Abstract
The earliest Cape Muslims were brought to the Cape (Cape Town - South Africa) from Africa and Asia from 1652 to 1834. They were part of an involuntary migration of slaves, political prisoners and convicts, and they contributed to the ethnic diversity of the present Cape Muslim population of South Africa. The history of the Cape Muslims has been well documented and researched however no in-depth genetic studies have been undertaken. The aim of the present study was to determine the respective African, Asian and European contributions to the mtDNA (maternal) and Y-chromosomal (paternal) gene pool of the Cape Muslim population, by analyzing DNA samples of 100 unrelated Muslim males born in the Cape Metropolitan area. A panel of six mtDNA and eight Y-chromosome SNP markers were screened using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphisms (PCR-RFLP). Overall admixture estimates for the maternal line indicated Asian (0.4168) and African mtDNA (0.4005) as the main contributors. The admixture estimates for the paternal line, however, showed a predominance of the Asian contribution (0.7852). The findings are in accordance with historical data on the origins of the early Cape Muslims.
Highlights
In 1652, the first Dutch settlers arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, to establish a refreshment station for the Dutch East India Company (DEIC) ships en route to and from the East (Du Pre, 1994)
The importation of slaves shortly began after the establishment of the refreshment station serving as the major labour force at the Cape, following failed attempts to enslave the indigenous Khoisan people (Da Costa and Davids, 1994; Shell, 2000)
Marriage between European men and women, who were either Khoisan, manumitted slaves or of mixed parentage (Keegan, 1996), and between Khoisan and slaves were not uncommon and were socially acceptable, but already from the 18th century, offspring of such mixed marriages and liaisons mainly were assimilated into the growing population group known as ‘Coloured’, after race-based restrictions were imposed by the British (Mountain, 2003)
Summary
In 1652, the first Dutch settlers arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, to establish a refreshment station for the Dutch East India Company (DEIC) ships en route to and from the East (Du Pre, 1994). Marriage between European men and women, who were either Khoisan, manumitted (freed) slaves or of mixed parentage (Keegan, 1996), and between Khoisan and slaves were not uncommon and were socially acceptable, but already from the 18th century, offspring of such mixed marriages and liaisons mainly were assimilated into the growing population group known as ‘Coloured’, after race-based restrictions were imposed by the British (Mountain, 2003). These periods proved extremely fertile for the spread of Islam, which was mainly attributed to the growing number of Free Blacks who were well schooled in Islam and eager to convert slaves. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and the nonrecombining Y chromosome (NRY) were screened using PCR-RFLP analysis with the aim of determining the African, Asian and European contributions to the mtDNA (maternal) and NRY (paternal) of the Cape Muslim population, thereby providing some insight into the genetic ancestry of this population
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