The Indian Origin Story
No Debate from Us!
Since we discovered that many of us have Jewish ancestry, and we began testing groups of Gypsies to see if they too had Jewish ancestry, we have learned many fascinating things. So many it would be hard to know where to start.
What is clear is this. Everyone has Indian ancestry. Some more, some less. What has been surprising is that amongst those that have Jewish ancestry, their Indian ancestry is primarily Indian Jewish ancestry. This would include Bnai Israel, Cochin Jewish, and Benei Menashe.
What is absolutely astonishing is this. Most of the people carry a small percentage of Yemenite Jewish DNA (2-5%). Why is this fascinating? The Indian Jewish communities were formed when Yemenite Jews made their way from Yemen to the South east coast of India between 100 BC and 200 AD. There the Yemenite Jews married local people, thus "Indian Jewish" is a mix of Yemenite and local Indian. This means the people we have tested are carrying around Yemenite DNA that entered our family trees 2000 years ago. Passed from generation to generation, 2000 years later, Yemenite Jewish DNA survives in the Gypsy communities we have tested.
Yes, we have Indian ancestry. But, so far, that is Jewish Indian ancestry, and more astonishing, is Yemenite Jewish DNA that passed into the community 2000 Years ago!
