Let me get back to the DNA results I was waiting for. Obtaining the DNA sample is very easy. FTDNA
supplies you with all the materials you need to provide them with a tissue sample. You simply go to their web site, select the degree of testing you want, and make your payment. Within days FTDNA sends you a numbered kit in the mail.
One thing I liked about FTDNA was that they emailed me when they put the kit in the mail. Included in the email was the kit number and my personal password. You will need both to check the web site for results.
Even though they said they would notify me when tests results were available. I was too antsy. I can't tell you the number of times I went to the web site checking for results. Lets just say it was too many.
It takes an average of 6 to 8 weeks to get your results back. If you decide to have a deep clade test after the preliminary results are in, then you wait some more. I would say it was another 4 weeks before those results came in.
Easy Part. Obtaining the tissue sample. You brush the inside of your cheek for 60 seconds and do this for both cheeks. You then place each individual brush in one of the two small vials supplied. You package your sample and mail it back to FTDNA.
Now I just couldn't mail it. Not me. I sent the sample priority mail, insured and requested receipt confirmation. Overkill? Maybe, but I wanted to make sure the sample got there. That was the easy part. Waiting for the results--that was hard. Emphasis on hard.
To participate in The Puerto Rican Mallorcan Jew Project all that is required is testing for Y-DNA. The Y chromosome is the sex chromosome that defines the male gender. The Y-DNA test is done to determine our paternal lineage. Females do not receive the Y chromosome that their father carries. It is only transmitted to males. Therefore, a male family member needs to supply the sample.
In my case, my brother provided the sample. I would have asked my uncle (father's brother) to supply the sample if my brother had been unable to. I may not need to say this, but I will, the male providing the tissue sample must be directly from your paternal line.
Y-DNA changes very slowly. So slowly that scientist have been able to mark those changes. These markers determine your haplotype and each haplotype is different for each male family line. The arrangement or sequencing of DNA proteins is what makes each haplotype or family line unique. The haplotype predicts your haplogroup or ancient ancestral roots. Your ancient ancestral roots are determined or confirmed by the deep clade test.
Wow, I hope I haven't lost you. Maybe you skipped all that to get to this. The results of the test.
Remember, The International Sephardim DNA Profile (ISDNAP), that I quoted from Dell Sanchez's book. The book I kept referring to while I waited for the results. The book was concise and easy to follow. Much research has been done on this subject and I have read several research findings. Dell's book happens to make a complex subject easy to read.
So, given the Sephardim DNA profile is a mixture of several haplogroups, I could not have guessed the group we would fall under. I knew what I wanted us to be--Kohanim. The J haplogroup. The priestly group. The descendants of Aaron. But not so.
Results - E3b1.
It turns out that we are of the E3b1 haplogroup. This group is classified as Berber. There is much discussion as to the origin of this group--Middle East, Near East, North Africa. I went on line and looked for pictures of Berbers. Yep, I fit the description.
Although, I knew that approximately, 13% of Sephardic Jewish males are of this haplogroup. I was disappointed. It confirmed what I had already known that DNA in and of itself, cannot make a determination on your ethnicity, culture, or even religious background. It meant/means that I have much work to do. There is no easy way. The only way to know is to go through very old documents, sift through extemporaneous materials, get names, dates, visit places, and put the pieces together a little at a time. Only then will the DNA speak louder than words.
Before I close let me just say that I have DNA cousins all over the world now. We know we share a common ancestor. We are connected. DNA does not lie.
4 comments:
This is definitely intriguing! One question, the DNA testing has shown that your family is from Jewish heritage?
Hi, and thank you for asking.
I agree DNA is intriguing. Unfortunately, DNA cannot tell us our heritage. Officially to be a Jew, you must have been born to a Jewish mother. In other words your heritage is passed down in your family history. For families of Sephardic conversos, you need to have been told that your family was Jewish and was forced to convert to Catholicism during the Inquisition. There are many cases like this in North America where a family member knows the family secret--they are of Jewish ancestry, but the lingering fear of persecution has kept them silent until circumstances cause the secret to be revealed.
For many of us Puerto Ricans, the family secret that you have Jewish blood was kept so successfully that it went to the grave. The secret was not passed down from generation to generation. For us much research into the past is required. Although we may have strong feelings or even clues that we are Anusim, DNA is not enough. We must provide the genealogy that collaborates our beliefs. I will continue to research my ancestry. As I learn more, I will continue to post my discoveries.
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