dead ends and false leads. But we all carry a key that can unlock a history long lost to us ` it's our DNA. 12 New Zealanders have had their DNA tested, and that's going to help them to solve old family mysteries, uncover ancient forebears and even find a fortune or two. Stay tuned for a fascinating ride. Copyright Able 2017 Hello. Welcome to the DNA HQ. Following the twists in our family tree can take us back hundreds of years, and once you start searching for secrets hidden in your DNA, then the stories can lead back thousands, even tens of thousands of years. Actor Robbie Magasiva and journalist Nadine Chalmers-Ross have submitted to a DNA test in a bid to discover what runs in their blood. And there's a tiger in this tale, and it's a real one. Amazing to find out what I thought might have been a family myth is actually reality, but it's grim. It's so grim. Ni hao peng you. Nice meeting you. Nice to meet you. The first thing I would say to my family about this ` honestly, I'd say it blew my mind. Kind of emotional, actually. (CURIOUS MUSIC) Robbie Magasiva spent his younger years in Samoa, where his family's main form of entertainment was listening to their father tell stories. Perhaps some of them were true. We have his DNA results, and they'll help to clear up a mystery or two. But first, let's learn what Robbie knows about his ancestry. We lived in Samoa for... probably... five years. Two of us were born here in New Zealand ` the first, myself; and the second eldest, Steve. And then we came back, so... did a bit of growing up in the bush. I know very little about Mum's side of the family, she's quite fair. Speaking to Dad, years of talking to Dad ` and Dad can go on a little bit ` he seems to think that side of the family comes from Samoan royalty. I don't know. And this is why I'm here to find out. Hopefully. Apparently, in Samoa, I'm royalty. It's Robbie! Hello. Hi, Richard! Welcome, welcome, welcome. Sit down. Absolute pleasure. Welcome to the` a more gentle interrogation room than you'd find on Wentworth. (LAUGHS) Now, uh... few questions, really. You, um... You were born in New Zealand, but at some stage you went back to Samoa? Yeah, went back to Samoa when I was` I'm guessing around about 3 or 4. Mm-hm. And then I was, at the time, could speak English. Mm-hm. And then, the time I was in Samoa, I lost my English and was fluent in Samoan. And then, when I came back in '82, I had to relearn English again. But, um,... yeah, time in Samoa, of what I can remember of it, was very simple. I know there's one issue` Yep. ...that you're interested in. You have some questions about your mother's ancestry that you'd like to be resolved. Yeah. Cos... some have said Mum's quite fair, you know, compared to Dad. Dad's a lot darker than Mum is, and I was always fascinated whether there was any, I don't know, possibly... European blood in her. OK. Right, we've got some of your results, and if we'd look at the screen over there, we'll be able to see them. And so you have 62% South East Asian markers and 36% Oceania. Here's one thing that's very interesting ` you are the very first person that we've ever had with 0% European DNA, so that means your mother most certainly doesn't have any German or European ancestry whatsoever. No way, not possible. Yes! Yes! And there's another piece of information about your mother's ancestry, but... you're gonna have to wait for that` Aw! ...until you're on the way. Really? And in the meantime, I want you to take this, and I'll be in touch with you in about 24 hours. Have a wonderful journey. Thank you, Richard. Thank you for coming in. Well, Robbie does have royal blood, but the big surprise is how Robbie's great-great-grandfather became king, lost his crown and then won it back again. (CURIOUS MUSIC) Robbie's great-great-grandfather, King Laupepa, was his nation's second king, and now Samoan scholar Damon Salesa is going to fill Robbie in on his royal ancestry. I've been given this. Yeah, so this is Malietoa Laupepa` Malietoa. ...who's, um` has an incredible life and a really important political figure in Samoa. Right. And he's one of the leaders of one side of the Malietoa family, and they come into conflict. You know, really intense and long-lasting conflict between him and his uncle to become the king. So they go to war, and Laupepa doesn't have much luck against his uncle. What happens is the empires ` and there's three big empires in Samoa at the time ` the Germans, the British and the Americans ` and in the end the Germans actually end up supporting him being exiled. So he's actually sent up to, um, to the northern Pacific, to another German colony. And then they bring him back and he ends up king again. And so if you're connected to that, it's an absolutely powerful, fascinating, and a really Pacific moment of islanders together. Wow. I'm actually getting goosebumps. And this guy looks just like my father. Cos Dad did mention there was royalty that ran through our blood. But` And this has just confirmed it. (CURIOUS MUSIC) (PHONE DINGS) Robbie! King Laupepa's time in exile involved many, many months sailing with the Germans, and that seems to have spread his DNA about a bit. Now you're going to meet your third cousin, George, in rural Seattle. Wow. All right. Seattle. Cool. (PLANE ENGINE ZOOMS) (LIGHT GUITAR MUSIC) Hi, doggie. (DOG HOWLS) Howdy. Hello. How are ya? Good. How are you? I'm great. Good. Is George here? I'm George. Hey, man. Robbie. Nice to meet you, man. Nice to meet ya. Wow, eh? Come on in. Yeah, definitely. The lab have compared Robbie and George's DNA, and they're likely to be third cousins. What did you think when you got the phone call that some weird Polynesian guy was coming over` (LAUGHS) ...to meet you, and somehow there was that DNA connection? I had, uh, I guess you could say, an image in my head of a Samoan rugby player. Did you? Yeah. That's what I was telling my wife ` is that I'm pretty sure he's probably going to be a Samoan guy. Maybe a rugby player. It's funny, because I had quite a successful career as a rugby player. When I was playing, it was still amateur, and when I left rugby, when I quit rugby, it had just become professional. Since we have similar genetic makeup, does that mean I could be a rugby player? Hell, yes! Cos I think I have the body. We could tackle each other. Wait, that's getting weird now. (LAUGHS) We'll tackle each other and switch shirts. Yeah, switch shirts. (LAUGHS) I don't know, this must be an adventure for you, though. You're travelling all over to meet people` Yeah. ...who are genetically tied to ya. Thus far, what I know about, um, my DNA is, um, my great-great-grandfather, he was` I think it might have been the second king of Samoa. His name was Laupepa. Do you see a resemblance? Totally. Totally, like the photo looked like my father. As soon as I saw that photo, I said, 'That's Dad.' It's kinda the neat thing about DNA is it leaves breadcrumbs across... Yeah, yeah, yeah. ...your genetics to` to help you find out where you came from. So George and I were talking, and we were trying to figure out how we were third cousins. in the Pacific, not far from where Laupepa was exiled. My family believes that they're from Guam, but in the genetic research, the genes that are Islander are coming from the Samoan Islands down in that area. Right. My grandmother always thought that we were too skinny, though, which I think is kind of funny. She was always` That's a common thing. Always trying to give us food. That's a common thing. Although... my grandmother would tell me that I'm too fat. (LAUGHS) But the common one is, 'You're too skinny. You need to eat more.' Need to eat more. Yeah. Did your grandmother ever sniff your head? She used to whack my head. (LAUGHS) Not sniff it, or maybe that was her way of sniffing my head. (IMITATES THUD) You did some time in the army? Yes, yes. I joined the army when I was 17. I was in the first wave into Iraq with the 101st Airborne. That was my platoon that were the ones that got Saddam's son, Uday Hussein. A four-hour firefight. Yeah, usually when you kick down their door in the middle of the night and come in and grab them, they don't want to fight. But, uh, they put up a fight. How were you emotionally? I was pretty messed up. So, when you go through combat, you lose a friend or you see something very traumatic, you have to just stuff it down inside. And after doing that for a long time, it kinda wore me out when I got home. But, uh... That's when you decided to get out. It's when I decided to grow pot. (BOTH LAUGH) I'm a pot farmer. So I grow` Say that again. I just want to hear it. (LAUGHS) I'm a pot farmer. (LAUGHS) I grow legal marijuana here in Washington State, and` Say that again. I just want to hear. Legal marijuana. Just so that New Zealanders can hear this. Legal. Legal... ...marijuana, Aotearoa. It was interesting. They were just so open about it. You know, even having that conversation, and there was George's 10 year-old daughter there. 'It's what Dad did,' and I think they kind of understood. The extracted stuff is like 98% THC, so usually one hit of that and you're hanging out with Jesus, Buddha and Mohammed, all at the same time. I have no idea what they're talking about. (CHILDREN LAUGH) We'll just pretend they're talking about lollies. Meeting George was, um` was really great. Opened up my eyes to my family history. Learning about Laupepa and how his genes spread through to the Pacific and how here in America, it makes me think about my dad's stories and how I wished I had listened to them. Sorry, Pops. Later on, Robbie's DNA odyssey starts shaping up to be his own Orient Express. Hen hao. Hen hao. Means, 'That's very good. You did a good job.' And standing by is journalist Nadine Chalmers-Ross, who's also about to discover that she has a rather exotic family connection. I actually feel a little bit nervous. And that's weird, cos they're family, right? They have to like me. (INTRIGUING MUSIC) Hello. Good to have you back. Now, for a long time, people have seen DNA testing as something that belongs to the criminal section of the nightly news. But taking a test, a simple teaspoon of saliva, is all it takes to unlock all kinds of information about our ancestors and the lands that they came from. As a business journalist on television for many years, Nadine Chalmers-Ross has explained the big stories of the day, but now it's time to delve into her own story. What will that reveal? And what does she know already? Let's find out. I think that I might find I am a bit of a bitzer. If I was a dog, I suppose they'd call me a mongrel. I grew up hearing stories from my grandfather about growing up in India, and when I look at my father, he's very dark. I'm not sure why, but I would really like to find out that I had Indian blood in me. It seems somehow more exotic. Then on my mother's side, her maiden name is 'Thin'. She tells me there are some links to the owner of Longleat and the Marquess of Bath. And Mum said that when she lived in the UK, people automatically called her 'Lady Thin.' I quite like the sound of that. Nadine, come in. Hi. Sit yourself down. Make yourself at home. Lovely to meet you. Now, New Zealander ` how many generations? Well, my grandfather on my father's side was the first one to arrive on that side of the family. The first one? He was born in India, and it's my understanding so was his father and the generation before that as well. OK, and, uh, they were English people? That's right. English family living in India. Mm-hm. So Grandad Bonn, B-O-N-N, that sounds German to me. Well, it was a nickname. His name was Herbert, but he was the youngest of three boys, and his mother always called him her 'bonny baby'. And it stuck. He was Bonn for the rest of his life. Oh, OK. Well, there's a story about Grandad Bonn, isn't there, that he used to tell? About a pussycat? (LAUGHS) A rather large pussycat. He used to tell me the story of a tiger that killed his... grandfather, so my... great-grandfather. How extraordinary. Yeah. And I don't know much more about the story than that, but... I've always been told it. Now, you want to know more about your` your background, and the various strains of your family, from where they've come. And we're going to look at some of the results we've got, over here on the screen. Right, the map shows that 95% are European. Most of that's from the UK and Ireland, but there are traces of Scandinavian, French and German and a miniscule amount of Ashkenazi Jewish markers. Now, you were hoping to find an Indian connection. We can see that you've got 5% South Asian markers. So given your family history, we are fairly confident that this represents your Indian connection in the family. So it's true? # Ooh! # Now, that doesn't mean to say that the tiger story is true. Mm. But, you know, it could be. I'm gonna give you this little device here, which I want you to keep about your person, and I shall be in touch within the next 24 hours to give you further instructions. In the meantime, bon voyage. Thank you so much for coming in. Thank you, Richard. Now, mind the door. It sticks a bit on your way out. Well, you'll manage, I'm sure. Oh, there we go. Um, well, Nadine has a great reputation as a news hound, but she's also sitting on an epic tale which is about to get her the scoop of her life. (PHONE BEEPS) Nadine, we've found a photo that we'd like you to have a look at. Now, this man is your great-great-uncle, Clan Duncan Ross. Now, I want you to take this photo to London, where we've arranged for you to meet another of Clan Duncan's relatives, and he holds the key to some very, very interesting family tales. Wow. So the Ross family is leading me to London. It's kind of eerie. This guy looks just like my dad. It's a strong family resemblance. (PLANE ENGINE HUMS) (TOWER CHIMES) No time for sightseeing, Nadine. We've arranged for you to meet a DNA relative in that favourite of British meeting places ` the local pub! I actually feel a little bit... nervous. This is unusual for me, but maybe even a bit shy? And that's weird, cos they're family, right? They have to like me. Head to The Lamb on Holloway Road, where Michael and Kasia are waiting to tell you tales of your colonial Indian past. I feel like I should give you a cuddle. We're family, really, aren't we? Hello. Hello. Michael is a relative, but it's his wife, Kasia, who has been digging around the family tree and discovering wealthy Indian roots. So I've been shown this picture of Clan Duncan. How does he make me related to you? Clan Duncan is my great-great-grandfather, and he's the brother of your great-grandfather. Wow. I can really see the likeness to my father. It's quite striking, given that that's his... it would be his great-uncle. I want to show you some photos of my dad. This is in profile, so it's a little harder to see. Amazing, yeah. There's a lot of similarity there. Really, it is, it's sort of` Quite scary. And I'll show you my grandfather. He passed away two years ago, but that was not long before he died. But I still see it in the cheekbones. Absolutely, the cheekbones are there, definitely. Yeah. Bonn's father was a man named James George, and Clan Duncan was his brother. But Kasia's uncovered even more relatives. The first Ross we really know a bit about is the Clan Duncan and James George father, whose name was Duncan Hamilton. And Duncan Hamilton was born in 1840. So probably, as you know, you are partially Indian. Yeah. Yeah. What my theory is is that Duncan Hamilton's mother, Anne, was Indian. That's fascinating, cos people have long asked me what my ethnic makeup was, and I've never been able to answer definitively. So now I feel like I can say that I am part Indian, even if it's only a small amount. Um, I feel like I've answered that question. And the rest of my family ` for them as well, I can go back and say I've got some answers. Duncan Hamilton, most likely, was half-Indian, and he was the first Ross we actually know about. We know that he had an indigo plantation. Just to kind of show you how affluent that family was, the oldest sister, she married a British baronet. She was really affluent, and they mixed with Indian maharajas at the time. I mean, they were quite affluent; they were part of the Raj; they really lived the life of Riley, you'd call it. You can see pictures of their daily life. They went polo-playing ` playing polo in Jaipur, elephant being bathed. They go on hunting trips with the elephants and stuff, yeah. So, on the beach, sunbathing. That's them on a day out, just enjoying their life. So it's quite an amazing lifestyle. So, Nadine, you and Michael share a great-great-grandfather, Duncan Hamilton Ross. And to find out more about Duncan and your family's life in India, you're going to have to travel to Kolkata. Coming up ` while tracing his mother's line, Robbie makes sure that the hills of China are alive with the sound of him. (SPEAKS CHINESE) And Nadine's mission to uncover her Ross family's roots leads her to an orphanage. Do I look like I could be Indian, like you? Yes. Cos my ancestors were Indian. 1 Actor Robbie Magasiva has discovered royalty runs in his blood. Yeah, so this is Malietoa Laupepa. He's now in China, uncovering his mother's DNA connections to a famous dynasty. (PLANE ENGINE ZOOMS) (CURIOUS MUSIC) Can't believe I'm in China. What part of me is Chinese? Probably explains why I like Chinese food. (PHONE BEEPS) Hello. Good morning, Robbie. 1% of your DNA shows Chinese markers. Your test reveals that your mother's haplogroup has links to the Han Dynasty, and you're about to get a cultural crash course from John in an ancient Han village. You must be John. Yep. Hey, John. Ni hao peng you. Ni hao peng you. Nice meeting you. Nice to meet you. Yeah. Um, this village. What's it called? Tell me a little bit of history about it. The village is called Cuandixia. Cuandixia? Very clear. Just like a Chinese said. Good! (LAUGHS) Well, I am 1%. Let's have a look around. Yeah, OK. Yep. Cuandixia. Cuandixia, yep. Cuandixia. How do I say, in Chinese`? How do I say 'My name is Robbie. OK. 'I'm from New Zealand?' So, 'My name's Robbie'` Wo shi. Wo shi. 'Lobbie.' 'Lobbie.' Yep. Robbie ` we don't say it Robbie. We say it Lobbie. Lobbie. Yep. BOTH: 'Wo shi Lobbie.' Wo shi. Wo shi, 'I am'. Wo shi. Wo shi Lobbie, wo shi. Xinxilan ren. Xinxi` Xinxilan ren. 'I'm from New Zealand.' Xinxilan yeng. Good. Xinxilan ` that's your country name, New Zealand. Xi` ah, right. New Zealand. Xinxilan. Yeah. So, 'Wo shi...' Wo shi Lobbie. Then, 'Wo shi Xinxilan ren.' 'Wo shi Lobbie. 'Wo shi Xinxilan ren.' Hen hao. Hen hao? 'Hen hao' means, 'That's very good.' You did a good job. So your Chinese is getting better. 'Xinxilan ren.' No, no (LAUGHS). 'Xinxi Robbie` Lobbie` Xinxi`' 'Wo shi.' Wo shi` Oh! Wo shi. Yeah. 'I am.' BOTH: 'Wo shi... ...Lobbie.' Yep. 'Wo shi Xinxilan ren.' Great. You learn very fast. Ni hao dai ai. (LAUGHS) (PLEASANT, LIGHT MUSIC) John, can you tell me a little bit more about the Han dynasty? Han family was here around 700 years. Yep. And so this family came here long time, and they continue, the family. So now, a lot of Han family here. There's no way in the world that I would ever have come or stepped foot on those paths if it wasn't for this. And to discover that, you know` that my DNA was from the Han dynasty,... um, and then that 1% Chinese that I have in me, it's quite awesome. I kinda like that. Wo shi huangdi. Great. Yeah? You did great. Wo shi huangdi. 'I am the emperor.' (PHONE DINGS) Now, Robbie, this 600 year-old village requires a lot of manpower to keep it in shape, so you've hit town at the right time, because there's a restoration project underway that could really do with a big, strapping lad like yourself. Ha-hey! What I'm doing here is attacking a 600 year-old building. Just for your information, New Zealand. 600. Although, this bit here doesn't seem like it's 600. This is... This looks like it's, uh,... a recent thing. I can tell by the texture. See that? Now, if it was more than 600, I'd say probably... 40 years ago, that was put in there. Xie xie. Mm! My mate. Those workers ` their faces were amazing. Just the contours, the lines, just from being out in the sun every day. Cos their faces told a story, you know? As corny as that may sound, you could tell those guys work their arses off. And they were really friendly. (UPBEAT DANCE MUSIC) Journalist Nadine Chalmers-Ross has had her suspicions about her Indian heritage confirmed. People have long asked me what my ethnic makeup was, and now I feel like I can say that I'm part Indian. Our research has proved that Nadine's great-great-grandfather's mother was Indian and a native of Kolkata. (PLANE ENGINE ZOOMS) (HORNS HONK, BLARE) (UPBEAT ETHNIC MUSIC) The Ross family were of British colonial stock. They lived in India from the early 1800s, and so, we've sent Nadine to Kolkata to get a feel for the place that her family once called home. (CURIOUS MUSIC) (PHONE DINGS) Namaste, Nadine. We've discovered that your great-great-grandfather, Duncan Hamilton Ross, took a young bride from an orphanage. Her name was Annie. You might like to take a peek at their marriage certificate. (INTRIGUING MUSIC) So,... the 21st of May, 1860, Duncan Hamilton Ross marries Annie Victoria Wilkinson. Has Duncan Hamilton Ross at 19, listed as a bachelor. Annie Wilkinson ` 14. One thing that doesn't seem clear to me is why Duncan Hamilton Ross goes, sort of, shopping for a bride at an orphanage. And I guess, maybe, it was the done thing to marry someone young. But... why someone in such a vulnerable position? It just seems like an odd concept. Nadine, it's fair to question how your great-great-grandfather found his bride, but this type of match wasn't uncommon in the times of the Raj. Life was harsh, so romance wasn't necessarily a priority. And when Duncan did find Annie, he made a wonderful gesture of adopting her younger sister, Mary, so that they could stay together. And we've arranged for you to visit an orphanage to gain some perspective on Annie and Mary's early life. (LIGHT, LILTING MUSIC) Oh, I've set that one up for you. Ooh, you missed it! 'From what I've read, the conditions around the time that Mary and Annie would have been in the orphanage 'were awful. I don't think you can understate how hard life would have been.' Do I look like I could be Indian, like you? Yes. Cos my ancestors were Indian, and they lived in Kolkata. 'I think that there would have been an intense feeling of being forgotten.' So my great-great-grandma used to be in a school like this one. Oh. So I came to see what it was like. How long have you been here? About three years. Three years? Yeah? Watching these kids, it just makes you think how young Annie and Mary must have been. So, so young. But also that they must have been fighters. And I guess the thing is the women in my history, they were... made of tough stuff. (HORNS BLARE) (MYSTERIOUS MUSIC) But that's not the end of Annie and Mary's story, because we've found documents that reveal a very unusual love triangle in your family. So, 1904, at the age of 57, Annie dies... from cancer. And then... later the same year, Duncan marries her younger sister, Mary. Isn't that... odd? Well, what actually sounds like a scandal is, in fact, a very complicated love story. Annie was a minx who ran off with, possibly, a wealthier man, and left Mary to raise her infant son. Mary and Duncan went on to fall in love. And although they couldn't marry until Annie's death, they managed to have eight children together ` oh, yes ` one of whom was your great-great-grandfather, James George Ross. This is not the kind of stuff I was expecting to find. I thought that I'd find ancestors, but not the kind of twists and turns that their lives took. It is a bit dramatic, and... there's also a lot of heartbreak, which I` I guess I wasn't really expecting to find. Coming up, Robbie helps to cook a feast using stones. And Nadine finds her great-great-grandmother's life in India started rough but ended up in the lap of luxury. So my ancestors would have had a grand house and lots of domestic help? Yes. (UPBEAT CURIOUS MUSIC) 1 Actor Robbie Magasiva has discovered that his mother's DNA has links to ancient China. Ni hao dai ai. And he's got even more of a history lesson on the way. He's bound... for Taiwan... to explore his ancient Polynesian roots. (PLANE ENGINE ZOOMS) (CURIOUS MUSIC) Well, Robbie, as you know, DNA evidence has proved beyond any doubt that Polynesian migration through all the Pacific Islands originated in the East. And it's time for you to get a taste of Taiwanese life so that you can see how similar these cultures are. Could you just ask if it's OK if I get in there and wash the watercress? I can watch the fish for her. I'm just going to wash the watercress, yeah. 'The traditional way that the Taiwanese cooked, it reminded me more of, um, 'doing a umu than anything else.' I'll do it for you. This is how we do it back home. So you just want to evenly spread your fingers through the watercress, like this. Just got to taste to see if it's clean. No, needs a little bit more. There we go. Another test, see if it's clean. Yep, now it's ready to go. There we go. Robbie? Oh, yep? (SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE) Oh, OK. Thin. OK, then. Cool. When I was growing up in Samoa, there was nothing there. So when we first got there, it was just basic living. I think it was just almost like a shed that we lived in. Good? That is good. Yeah. Ah! (EXCLAIMS) Ha, I got you! Hey, I got you. (BOTH LAUGH) There was no electricity. It hadn't come as far as where we were. And the cooking ` Mum would be cooking outside, on a fire, so it was very basic, and I think` I'm thankful for that. I learned to appreciate a lot of things now, I think mainly due to that upbringing. Is it ready? Done. Oh, that's good. Oof, oof. Oh! Oh my God. (LAUGHS) (ALL LAUGH) I'm so` (LAUGHS) Oh! Bravo! (LAUGHS) That is nice. That is awesome. (EXCITING MUSIC) (HORN BLARES) Journalist Nadine Chalmers-Ross' DNA journey has taken her to an orphanage in Kolkata. My great-great-grandma used to be in a school like this one. She's discovered her great-great-grandparents were Duncan Hamilton and Mary Ross. (CURIOUS TINKLING MUSIC) Duncan Hamilton looks like quite the refined English gentleman, really. But when I look at Mary, I just think, even though it's black and white, you feel like you can see the colour in her. You feel like she looks like... an elderly Indian woman. And Mary looks like she lived to a relatively ripe old age, so maybe there's longevity in the genes. (CURIOUS MUSIC) (PHONE DINGS) Good morning, Nadine! Your great-great-grandmother, Mary, had a rough start growing up in an orphanage, but she and her husband built an empire and lived lavishly. In 1880, they left Kolkata and established an indigo plantation. Now, you really need to see what this would have been like, so, believe it or not, your next stop is an old plantation. (PLANE ZOOMS) Indigo was a very popular clothes dye in the 1800s, and it came from a plant with the very same name. Those that farmed it made quite a bit of money. I'm trying to build a picture in my mind of what my ancestors might have lived like. Is it reasonable to think that a grand place like this would have been how they lived? Absolutely. They lived... fairly lavish lives. So my ancestors, who were indigo plantation owners, would have had a grand house and lots of domestic help, that sort of thing? Yes. In fact, at the southern end, the south-western end of this property, was a tennis court, and each... child would have an ayah. So like a governess or a nanny? Yes. Nanny. Like a nanny. Yes, they would have people who, you know, served food. So they would wear a turban and a towel on their arm. So very formal? Yes, very formal affair. Very formal. (RISING STRING MUSIC) This is indigofera tinctoria ` the plant that actually made the British rich. And it eventually got known as 'the devil's dye.' The labourers, the peasants, the farmers, they were forced to grow indigo. Did that make them angry? It eventually got them angry, because that's what they` you just can't eat indigo. So, uh, the peasants actually revolted in many ways. They had the stick and they had axes; they had machetes; they had spears; and quite a few British were actually killed. I believe your great-great-grandmother even learned how to use a gun, and` you know, to protect herself. It's amazing to look at it. It's just this pretty, little, ferny, you know, flower ` that it caused such ructions. That's right. (LAUGHS) That's right. Can you believe that this little plant could create such opulence, as well as create such hatred, in a matter of, what, 100 years? So had it not been for that, I could have been an heiress? You could have been. (LAUGHS) What a shame. And had I been younger, I would have met you. (BOTH LAUGH) The English living... opulent lives while their workers were peasants and paupers troubles me a little bit. I wonder if they were aware that they had Indian blood in them. And I wonder if they treated the Indians any better as a result. I'd like to think so. I'd hate to think that any of my relatives were the ones who were causing the poor to starve, but it's possible. I do think, though, from what I worked out about Duncan, it did seem like he had sympathies with the Indians, cos he was actually one of them. Next, Nadine finds that the tiger in the family had a rather sharp bite. It's, um, such a phenomenal story. And Robbie Magasiva dances the night away in Taiwan. I need a beer. 1 Journalist Nadine Chalmers-Ross is in Bengal, where she's learned her family were once wealthy plantation owners. And she's also about to learn the truth about a family story. (PHONE DINGS) Hello, Nadine! Your grandfather, Bonn, has regaled you with stories of a death by tiger in the family. Now, what exactly can you recall of that very tall tale? I have... heard a story about a tiger. I don't know how much of it is true, but I was told that my great-great-grandfather was killed by a tiger. But I don't know much more than that. Well, we have uncovered some gritty details. Your grandfather, Bonn, was, in fact, talking about his grandfather, Walter, who also lived in India. Now, Walter had a reputation as a skilled hunter. When a tiger was making mischief in a neighbouring village, Walter was called upon to remedy the situation. Walter and his men stalked the tiger for 11 miles, and once they were within range, Walter took a shot. He only wounded the beast, and he followed the blood trail to discover the animal concealed in the undergrowth. And as Walter approached, the wounded tiger leapt at him, clawing him in the back of the head! Walter continued to battle the beast, and the tiger was shot dead, and Walter, he turned for home. He stumbled for 2 miles before collapsing from blood loss, and he went... to meet his maker. That's such a phenomenal story. Amazing to find out what I thought might have been a family myth is actually reality, but it's grim! It's so grim. (RISING MUSIC) I decided to get my DNA tested purely because I was curious. And I've been told so many stories over the years, that I wasn't really sure which of them were true and which might have been embellished or changed through the generations like Chinese whispers, and I thought 'The science can't lie, right?' And I wanted to answer that question that I've always wondered about ` do I have Indian blood in me? And my grandad's not around to answer a lot of the questions that I had any more, and no one else seemed to know the answers. So coming here to India, seeing some of the things he would have seen, made me feel quite connected to him, and I think he would have liked that I was curious to find out where he came from and where I come from. (UPBEAT MUSIC) Robbie Magasiva has discovered his mother's DNA had links with an ancient Chinese dynasty, and he's also learned that his family connects to Samoan royalty. But that's the end of the royal turn-off, because now he's in Taiwan, looking into the links that Polynesians have with the East. Uh, James? Yeah, I'm James. Oh, gidday James. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you, man. I'm Robbie. Robbie? Nice to meet you. Thanks for having me. Nice to meet you. And this is Futin. Hi, Futin. Hi, how are you? Your host. Nice to meet you, Robbie. It's not the number, 14? No, no, no. It means` In Amis language, it means 'fish'. Ah! Yeah, so Futin is 'fish'. Is he a good fisherman? Yeah, he's good at fishing. Right. Thank you for inviting me. The interesting thing that I'm seeing so far, and I don't know if it means anything, is these patterns. These patterns here, these ones here. Yeah. Mm-hm. They're the same as my tattoo. Oh. Oh. Like here, see? Yeah, yeah, it's similar. Similar. Cos it's interesting. I come from the other side of the world,... Yes. ...into another tribe, where somehow we've got a DNA connection, and I'm seeing this is similar to what I've got here,... Yeah. ...and we` you know, we don't know each other. (SPEAKS, COUNTS IN AMIS LANGUAGE) Is he... counting? (CONTINUES COUNTING) Yeah, yeah, he's counting numbers. This is in Samoan. (COUNTS IN SAMOAN) The similarity, eh? Never in my wildest dream did I ever think that a culture in Taiwan would the language be similar, you know? When we were counting, I was like, 'Wow.' It's that thing of where my DNA started from, that whole journey. We're brothers. Brother. Yeah, yeah, my brother. Hello. Hi! How are you? How are ya? Good? Hello! Hi. Good. (SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE) Bye! To summarise this trip, I'd say it's been an eye-opener ` discovering that I had links in Seattle, and also being in Taiwan. What the hey? I loved it. I loved it in Taiwan. You know, and then the cultural group, a certain beat to their music that was very similar to the old Samoan pop song. (MAN CHANTS IN AMIS) (UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS) It's funny, cos as soon as I saw it go, I know that beat. I know that. It reminded me also of the uncles and aunties after a few drinks. You know, 'no' means 'yes'. And just dragging you up there and just going for it, it was very similar. The first thing I would say to my family about this? Honestly, without going too much into it, I would say it blew my mind. I found out a lot more about my history and my DNA and my family than I ever have. I've absolutely loved it. And I've still got more to find out, and I'm excited about, um, new discovery. But it's been amazing. Absolutely amazing. Our DNA contains tiny hints that tell us how our forebears travelled. It shows us where to look, to uncover traces of their lives and the stories we find to help bring them back to life. I wonder who's going to be brave enough to take the test next week. Why don't you join me to find out? Copyright Able 2017