Elvis was born far from the hills of southwestern Virginia
in Tupelo, Miss. But researcher Brent Kennedy, a college
administrator in Wise, theorizes that the King, as well
as Abraham Lincoln and Ava Gardner, might trace their
ancestors to the mysterious Melungeons. These dark-skinned,
blue-eyed people were first documented in Virginia’s
Blue Ridge in the late 1700s. Over the years, various
myths about their origin arose. Some believed they were
either survivors from the Lost Colony of Roanoke or Portuguese
shipwrecks. Others suggested they were descendents of
one of the lost tribes of Israel or of early Carthaginian
or Phoenician seamen.
Kennedy’s controversial 1994 book, The
Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People,
is credited with reviving interest in this “little
race.” He offered a theory, still debated today,
that the mixed-race group can trace its lineage to Spanish
and Portuguese explorers in the 16th century and perhaps
their Turkish sailors and slaves. The Mediterranean and
Middle Eastern settlers later intermarried with Native
Americans and freed slaves. Prior to Kennedy, sociologists
and anthropologists had referred to Melungeons as “tri-racial
isolates,” with Scotch-Irish, Native American and
African-American origins.
Kennedy, who is a native of Wise, became interested in
Melungeons when he was diagnosed with a rare disease that
was most common among African Americans, people of Mediterranean
descent and New England’s Portuguese immigrants.
He had always been told his heritage was Scotch-Irish,
despite physical evidence--swarthy family complexions--to
the contrary.
Not only is Melungeon racial heritage clouded in mystery,
but even the term has obscure roots. In the 17th century,
the French encountered Mediterranean-skinned people with
straight black hair, fine European features and high cheekbones
in the North Carolina hills. They called themselves “Portyghee.”
Thus, some scholars argue that “Melungeon”
is a variation of the French “mélange”
for “mixture” or “mixed-blood.”
Others believe the term derives from the Portuguese “melungo”
or “shipmate” or has Turkish or Arabic roots
meaning “cursed soul.”
What is universally agreed is that the dark-skinned Melungeons
were discriminated against by their Anglo-Saxon neighbors.
Because they were thought to have intermarried with blacks,
they were declared “free persons of color.”
Melungeons were denied such rights, as the right to vote;
own their own land; educate or send their children to
school; defend themselves in court; or intermarry with
anyone other than a Melungeon. The term itself became
an insult. As the Scotch-Irish immigrants moved down the
Shenandoah Valley, they pushed the Melungeons farther
and farther into the remote hills and valleys of the Appalachians.
As interest in Melungeons revives, however, more and more
individuals are finding hidden clues in family trees.
Estimates of those with Melungeon heritage range from
5,000 to 75,000. At the first gathering of people of Melungeon
descent in Wise in 1997, organizers expected 50 or so
participants. Instead, 500 attended. They came to explore
family stories of “Portuguese” blood; why
an ancestor changed his surname from “Duck”
to “John Adams;” or a family that referred
to itself as “Black Dutch.”
Four years later, at the now-annual gathering, Kevin Jones,
a University of Virginia College at Wise biologist, reported
on a two-year study of Melungeon DNA. Studying about 120
mictochondrial DNA samples of Melungeon people, five percent
had Native American ancestry on the female side and five
percent had African and African-American ancestry on the
female side. The remaining 90 percent was “Eurasian,”
which can be traced to northern Europe, the Middle East,
India and the Mediterranean. He concluded that Melungeons
have European, African and Native American ancestry, as
early scholars believed, but also genetic commonalities
with groups in Turkey and northern India.
But, he cautioned, being a Melungeon is not defined by
genetics alone. A person might also believe they are Melungeon
because of oral tradition, genealogy or family history.
“Melungeons are a self-defining population,”
he explained.
Whether Melungeons are a race or a culture may never be
resolved. But in Cesme, Turkey, sister city to Wise, they
are definitely remembered. Located on the Aegean where
ancient sailors roamed, the city has renamed a nearby
peak, “Melungeon Mountain.”
We think Elvis, Abe and Ava would be proud.
January 17, 2005
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