Chewa DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · Malawi · Sub-Saharan Africa
The Chewa are the largest people of Malawi, and their language, Chichewa (or Nyanja), is Malawi's national language. The Maravi kingdom, which gave Malawi its name, flourished around the 16th and 17th centuries. In our model, the Chewa average is 73.4% West African, 15.9% Nilotic East African, 7.7% Western rainforest forager (BiAka) and 3.0% Southern African forager (San), almost the same mix as the Manyika Shona of Zimbabwe. What stands out is the tight neighbourhood: all ten closest modern averages lie within 0.0094, from the Nyanja (0.0045) and Sena to the Yao, Mozambican groups and the Shona. Among them are the Ngoni of Malawi (0.0092), whose kingdoms were founded by Nguni-speaking groups who moved north from southern Africa in the 19th century, and who largely adopted Chichewa. Saint Helena's 19th-century burials with a Central/Southern African Bantu profile are the closest ancient group (0.0217), ahead of Early Modern Swahili from Lindi in Tanzania.
- Largest ancient components in our model: West African 73.4%, Nilotic East African 15.9%, Western rainforest foragers (BiAka) 7.7%
- Closest modern population in our data: Nyanja, distance 0.0045
- Closest ancient group in our data: Saint Helena Late Modern Rupert's Valley (Central/Southern African Bantu Profile), distance 0.0217
Chewa is one of the 335 modern populations in our population genetics atlas. The numbers on this page describe the average Global25 (G25) genome of the Chewa individuals sampled in Malawi, listed in the G25 sheet as "Chewa_Malawi". Like every population average, it smooths over a lot of variation between individuals.
Ancient make-up of the Chewa average
Modelled as a mix of deep ancestral reference populations, the Chewa average comes out as 73.4% West African, 15.9% Nilotic East African and 7.7% Western rainforest foragers (BiAka). The West African component reflects ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The Nilotic East African share (15.9%) reflects ancestry found in East African populations. With well over half of the total, this single source dominates the profile.
Smaller traces of Southern African foragers (San) (under 5%) also appear. At that level they can reflect real minor ancestry, but also simple model noise, so they should not be over-read. The fit is loose (fit distance 0.052), which usually means that none of the available reference populations is a close stand-in for part of this ancestry, so read the percentages as rough. This population was modelled with a global set of reference populations (ancient genomes, plus modern stand-ins where no suitable ancient genome exists), because West Eurasian sources alone cannot describe it.
Sankofa – African Ancestry Report
Closest modern populations to Chewa
Ranking every modern population by genetic distance puts Nyanja first for Chewa, at 0.005, then Sena and Changana. Even the tenth closest, Shona (Manyika), is only 0.009 away: Chewa belongs to a dense cluster of related populations, so small differences inside that cluster should not be over-interpreted.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nyanja | 0.0045 | Very close |
| 2 | Sena | 0.0064 | Very close |
| 3 | Changana | 0.0066 | Very close |
| 4 | Ndau | 0.0069 | Very close |
| 5 | Tswa | 0.0078 | Very close |
| 6 | Yao | 0.0082 | Very close |
| 7 | Bitonga | 0.0085 | Very close |
| 8 | Chopi | 0.0089 | Very close |
| 9 | Ngoni (Malawi) | 0.0092 | Very close |
| 10 | Shona (Manyika) | 0.0094 | Very close |
Distances are Euclidean distances between averaged G25 coordinates. On our scale, below 0.025 is very close, below 0.050 close, below 0.080 moderate, and beyond that distant.
Closest ancient populations to Chewa
If we search ancient DNA for the best match to Chewa, Saint Helena Late Modern Rupert's Valley (Central/Southern African Bantu Profile) (Late Modern, c. 1800-1950 AD) comes first, at 0.022, with Tanzania Early Modern Lindi Swahili (Bantu Zone P Profile) next. That is a very close match, which suggests strong genetic continuity between those ancient people (or close relatives of theirs) and the modern population. A close ancient match is not proof of direct descent: it means those individuals carried a similar overall mix of ancestry.
| # | Ancient sample or group | Period | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint Helena Late Modern Rupert's Valley (Central/Southern African Bantu Profile) | Late Modern, c. 1800-1950 AD | 0.0217 |
| 2 | Tanzania Early Modern Lindi Swahili (Bantu Zone P Profile) | Early Modern, c. 1500-1800 AD | 0.0236 |
| 3 | Tanzania Pemba 600BP | c. 1350 AD | 0.0249 |
| 4 | COG NgongoMbata 220BP | c. 1750 AD | 0.0290 |
| 5 | COG Kindoki 230BP | c. 1700 AD | 0.0307 |
| 6 | Democratic Republic of the Congo Kindoki 230BP | c. 1700 AD | 0.0318 |
| 7 | Democratic Republic of the Congo Ngongo Mbata 220BP | c. 1750 AD | 0.0328 |
| 8 | Uganda Munsa 500BP | c. 1450 AD | 0.0364 |
| 9 | South Africa Eland Cave 400BP | c. 1550 AD | 0.0412 |
| 10 | South Africa Newcastle 400BP | c. 1550 AD | 0.0420 |
Ancient DNA from Malawi
Our ancient DNA database holds 10 individuals excavated in present-day Malawi, dated from about 13,550 BC to 458 BC. The most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups among them are B2b (5), and the most frequent mtDNA haplogroups are L0 (8) and L5 (1). These are people who lived on the same land in the past, not necessarily ancestors of today's Chewa population.
Browse them in our ancient DNA database: 10 from Malawi.
Compare yourself with Chewa
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the Chewa average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers Chewa and its neighbours. To find out which of our reports actually fits your DNA, run the free Report Finder: it runs the same fit test that every report uses before an order.
No G25 coordinates yet? Get a free simulated G25 from your raw DNA file, or order G25 coordinates.
About these numbers
A word of caution: these figures describe the average of the Chewa individuals who were sampled, not every person who identifies as Chewa. Individuals vary around that average, and identity is about history, language and family, not about a genetic score. Read this page as a map of deep ancestry, not as a definition.
Method: averaged G25 coordinates, Euclidean distances to other modern and ancient averages, and a non-negative least-squares model against deep ancestral reference populations (data generated 2026-10-01). Read the full method.
Go deeper than the average
This page describes the Chewa average. Your own DNA has its own story: Sankofa – African Ancestry Report (15€) models your genome against the ancient sources and modern communities of the region, era by era, in a personal PDF report.
A report built for people of predominantly Sub-Saharan African (SSA) ancestry: modelling against 230+ regional African populations (West, Central, East & Southern Africa, the Horn of Africa, Madagascar) plus the European, Amerindian and...
More populations from Sub-Saharan Africa
Frequently asked questions
What is the ancient genetic make-up of Chewa?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Chewa average is about 73.4% West African, 15.9% Nilotic East African and 7.7% Western rainforest foragers (BiAka). These proportions are model estimates for a group average, not exact values for any one person.
Which populations are genetically closest to Chewa?
In the G25 data, the closest modern populations to the Chewa average are Nyanja, Sena and Changana. The closest ancient matches are Saint Helena Late Modern Rupert's Valley (Central/Southern African Bantu Profile), Tanzania Early Modern Lindi Swahili (Bantu Zone P Profile) and Tanzania Pemba 600BP.
Can a DNA test tell me if I am Chewa?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled Chewa average and to its neighbours. If you have G25 coordinates, paste them in the comparison box on this page to check that for free.
Which ExploreYourDNA report suits Chewa ancestry?
Sankofa – African Ancestry Report is the report built for this heritage, and its reference panel fits the Chewa average closely. Your own DNA may differ from the average, so the free Report Finder checks every report against your file before you buy.
Where does the data on this page come from?
From the averaged Global25 (G25) coordinates of the sampled individuals: genetic distances to other modern and ancient population averages, and a non-negative least-squares model against deep ancestral reference populations. The full method is described at https://www.exploreyourdna.com/populations#method.