Indo-Fijian DNA: Tracing Your Girmitiya Roots
Many Indo-Fijian families in Sydney, Auckland, the San Francisco Bay Area or Vancouver have been migrants twice over: first from India to Fiji, then from Fiji to a new country. Somewhere along the way, the details of the first journey often thin out. A grandparent might remember a ship name, a district, or just "our people were from the UP side" or "we are Madrasi".
The girmitiyas who made that first journey left more of a paper trail than most migrants of their time, and today DNA can add another layer. This guide explains where Indo-Fijian ancestors came from, which records exist, how to tell a North Indian family story from a South Indian one, and what a DNA upload can and cannot tell you.
The short version: About 60,000 girmitiyas went to Fiji between 1879 and 1916. Most came from the Awadh and Bhojpuri belt of North India via Calcutta, and from 1903 roughly a quarter came from South India via Madras. Emigration passes can record the district and village; DNA cannot, but it can show whether your ancestry leans north, south or both. If you already have a 23andMe or AncestryDNA file, a Helixline upload adds a state-level breakdown and 140+ community comparisons from $25 (A$38).
Girmit in brief: 1879 to 1916
The word "girmit" comes from "agreement", the indenture contract that labourers signed, and "girmitiya" means someone who came under it. The first ship, the Leonidas, reached Levuka from Calcutta on 14 May 1879 carrying 498 labourers, according to Wikipedia's Indo-Fijians article. By the time indenture ended in 1916, around 60,000 people had arrived; published totals vary slightly, from about 60,500 to just over 61,000, depending on whether births at sea are counted.
Most worked on sugar cane plantations under five-year contracts. Many stayed after their term, and their descendants became a large part of Fiji's population before later waves of emigration carried families to Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Canada.
Where in India did Indo-Fijians come from?
The northern stream via Calcutta
The larger stream came from the Hindi belt of North India. About half of Indo-Fijians trace their origins to the Awadh and Bhojpuri speaking regions, and the districts most often named include Basti, Gonda, Faizabad, Sultanpur, Gorakhpur, Azamgarh, Ghazipur and Ballia in present-day Uttar Pradesh, and Shahabad and Saran in present-day Bihar. Fiji Hindi, the everyday language of many Indo-Fijian homes, grew out of the dialects these migrants brought with them.
The southern stream via Madras, from 1903
Recruitment from South India began later. According to Wikipedia's article on South Indians in Fiji, 15,132 labourers came from the south between 1903 and 1916, about a quarter of all girmitiyas. They were recruited mainly in North Arcot, Madras, Krishna, Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Tanjore, Malabar and Coimbatore districts, with more than half from North Arcot and Madras. Telugu speakers outnumbered Tamil speakers, and Malayalam was the next most common language.
This is an important difference from the Caribbean, where the Madras share was much smaller. If you have relatives from Guyana or Trinidad, compare with our guide to Indo-Caribbean DNA ancestry.
| Northern stream | Southern stream | |
|---|---|---|
| Port | Calcutta | Madras |
| Years | 1879 to 1916 | 1903 to 1916 |
| Share of girmitiyas | About three quarters | About one quarter |
| Present-day states | Mainly Uttar Pradesh and Bihar | Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala |
| Languages brought | Awadhi, Bhojpuri and related dialects | Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and others |
How to tell if your family came from North or South India
Many Indo-Fijian families already know which side they belong to, but after two migrations and intermarriage between the streams, plenty are unsure or have both. Useful clues include:
- Family names and language. Surnames, and the language grandparents or great-grandparents spoke at home, often point clearly north or south.
- Religious and community traditions. Temple associations, festivals and community organisations often followed the northern or southern stream.
- The ship. If you can find your ancestor's ship, its departure port tells you which stream they belonged to.
- DNA. North and South Indian populations differ in their balance of Ancestral North Indian (ANI) and Ancestral South Indian (ASI) ancestry. A state-level breakdown and ANI/ASI composition can show whether your ancestry leans toward the Uttar Pradesh and Bihar belt, toward South India, or a mix. Read more in North vs South Indian DNA differences.
The records: emigration passes
Every girmitiya travelling to Fiji was issued an emigration pass, and these are among the richest records of indenture anywhere. According to the National Library of Australia's research guide, applicants gave details such as name, father's name, age, caste, next of kin, spouse's name, district, thana and village. The original 344 volumes are held by the National Archives of Fiji, and more than 60,000 digitised passes can be viewed free online through the NLA, searchable by arrival date, ship name or pass number.
Other ways in:
- Girmit.org, a community project with a searchable name index and background on the ships and the indenture experience.
- The National Archives of Fiji, which in June 2026 told the Fiji Sun it had digitised more than 60,000 pages of girmit-era immigration records, with public access planned once further related records are digitised.
- The combined indenture records of Fiji, Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago are inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register.
Read the passes with care
The passes were filled in by colonial officials and recruiters, not by the migrants. Names and villages were written as they were heard, so spellings vary. Caste was recorded as stated or as the clerk understood it, and some recruits gave details that were not accurate. Treat a pass as strong evidence, not unquestionable fact.
What DNA can add
A standard 23andMe or AncestryDNA report usually describes Indo-Fijians with broad labels such as "Northern Indian and Pakistani", "Southern Indian and Sri Lankan" or "Broadly South Asian". That is a start, but it rarely resolves whether a family is Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil or Telugu in origin. If that sounds familiar, see why 23andMe says "Broadly South Asian".
You do not need a new kit. A Helixline upload re-analyses the raw file you already have from 23andMe (v3, v4 or v5), AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, FamilyTreeDNA or LivingDNA. The Upload Ancestry plan includes:
- State-level ancestry breakdown, the clearest way to see whether you lean toward Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, toward Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, or both.
- 140+ community comparisons with a closest-match shortlist. The panel includes Uttar Pradesh and Bihar groups such as Bihari Yadav, Kurmi, Koeri, Kayastha and several Brahmin groups, as well as Tamil and Telugu groups. These show similarity to reference groups; they do not identify or prove caste or jati.
- ANI/ASI composition, explained in ANI vs ASI.
- Chromosome painting across your 22 autosomes, which can show where northern and southern segments sit in a family with both.
- Ancient DNA similarity to Indus Valley, Steppe and AASI references, probabilistic and offered as historical context only.
- Y-DNA and mtDNA haplogroups, if your raw file includes those markers.
Upload Complete adds 30+ wellness traits, carrier screening for conditions common in South Asian populations, pharmacogenomics insights and downloadable PDF reports. These are informational wellness insights, not a diagnosis.
Pair your ancestor's emigration pass with your DNA
Upload the raw DNA file you already own and see your state-level breakdown and closest community matches within 1-2 days. From $25 (A$38), no new kit needed.
Upload Your Raw DataCombining DNA with emigration passes
- Gather family clues: names, a ship, an arrival year, the plantation or settlement in Fiji, and whether the family is known as North or South Indian.
- Find the pass. Search the NLA collection or the Girmit.org index, allowing for spelling variations of names.
- Note the district. Write down the district and thana as recorded, then find the modern equivalent, since many colonial districts have since been split or renamed.
- Upload your DNA and compare. A pass that says Basti or Gonda alongside DNA that leans toward the Uttar Pradesh and Bihar belt tells a consistent story. So does a pass from North Arcot with a strong South Indian signal.
- Expect some mixing. Your DNA reflects every ancestor, not only the one on the pass, so a blended result is normal, especially where northern and southern families intermarried in Fiji.
The honest limits
- No village. DNA shows regional and community similarity. The village comes from the pass.
- No caste proof. Community comparisons are similarity to reference groups only.
- Records are imperfect. Clerks made errors, and a single pass describes one ancestor among many.
- Other ancestry. If your family also has Fijian, European, Chinese or other ancestry, it is analysed, but the report's detail is focused on South Asia.
How the upload works
Choose your plan and currency on helixline.in/upload and pay by Razorpay in 8 currencies, or by PayPal in USD. Upload Ancestry is A$38, $25 or CA$34; Upload Complete is A$76, $50 or CA$68. We email you a dashboard link; sign in with the same email and upload your unmodified .txt or .zip file, which takes about 2 minutes. Results typically arrive within 1-2 days. You get a full refund until the analysis starts, or if your file cannot be processed (see the upload terms).
Your data is encrypted, stored in India and handled under India's DPDP Act 2023. The uploaded raw file is deleted automatically within 30 days, you can delete it sooner at any time, and your data is never sold.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where did Indo-Fijian ancestors come from in India?
Between 1879 and 1916 about 60,000 girmitiyas were taken to Fiji. Most came from the Awadh and Bhojpuri speaking regions of North India, in today's eastern Uttar Pradesh and western Bihar, and sailed from Calcutta. From 1903 a second stream came from South India through Madras: about 15,000 people, roughly a quarter of the total, recruited mainly in districts such as North Arcot, Madras, Krishna, Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Tanjore, Malabar and Coimbatore, and speaking Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam among other languages.
Can a DNA test find my girmitiya ancestor's village?
No. DNA compares your genome with reference groups, so it shows the regions and communities you are most similar to, not a village, a ship or a named ancestor. The village is usually recorded on the emigration pass, which lists details such as the district, thana and village. DNA is most useful as a check on whether the region in the paperwork fits your genetic picture.
How can I tell if my family came from North or South India?
Start with family clues: surnames, the language spoken at home in earlier generations, religious and festival traditions, and whether an ancestor's ship sailed from Calcutta or Madras. Then look at DNA. North and South Indian populations differ in their balance of Ancestral North Indian and Ancestral South Indian ancestry, so a state-level breakdown and ANI/ASI composition can show whether your ancestry leans toward the Uttar Pradesh and Bihar belt, toward South India, or, as in many Indo-Fijian families, a mix of both.
What records exist for Fiji girmitiyas?
The emigration passes for people who travelled to Fiji between 1879 and 1916 survive in 344 volumes held by the National Archives of Fiji. More than 60,000 digitised passes can be viewed free online through the National Library of Australia, and Girmit.org has a searchable name index. The passes can record name, father's name, age, caste, next of kin, district, thana and village. They were written by colonial officials, so spellings and details are not always reliable.
What does a Helixline upload show for Indo-Fijians?
If you have a raw data file from 23andMe, AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, FamilyTreeDNA or LivingDNA, the Upload Ancestry report gives a state-level ancestry breakdown, comparisons with 140+ South Asian communities including Uttar Pradesh and Bihar groups and Tamil and Telugu groups, ANI/ASI composition, chromosome painting, ancient DNA similarity and, where your file has the markers, Y-DNA and mtDNA haplogroups. It costs from $25 or A$38 and results typically arrive within 1-2 days. It shows similarity to reference groups, not caste or a village.
The girmitiyas carried very little with them, but their journey is still written in the records and in the DNA of their descendants. When you are ready to read your part of it, upload your raw data to Helixline. For family members with roots in the South, our guides to Tamil DNA ancestry and Telugu DNA ancestry go deeper, and our diaspora DNA guide covers researching Indian roots from abroad.