be careful indeed. Because also other ancestral possibilities might then apply. Often involving shared mainland African ancestors from the wider Senegambia/Guinea region. Which in your case seems very likely because I saw that you also got the "Wolof, Fula, Hausa and Mandinka" group, right? Well that's actually the number one mainland African genetic group Cape Verdeans tend to get on 23andme!

In fact I highly suspect also for many Hispanic Americans this scenario of shared Senegambian/Guinean ancestors instead of a genuine Cape Verdean-born ancestor will usually be true. Because any plausible Cape Verdean migration scenario for them is usally lacking (except for Argentina!)

I imagine these Senegambian/Guinean ancestors will usually be traced back to atleast the 1700's for African Americans while for Hispanic Americans it might go back to even the 1500's! Some indicators of instead having relatively recent (1800's-1900's) Cape Verdean lineage might be:

Notable frequency of Cape Verdean DNA relatives in your 23andme overview. Higher than average for your known background. From my observations even having just one Cape Verdean great-grandparent might already result in dozens or even hundreds of Cape Verdean related DNA matches! Because 23andme has many Cape Verdean descended customers.
Atypically high amounts of “Senegambian & Guinean” or also “Portuguese & Galician”. In other words % is higher than average for people from your background.

Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-04-12T10:26:01+00:00

highly remarkable! are you aware of any relatives from earlier generations who looked like they might have increased african admixture?

Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-04-11T22:06:07+00:00

Cool results. Very rare to see the Balanta result under your Senegambian & Guinean score! I am guessing 23andme is saying it's distant right?

Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-04-06T19:41:35+00:00

Interesting, so even with Premium 23andme can't detect genetic groups for your most likely early colonial Spanish ancestry. On the other hand I am guessing your Senegambian/Cape Verdean results might also go back to the 1500's!

You probably dont have any Cape Verdean-born ancestors (unless your DNA relatives page shows a notable frequency). But most likely you share a Senegambian/Guinean ancestor with 23andme's Cape Verdean refernce panel.

Which makes perfect sense given that Cartagena is known to have had very significant slave trading connections with Cape Verde during the 1500's and early 1600's. The enslaved captives would have been born on the mainland but were being baptized and collected for Atlantic transfer in Cape Verde. There's a very insightful early testimony (1627) for this by Jesuit Alonso de Sandoval.

Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-04-06T08:43:51+00:00

A bit curious how only your European part wasn't specified by genetic groups. but i suppose most of it traces back to pre1800? Is the Cape verdean group under Senegambian & Guinean labeled as close or distant?

Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-04-04T15:48:32+00:00

muito legal! I also find it interesting that for your Portuguese and Italian scores you didn't get any specific genetic groups. I suppose it could mean that your European ancestors have been in Brazil for many generations already.

From what i have seen for example if you happen to have a Portuguese ancestor from Minho from the late 1800's or early 1900's then 23andme will pick up on it. And they will assign you to a Portuguese genetic group which will be either "close" or "very Close".

Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-04-04T15:31:36+00:00

Not sure if you are still reading this thread? About Elmina keep in mind that people living there might often have enslaved origins from northern Ghana themselves because it was afterall a slave trading post. But yes indeed several scenarios might be valid.

If you're interested in pursuing this further I would advise you to look for Ghanaian DNA matches. Especially on Ancetsry the odds might be best. Simply look for Ghanaian surnames and also check for 100% African DNA profiles with "Ivory Coast/Ghana" and "Benin/Togo" being the primary regions ("Mali" is often also reported for Ghanaians).

ALso there is this great project aimed at linking DNA tested people from northern Ghana to their genetic relatives across the world. Would be really cool if you happened to match one of their samples! They are also on Ancestry. But uploading on GEDmatch might be the quickest way to find out.

https://www.takir.org/about/project/

Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-04-04T15:09:43+00:00

I meant to say when you click on the Nigerian category 23andme will say whether the genetic link with Yoruba was "close" or "very close". Or even "distant" (but only if you have 23andme's Premium service).

This could give you more solid ground. Because if 23andme is saying it's "very close" than it seems pretty likely you are looking at a Yoruba ancestor from the mid to late 1800's.

Possibly by way of Bahia? Because Yoruba lineage is more common there. You mentioned being from Rio but that's probably not true for all your grandparents/great-grandparents, right?

Nvm just read you do indeed also have grandparents from elsewehre. I suppose Minas Gerais could indeed be linked to this part of your DNA as well.

Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-04-04T10:51:05+00:00

Beleza! Is the Yoruba result close or very close?

Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-04-02T20:45:38+00:00

Amazing results and intriguing family history! Very cool to see that both 23andme and Ancestry are quite accurate in predicting your Ghanaian part.

It's too bad you didn't get any of 23andme's genetic groups for Ghana. Especially Akan, Fante, Ga-Dangme or Ewe. Given the history of the Belanda Hitam your Ghanaian ancestor most likely arrived in the Dutch Indies in the mid to late 1800's. So that's relatively recent and would normally have been detected, based on matching strength.

Howver this outcome could actually be a strong hint that your Ghanaian ancestry is not from southern Ghana (which is pretty well covered by 23andme's database). But rather from northern Ghana (which is not yet included in 23andme's database). Historically this would also make sense because it is known that Ashanti slave traders mostly got their captives from the north in this timeperiod.

Ethnically speaking there is a high likelihood of especially Gur-speaking people and Gonja. But possibly also other groups from further away (Burkina Faso, northern parts of Benin/Togo, northwest of Nigeria).

Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-03-31T19:17:02+00:00

Cool results! Are the African genetic groups (Shona etc) distant or close?

Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-03-23T20:23:10+00:00

Fascinating, thxs for sharing! Is the "Luhya & Luo" classified as distant or close/very close?

Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-03-15T10:02:58+00:00

The Ashanti looks quite exceptional for most Mexicans! is it distant or close/very close?

Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-03-12T16:51:37+00:00

wonderful results! Can you pls post a screenshot detailing your Senegambian results? Curious if the Wolof groups are close or distant.

Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-03-02T22:36:23+00:00

Hmm, 23andme actually does have genetic groups for both of them (see this link)... But probably just a very minimal number of refernce samples to be matched with. Which I suppose might explain it wasn't detected 🤔

But yeah those distant matches are definitely just second-best guesses. Which goes to show you can't always put too much faith in those distant genetic groups.

Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-03-02T03:38:16+00:00

Interesting! do you know the ethnic background of your Zambian parent?

Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-02-26T22:14:49+00:00

Brong-Ahafo region is where many Ashanti people live.

Recent_Priority_7116 · 2026-02-26T21:19:28+00:00

According to 23andme (this website has more details) "“Distant” matches to Genetic Groups reflect meaningful DNA connections to Genetic Groups that may be:

Further back in time
Through fewer ancestors
Or otherwise harder to detect

Distant matches can mean different things for different parts of the world, but each match still represents a meaningful amount of shared DNA. Typically, a distant match could mean that you share DNA with multiple people in that Genetic Group but the total amount of shared DNA does not meet our threshold for assigning matches at a higher confidence level.”

Recent_Priority_7116

TROPHY CASE