This is something I've looked into over the past few years. I read a book also last year called "It didn't start with you" (by Mark Wolynn) that touches on this (DNA and epigenetics) and prompted me to look into my ancestry, digging deeper into the roots of my family. Piecing together the life stories of my ancestors, it gave me a lot to think about in regard to the intergenerational patterns that have occurred and inherited trauma that has come along with that. I've wanted to know for some time now where my ancestors were taken from in regard to Trans-Atlantic slave trade. My family comes from Jamaica today, but because of the event of the "Maafa" (Swahili for great tragedy), and the fact that their (those enslaved) identities and cultures had been brutally and barbarically stripped, from them it was healing to find out that 70% of my being originally descended from (mainly) Nigeria, Benin and Togo. The remaining 30% of my ancestry was explanatory, looking at the history and atrocities of the British Empire. I have European ancestry from the owner of the coffee plantation, that one of my ancestors grew up on. As well as Hakka ancestry; a Chinese ethnic group from where my Great-Grandfather was from (Canton now called Guangdong) in China. This area, along with Hong Kong, the Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories were once a colony of the Great Britain, thus when slavery ended many indentured labourers (including many from India) were sent to the Caribbean to make up for the lost work force.
Because of this Jamaica's national motto is "Out of Many, One People". Celebrating the population's multicultural roots. You can also see this reflected in the traditional dishes of the country, such as curry goat and roti, plus jerk chow mein. Despite this, it has saddened me that my Great-Grandfather had his name anglicised to Allan when he arrived there. You can also see this with his surname, where I believe the only accurate part of it was Chin. At times I wonder if Chin-Den-Coy was likely Chin-Deng-Cai, but I will never truly know the answer...just what was written on his documentation. Learning more about Chinese family names and how important they were in regard to honouring your ancestral lineage, it's also heart-breaking that part of that heritage was taken away from him too. None the less I'm thankful for what their stories have taught me, and I'm in awe of their perseverance through terrible things, I couldn't even imagine enduring. I would not be here without any of them, or who I am either due to the inherited strengths they've given me. So I hope in time I can visit all the places, as I feel it would somewhat honour them somehow, walking where they once stood before.
Lastly, in this blog I'd also like to recognise the native Taino or Arawak people, who also had their land stolen through disease and genocide. Allies of the Maroons (escaped slaves) you can see them depicted on Jamaica's coat of arms. They gave the Island it's name "Xaymaca" which translates directly as the "land of wood and water" in their native tongue, and you can still find some of their pictographs in the parish of St. Catherine. On the topic of mother tongues, I also looked into how Jamaican patois or creole was influenced by the tribal languages of West Africa. Known as "Kromanti" or "Spirit language", it's interesting seeing how these words evolved over time amalgamating into one lingo.
References :
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_Coast_of_West Africa (West African slave trade)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_Wars (Opium Wars of China that lead to Britain gaining territories)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Jamaicans (History of Chinese Jamaicans)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ta%C3%ADno (The Taino/Arawak tribes of the Caribbean)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaican_Maroon_Creole (Jamaican Maroon Creole)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jamaican_Patois_words_of_African_origin (Jamaican words in Patois of African origin)
