Can African Americans Find out what Tribe their African ancestors belonged to?

6 Responses to Can African Americans Find out what Tribe their African ancestors belonged to?

1. SPW_83 says:

   December 31, 2009 at 10:54 am

   Oh girl, I just found a website that will give you a DNA test to show you what ancestors you have…. Its pretty cheap only 99 bucks!

   Here’s the site:
   http://www.familytreedna.com/Default.aspx?c=1
   References :
2. spiffer1 says:

   December 31, 2009 at 11:26 am

   Some have.
   They have managed to go through the family records to find out what the African clan or surname was. Probably had to do some transliteration to get the pronunciation to work for them and be recognized in Africa.
   Not an easy task.
   References :
3. staisil says:

   December 31, 2009 at 12:02 pm

   Yes

   http://www.africandna.com/history.aspx
   http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1236422&page=1
   References :
4. Hoosier says:

   December 31, 2009 at 12:16 pm

   Sure it’s as easy as calling their closest relative still residing in Africa.
   You see an African American is technically a person, born in Africa, who has in their lifetime immigrated to America. A Caucasian born in South Africa who moves to America is technically an African American; whereas a black person who’s family has been living in America for generations is just an American.
   References :
5. Roderick F says:

   December 31, 2009 at 12:31 pm

   Although apparently it’s proven. I highly, highly doubt it’s possible. You see, most African tribes are heterogenous so there’s a mixing amongst different groups.

   You could do the test, but it has to be proven first. I feel as if I should take the test to confirm it. I’m an Igbo from South-Eastern Nigeria (my parents emigrated from there).
   References :
6. old lady says:

   December 31, 2009 at 1:10 pm

   Some can. It depends on when and how they came to the United States. Sometimes records were kept, other times they weren’t. Sometimes they know what their family surname was (the African name, not the name given them by their white owners) and using that information, they can trace back to their ancestral tribe. Sometimes such a small thing as a lullaby learned as a child will give the linguistic clue that helps identify their tribal origin.
   References :