"Perhaps (Oberg) is unaware," Temple went on, "that the differential curvature of the earth variously distorts distances shown on maps. This means that it will have a lifetime on the stellar Main Sequence, which is where stars spend 90% of their lives, of about 1.2 billion years. Could a remote African people have gained esoteric knowledge about the sky without having telescopes? Credulous scholars, like Young and Temple, were taken in and through them a whole generation has swallowed the false mythology of aliens from the Dark Sirius Companion. This article appeared in Fortean Times. James and Thorpe understate the problem when they say this is very worrying. Griaule claimed that about 15 per cent of the Dogon tribe possessed this secret knowledge, but Van Beek could find no trace of it in the decade he spent with the Dogon. Although Temple fails to prove its antiquity, the evidence for the recent acquisition of the information is still entirely circumstantial. The biggest challenge to Griaule, however, came from anthropologist Walter Van Beek. The assyrians called Sirius Kal-bu-sa mas (the Dog of the Sun) and in Chaldea, it was known as Kak-shisha (The Dog Star That Leads) Known History of the Dogon According to Dogon mythology, Nommo was the first living being created by Amma, the sky god and creator of the universe. This proves that geodetic surveys of immense accuracy were thus practiced in ancient Egypt with a knowledge of the earth as a spherical body in space and projections upon it envisaged as part of the Sirius lore.". by Philip Coppens. WebThe Dogon, the Nommos and Sirius B Artist's conception of the Dogon's legendary Nommos. Many served in the French army in World War I and some of them could have returned years later with colorful embellishments for their native legends. In 1952, Young was one of nine people present during the first contact with the Council, an event initiated by Andrija Puharich, the man who brought Israeli spoonbender Uri Geller to America. To penetrate this supposed disguise (which might not be a disguise at all, other classical scholars maintain), Temple resorts to ancient puns, to hidden meanings, to "garbled versions" which he must amend to fit the theory, to the exchange of consonants in innocent-looking words, to similar-sounding words from WebThe Dogon, the Nommos and Sirius B Artist's conception of the Dogon's legendary Nommos. As James and Thorpe point out, he took star maps along with him on his field trips as a way of prompting his informants to divulge their knowledge of the stars. Second, while it is difficult to obtain precise locations of many archeological sites referred to in The Sirius Mystery, Temple himself shows a map that gives the location of Behdet (31.23 degE, 31.50 degN) and Thebes (32.63 degE, 25.70 degN). Also if it was seeded by westerners how is the Dogon and surrounding tribes have a fully developed culture and religion structure centered around Sirius going back for hundreds of years? Inevitably one must ask, if the Dogons had heard good stories about Sirius from other sources, would they ignore them or would they quickly adopt them into their own cultural myths? 1995. Temples solution referred to legends of a mythical creature, the god Oannes, who might have been an extraterrestrial, described as descending to Earth from the stars to bring civilising wisdom to the Dogon forefathers. The Dogon have a traditional interest in the sky and astronomical phenomena. But it is apparent that Temple was not aware of Van Beeks devastating research. If a European had visited the Dogon in the 1920's and 1930's, conversation would likely have turned to astronomical matters, including Sirius, the brightest star in the sky and the center of Dogon mythology. The Dogon have a traditional interest in the sky and astronomical phenomena. For example, he claims that the Dogon have a drawing like the one in Figure 1. things. Finally, he asked me point-blank if I could point out any errors in it and partly out of politeness, partly to get rid of him, and partly because I had been able to read very little of the book so that the answer was true, I said I could not point out any errors. that by the time Griaule arrived, the Dogon may have had a grounding in 20th I did more searching and found that for the keywords Dogon and Sirius B, almost 1000 websites were listed. "It does not!" Other ancient astronomical records make no mention of Sirius being red. So it merely remains for any interested reader to check and see which of us is correct. astronomical information. To quote Ancient Mysteries: While Temple, following Griaule, assumes that to polo is the invisible star Sirius B, the Dogon themselves, as reported by Griaule, say something quite different. To quote the Dogon: When Digitaria (to polo) is close to Sirius, the latter becomes brighter; when it is at its most distant from Sirius, Digitaria gives off a twinkling effect, suggesting several stars to the observer. This description of a very visible effect causes James and Thorpe to wonder as anyone reading this should do whether to polo is therefore an ordinary star near Sirius, not an invisible companion, as Griaule and Temple suggest. The "mystery" that is central to the book is how the Dogon allegedly acquired knowledge of Sirius B, the white dwarf companion star of Sirius A, invisible to the naked eye. WebNew evidence deals a devastating blow to what was considered to be the best case for extraterrestrial visitation. found no evidence they knew Sirius was a double star or that Sirius B is 2000. Sirius B was known to exist then. So what is the alternative to the extraterrestrial hypothesis for the Dogon myths7 The Dogons could have learned of European Sirius lore in the 1920's from traders, explorers or missionaries, many of whom are avid amateur astronomers. Encyclopedia Galactica,, Benest, D. and J. L. Duvent. Here is an example of how hard it can be to critically examine the claims in the book. A critical analysis has to investigate the accuracy of such claims, so as to judge the validity of the book's conclusions. And from what star system does the visitor come? to be the best candidate evidence available today for man's past contact with advanced extraterrestrial civilization." Sirius B was first observed in 1862, and had been predicted in 1844 on dynamic grounds. In other words, the Dogon tribe would not only need the knowledge but also a telescope in order for them to have the information they already seemed to possess. It was popularized in an episode from the In Search of television series narrated by Leonard Nimoy. [3] These beings, who are hypothesized to have taught the arts of civilization to humans, are claimed in the book to have originated the systems of the Pharaohs of Egypt, the mythology of Greek civilization, and the Epic of Gilgamesh, among other things. What is interesting is that the Dogon knew about Sirius and its triple star system way before modern science found out its existence. Afrocentrists, on the other hand, claimed that the Dogon could see Using spherical trig, I got 612.3 km for the Siwa-Behdet leg and 654.8 km for the Thebes-Behdet. by Liam McDaid. In his 1998 revised edition, Temple was quick to point out the new discussions in scientific circles about the possible existence of Sirius C, which seemed to make Griaules claims even more spectacular and accurate. You dont have to watch too many Fantasy Channel (formerly known as the History Channel) specials on ancient astronauts before youll be told about the primitive African Dogon of Mali and their advanced astronomical knowledge bestowed, of course, by extraterrestrials. The Skeptics Society is a non-profit, Sagan, Carl 1980. The book presents the hypothesis that the Dogon people of Mali, in West Africa, preserve a tradition of contact with intelligent extraterrestrial beings from the Sirius star system. It's fascinating. And this is what Mr. Oberg has done." <> As anthropologists have known for a long time, primitive tribes have a remarkable talent for absorbing interesting new stories into their traditional mythology. But the extraterrestrial hypothesis will not fade away so easily. by Philip Coppens. Its appearance in the dawn sky over Egypt warned of the impending Nile floods and the summer's heat and marked the beginning of the Egyptian calendar. Griaule did not attempt to explain how the Dogon could know He was told that fishlike creatures called the Nommo had come to Earth from Sirius to civilizes its people. [8][9], In 1978, astronomer Ian Ridpath observes, in an article in the Skeptical Inquirer, "The whole Dogon legend of Sirius and its companions are riddled with ambiguities, contradictions, and downright errors, at least if we try to interpret it literally. WebRe: Dogon Sirius claim debunked - Graham Hancock Official Website Mysteries Taken from [ library.thinkquest.org] According to the Dogon priests, Sirius is orbited by a tiny secret star that they refer to as 'po', which traces an elliptical path around Sirius taking 50 years to The Dogon also knew Sirius B was about the size of Earth and spun on its axis. WebAlso there is the fact that they described the Nommo as fish people and you find all kinds of half man/half fish - serpent imagery all over the Mediterranean. Investigating York: Random House, 1995). the Sirius "Mystery". In their original findings, Griaule and Deiterlen make no comment about the Dogon knowledge of Sirius B. Seriously: The Dogon and Sirius? Astronomers classify Sirius as a "class A" star, hotter and younger than our sun, Its brightness is due largely to its proximity; it is barely eight light- years away from the earth. The Dogon are believed to be of Egyptian decent and their astronomical lore goes back thousands of years to 3200 BC. Its appearance in the dawn sky over Egypt warned of the impending Nile floods and the summer's heat and marked the beginning of the Egyptian calendar. good amount of discussion of Sirius in the scientific press in the '20s so They observe that information about the odd invisible companion of Sirius had been widely published in Europe years before Europeans recorded the Dogon myths. Try my free online Rune Readings! The Dogon have a traditional interest in the sky and astronomical phenomena. "Legends of the Dogon: belief in a long-solved (And presumably, that the Egyptians then located their river deltas, eases, and river ports deliberately on geometric rather than purely geographical grounds, I'm tempted to ask?) have turned to astronomical matters, including Sirius, the brightest star in If a European had visited the Dogon in the 1920's and 1930's, conversation would likely have turned to astronomical matters, including Sirius, the brightest star in the sky and the center of Dogon mythology. He soon multiplied to become six pairs of twins. Mysteries (Ballantine Books, 1999). The Nommos descended from the sky in a vessel accompanied by fire and thunder. Sagan, Although we can occasionally claim victory (are there any alchemists left? Zeta Reticuli 2 (with about the same temperature and mass as the Sun) is another candidate. The Dogon beliefs about Jupiter and Saturn sound familiar too. First, in general, Temple displays his own gross ignorance of geometry and spherical trigonometry. for some unknown reason from a planet orbiting star" (Sirius B) and describe its density and rotational The brightest star in the sky is Sirius, now called Sirius A. of course, no evidence for this special eyesight, nor for other equally What is interesting is that the Dogon knew about Sirius and its triple star system way before modern science found out its existence. In 1991, Van Beek led a team of anthropologists to Mali and declared that they found absolutely no trace of the detailed Sirius lore reported by the French anthropologists. WebThe star Sirius is certainly no stranger to mysteries. Also, in the 1980s and 1990s, anthropologist Walter van Beek could find no evidence that the Dogon possessed knowledge about Sirius B today.9 But more enlightening is the fact that Griaule studied astronomy in Paris and brought star maps with him to Mali. "their purpose in disguising their secrets was to see that the secrets could survive.". Legends of the Dogon Belief in a Long-Solved Mystery Resurfaces. As the brightest star in the sky it was known and worshiped by ancient civilizations. In 1965, Arthur Young gave Robert Temple a French article on the secret star lore of the Dogon, an article written by two French anthropologists Marcel Griaule and Germaine Dieterlen. Seeking Clarity? Just wanted to know if this is completely a hoax, or does it even have any anthropological origin. Skeptic. contact with some ugly, amphibious* James, P., N. Thorpe, and I. J. Thorpe. 6, "White Skeptic Jason Colavito counts The Sirius Mystery among the body of works in a tradition of ancient astronaut ideas he believes were ultimately inspired by H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.[13][14]. Modern astronomers have discovered the remains of the supernova Vela-X in a constellation which would have been visible in the low southern sky from Sumer. Griaule himself was aware of the discovery of Sirius B and in the 1920s before he visited the Dogon there were also unconfirmed sightings of Sirius C. The Dogon were well aware of the brightest star in the sky but, as Van Beek learned, they do not call it sigu tolo, as Griaule claimed, but dana tolo. this about a star that cannot be seen without telescopes, and he made no The Dogon. Especially those who believe that our past is not at all how mainstream historians believe it to be, or indeed, tell us it was. This of course would destroy the modern influence explanation totally. 11.1. Obviously, no Earth-based species was flying to other stars back then! WebAccording to the Dogon, the instructor gods descended from Sirius and brought knowledge and wisdom. But it is an unfortunate tendency for certain reviewers to wish to try and appear clever at the expense of accuracy, honesty, objectivity, fairness, or even decent manners, by dropping any standards at all in their headlong assaults on authors using only the tools of distortion, dishonesty, and insults. Concludes Sagan, "There are too many loopholes, too many alternate explanations for such a myth to provide reliable evidence of past extraterrestrial contact. And does the Dogon mythology ever really say that Nommo, the founder The assyrians called Sirius Kal-bu-sa mas (the Dog of the Sun) and in Chaldea, it was known as Kak-shisha (The Dog Star That Leads) Known History of the Dogon According to Dogon mythology, Nommo was the first living being created by Amma, the sky god and creator of the universe. Print versions available in Dutch, Russian, Japanese, and Korean. None were detected, That was not surprising since, judging from the age and energy of the stars in the Sirius system, astronomers believe it is unlikely that any earthlike planets could exist there long enough for life to emerge and develop. Is Sirius a Triple Star?, Adams, H. H. 1983. Feature Articles Dogon shame Did ancient gods from the Sirius star system visit an African tribe 5,000 years ago? Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Cuddle up with someone. Pseudoarchaeology book by Robert K. G. Temple, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Sirius_Mystery&oldid=1135262588, CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 23 January 2023, at 16:12. Evidence they knew Sirius was a double star or that Sirius B 's... Accompanied by fire and thunder no mention of Sirius being red claims, so as to judge the validity the... 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