In a world characterized by prejudice, it is curious that we choose labels to set ourselves apart from our brothers and sisters. The US Census Bureau has added categories that go beyond the simplistic white, black, brown, yellow and red categories of yesterday. Why? Because as we continue to migrate across the globe, it is quite likely that we will mate with people from other racial and ethnic groups. We also must not overlook the fact that emigration is not new. People have been migrating from the very beginning. Modern transport has shorten the distance -- both in time and mileage.
Take, for example, the small island of Sicily where I was born. History teaches that it was visited by colonizers as early as 3,000 years B.C. One such group, the Sicani, came from the Iberian peninsula around 2,000 years B.C. They colonized primarily the Western part of the island. Another group, the Sikels, soon made its way into Sicily from Southern Italy. They settled primarily on the Eastern side. My hometown of Tusa was where the two groups faced one another across a small river. The Phoenicians are recognized as the founders of Palermo coming from the distant Levant. Soon the Greeks made their way into the island setting up their headquarters in South Eastern Sicily in the city of Syracuse, from where they launched expeditions and established settlements elsewhere in the island. Not to be overlooked, Carthagenians from North Africa (Tunisia) joined the fray. The Romans followed.
And all this happened before the birth of Christ.
Around the 9th century A.D. the Arabs conquered the island and ruled it for over 200 years. They in turn were pushed out by the Normans. King Frederic II from Germany followed and he moved the seat of the Holy Roman Empire to Sicily. It was the time of the Crusades and Sicily was the perfect battleship in the center of the Mediterranean Sea from which to launch missions toward Palestine. After Frederic's reign, the French had a short stay. They were not welcome and to this day Sicilians celebrate their rebellion immortalized in the great opera the Sicilian Vespers by Mascagni. The Spaniards were next, and they stayed for several centuries until the unification of Italy in 1865 when the Italians from the North led by Garibaldi came to liberate the island. In 1943 it was the Americans and Brits who came to wrestle the island from Nazi and Fascist control.
So what is the point of all this? I wanted to set the context for answering an interesting question. Who were my ancestors? I do not look like the typical Sicilian. I do not have dark and curly hair, my skin color is light but olive tinted. Over the years people have asked me if I was from Hungary, Colombia, Spain, Greece, and other more exotic places. So I took matters into my own hands and asked DNA Tribes to examine my DNA. The test results came within two weeks after I sent the samples in. So here we go:
1. The generic profile listed the 15 top markers inherited from my father on one side, and on the other from my mother.
2. The native population match showed the extent to which my markers matched others. A graphic clearly shows that my ancestors were primarily from the Iberian peninsula (Basque being the highest) followed by Spanish. Strong traces of Greek, Romanian, Turkish and Portuguese also were highlighted. To a less degree, traces of Venetian, French, and Israeli Arab were also present.
3. The global population match confirmed the findings above.
4. The high resolution world region profile confirmed my roots as being predominantly Mediterranean, Levantine, Aegean, Mesopotamian, Northwest Europe, and to a lesser degree from Eastern Europe, Arabia and India. A small trace of Finnish also appeared. No Australian, no Asian (other than Indian), no African from below the Sahara, no Native American.
So here you have it. Given the short history of Sicily I gave you at the top of this page, my strong Iberian roots can be traced to the Sicani who colonized the island a couple thousand years B.C., and to a lesser extent to the colonizers from the Aegean Sea and North Africa. I always suspected that on my mother's side many relatives resembled many faces i encountered during my stay in the Middle East.
We use many ethnic labels to set ourselves apart. The reality is that we are most if not all of the above. It has been said that there is much richness that comes from variety. I agree. In particular, I have always found myself at ease in the Iberian peninsula and the Middle East. I find the food in both areas superb and the culture fascinating. Most of all, I love people in general, regardless from where they might be coming.
In a world of conflict and tit for tat, we need to remind ourselves that what we might have in common, by far exceeds what might separate us.
What is your ancestry? Are you curious about it? Find out! Children will take a big lesson from this discovery.
Have fun in the journey along the learning curve.
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