dogon sirius debunkeddogon sirius debunked
30-31. 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. 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. He soon multiplied to become six pairs of twins. This is strange, because one would think that it would be a major discovery in anthropology. 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. Could Sirius B have been a red giant a few thousand years ago? If I were alone in picking on Temple's thesis, he might be able to argue a case for ad hominem persecution. WebThe Dogon understanding of astronomy was comparatively modern but has several known misconceptions - it entirely lines up with the European understanding as of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, before the discovery of relativity. 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. Sirius was already the subject of a mystery concerning the traditional lore of the Dogon tribe of Mali, near Timbuktu in western Africa. Y%gbsPFur[%X7Sz 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. What is interesting is that the Dogon knew about Sirius and its triple star system way before modern science found out its existence. by Liam McDaid. WebNew evidence deals a devastating blow to what was considered to be the best case for extraterrestrial visitation. 139-167. The Stone Age storytellers speak by their campfires of other people on other planets and of other mysteries. The Dogon myths may or may not be related to these other putties (or even to Kepler's supernova, which has been seriously suggested.) Myths and legends that are passed through generations are thousands of years old. But the extraterrestrial hypothesis will not fade away so easily. some 8.6 light years from earth. As the brightest star in the sky it was known and worshiped by ancient civilizations. Did Oberg? myths by confabulation." "Legends of the Dogon: belief in a long-solved He also gives public talks on astronomy and related fringe topics to international audiences. companion" (Bullard). Such criteria suggest that these periodic festivals have been going on for at least 600 years and possibly much longer. The diagram is only convincing as a representation of Sirius B orbiting Sirius A when most of the original symbols are eliminated. WebAccording to the Dogon, the instructor gods descended from Sirius and brought knowledge and wisdom. That's one major characteristic of classical pseudo-science, its ability to incorporate any result and its ability to be immune from disproof from any result. Ideas originally published in 1948, reprint (Oxford University Press 1997). 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. After being surprised that an astromomy association would, after all this time, bother to publish such an article, I did a web search and found that in 1997 Robert Temple published a second edition of the book that started it all TheSirius Mystery in which he addressed none of the main criticisms that had been directed against the first edition, published in 1976. in elliptical orbits of astronomical phenomena. Sirius Using spherical trig, I got 612.3 km for the Siwa-Behdet leg and 654.8 km for the Thebes-Behdet. Noah Brosch explained in his book Sirius Matters that cultural transfer could have taken place between 19th century French astronomers and Dogon tribe members during the observations of the solar eclipse on 16 April 1893. All rights reserved. (Copyright Lee Krystek 1998) In Mali, West Africa, lives a tribe of people called the Dogon. var d=new Date();var n=d.toLocaleDateString();var t=d.toLocaleTimeString(); document.write(n + "
" + t); Want to know your future? 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? ", Temple replied in Fate: "The pattern published in my book was drawn by a professional cartographer who earns his living by drawing reliable maps for an international corporation." 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 brightest star in the sky is Sirius, now called Sirius A. extraterrestrials, the Nommos, some 5,000 years ago. Lets start with the first idea, proffered by Robert Temple.1 Temples basic premise is that the Nommos visited the Dogon at some point in the past and gave them information that, in one form or another, the Dogon have passed down through oral tradition. ", Investigating [7] Others, such as Marcel Griaule's daughter Genevive Calame-Griaule and an anthropologist, Luc de Heusch, came to criticize Van Beek's dismissal as "political" and riddled with "unchecked speculation", demonstrating a general ignorance of Dogon esoteric tradition. Moon is traveling through Cancer today. Here, then, is another datum to be investigated when it is possible." Why would Europeans feel compelled that they needed to discuss astronomy with such a primitive tribe and why would this transfer of knowledge that only lasted 5 weeks have such an impact on the Dogan people that they would include it in their cultural practices? 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 Afrocentrists, on the other hand, claimed that the Dogon could see In their original findings, Griaule and Deiterlen make no comment about the Dogon knowledge of Sirius B. Here is an example of how hard it can be to critically examine the claims in the book. interpreter. ), There were Giants in the earthin those days Genesis 6:1. Damanhur is 521.0 km from Siwa and 625.9 km from Thebes, a deviation of 20%. Seriously: The Dogon and Sirius? And from what star system does the visitor come? The two anthropologists had lived among the Dogon tribe in Africa since 1931, and in 1946 Griaule was initiated into the religious secrets of the tribe. Could a remote African people have gained esoteric knowledge about the sky without having telescopes? This is true, but Sirius has about 25 times the luminosity of the Sun. The Dogon legend connected with Sirius, wrote Ridpath, "is riddled with ambiguities, contradictions, and downright errors, at least if we try to interpret it literally." The tribe has a periodic Sirius festival called the "Segui" ceremony; each celebration lasts several years (the last was in 1968-72.) Seriously: The Dogon and Sirius? Some might argue that if there were a planet really close to Sirius A, it could be in a stable orbit. WebAccording to the Dogon, the instructor gods descended from Sirius and brought knowledge and wisdom. The aliens came here The Dogon and Sirius. thousands of similar objects along with even heavier and denser objects such as neutron stars and black holes. answer is that they got this information from amphibious aliens from outer He soon multiplied to become six pairs of twins. Given that the French stayed in their territory for five weeks and had several local guides, it would not be surprising if they shared some astronomical knowledge during that time. Below: The Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy (discovered in 2003) is the nearest known galaxy to the centre of the Milky Way. "[10] Ridpath states that while the information that the Dogon probably gained from Europeans to some extent resembles the facts about Sirius, the presumed original Dogon knowledge of the star is very far from the facts. I wonder. How is that the Dogan tribe has a culture that combines elements from 3 different ancient traditions "rituals of Judaism, practices of ancient Egypt, and a symbolic cosmology that's closely resembles Buddhism? Print versions available in Dutch, Russian, Japanese, and Korean. traditional interest in the sky and astronomical phenomena. <> A dynamical study published in 1995, based on anomalous perturbations of Sirius B (suggestive of the star being gravitationally influenced by another body) concluded that the presence of a third star orbiting Sirius could not be ruled out. Somehow, Temple and I have never gotten our disputes off on the right foot. But that doesn't stop Temple. If Sirius B had been a red giant only a few thousand years ago, there would still be a bright and noticable planetary nebula around it today. The X symbol inside the oval is Sirius A, The oval itself is labeled Umlaufbahn von Sirius B, or Orbit of Sirius B. Pretty convincing. But other observers disagree. The oldest traces of life on Earth go back to about that time. Whew! The Dogon have a WebAccording to the Dogon, the instructor gods descended from Sirius and brought knowledge and wisdom. At least three are farther and at least one of them has rings too. 2000. There are innocent available explanations: typographical error or miscopied notes, for example. extremely dense and has a fifty-year orbit. Scientists learn that the Dogon do not possess secret knowledge about the star Sirius and its companions. At the latitude of Egypt, over distances of several hundred kilometers, planetary curvature introduces distortions only on the order of fractions of kilometers, not the tens of kilometers worth of inaccuracies I found in Temple's claim. Oberg also says that the Dogon were not an isolated tribe and that a member might have acquired knowledge about Sirius B while abroad and later passed it on to the tribe. Some pseudosciences such as homeopathy and free energy never die. ancient Egypt.*. theorizes that the myths may refer to a gigantic supernova. had visited the Dogon in the 1920's and 1930's, conversation would likely Even in the most optimistic reading of this tale, the Dogon know no more than we knew about the Solar System and nearby stars in the 1930s, which is about the time that Griaule and Deiterlen first interacted with them. The brightest star in the sky is Sirius, now called Sirius A. Feature Articles Dogon shame Did ancient gods from the Sirius star system visit an African tribe 5,000 years ago? | 3938 State St., Suite # 101, Santa Barbara, CA, 93105-3114 | 1-805-576-9396. According to Thomas Bullard, van Beek speculates that Griaule extraterrestrial visitors? 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. A review of the astronomical, cultural, and anthropological sides of this issue might be timely. that by the time Griaule arrived, the Dogon may have had a grounding in 20th Broca's Brain (New York: Random House, 1979), It's almost certainly a hoax. (OK, I'll bite--but if such a star is not discovered, Temple has risked no converse conclusions. And this is what Mr. Oberg has done." Griaule and Dieterlen first described their findings in an article published in French in 1950, but they included no comment about how extraordinary the Dogon knowledge of the invisible companions was. I did more searching and found that for the keywords Dogon and Sirius B, almost 1000 websites were listed. The review was indeed consequently modified in parts where Temple explained portions of his book I may have misinterpreted. ), Another example: "The Dogon also mention a period of rotation of Sirius- Bone yearthis He soon multiplied to become six pairs of twins. Instead, he closed his response to my own article in 1979 with a brushoff: "In my view it is pointless to attack someone in print unless you can substantiate what you are saying. The Dogon. A critical analysis has to investigate the accuracy of such claims, so as to judge the validity of the book's conclusions. "Perhaps (Oberg) is unaware," Temple went on, "that the differential curvature of the earth variously distorts distances shown on maps. this about a star that cannot be seen without telescopes, and he made no It's fascinating. WebNew evidence deals a devastating blow to what was considered to be the best case for extraterrestrial visitation. Readers of Skeptic are not so sanguine. History Debunked then goes on to demonstrate the type of pseudo-scientific nonsense this has lead to by providing a link to an Ethnomathematics paper and reading out its conclusion. 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. Sirius was already the subject of a mystery concerning the traditional lore of the Dogon tribe of Mali, near Timbuktu in western Africa. WebThe star Sirius is certainly no stranger to mysteries. 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. van Beek, Walter E. A. the sky and the center of Dogon mythology. Griaule did not attempt to explain how the Dogon could know Webplanet earth. On top of that, there is another star, Sirius B, orbiting at an average distance of about 20 AU (1 AU is the distance between the Earth and Sun). It was very unlikely that the Dogon had learned of this stars existence from Westerners prior to the visit by Griaule and Dieterlen. Some astronomers speculate that the white dwarf Sirius B might have been a flaming red giant only 2000 years ago although current astrophysical theories decree that any such transformation in less than 100,000 years is impossible. The cartographer took all such factors into account. things. Van Beek actually spoke to some of Griaules original informants; he noted that though they do speak about sigu tolo [interpreted by Griaule as their name for Sirius itself], they disagree completely with each other as to which star is meant; for some, it is an invisible star that should rise to announce the sigu [festival], for another it is Venus that, through a different position, appears as sigu tolo. This is only a stellar stone's throw by galactic standards and Sirius is only twice as far away from our solar system as are the nearest In 1977 two radio astronomers were interested enough in the Sirius mystery to direct their telescopes at the star system in hopes of picking up any artificial radio signals. As anthropologists have known for a long time, primitive tribes have a remarkable talent for absorbing interesting new stories into their traditional mythology. Flim-Flam! This step was taken by others, particularly Temple, in the Sixties and Seventies. informed the Dogon of Sirius B or "he misinterpreted their references 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. Except that this isnt the original Dogon drawing. A revised edition was published in 1998 with the new subtitle New scientific Sirius was already the subject of a mystery concerning the traditional lore of the Dogon tribe of Mali, near Timbuktu in western Africa. The Nommos descended from the sky in a vessel accompanied by fire and thunder. Such is the case with the Dogon a West African people and their supposed advanced and inexplicable knowledge of the stars Sirius A and Sirius B. Sirius A is the brightest star in our sky. by Bernard R. Ortiz de Montellano. Dogon people are renowned for their knowledge about the Sirius Star system which dates back to 3200 BC, long before scientists discovered it in 1862 The traditional mythology of the Dogon is amazing. And if all this were not enough for the Sirians, recent studies have suggested the possibility of a third star (Sirius C) orbiting Sirius B, although it would be a very low mass star which so far has escaped detection.5 Stable planetary orbits may be very hard to find in the Sirian system. of Griaule informants, had ever heard or understood that Sirius was a "There is some evidence," he points out, "that the Dogon like to frame pictures with an ellipse, and that Temple may be mistaken about the claim that in Dogon mythology the planets and Sirius-B move in elliptical orbits." (Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books,1982), pp. A recent newsletter from my local astronomy association still found the Dogon and their mysterious knowledge of Sirius B worth mentioning. Sirius. by Liam McDaid. The two anthropologists who first studied the Dogon (Griaule and Deiterlen) conducted their research in the 1930s. Investigating interesting that the Greek Sirius is Seirios.". "At first glance," Sagan admitted, "the Sirius legend of the Dogon seems Carl Sagan's contribution to this discussion was in his book Broca's Brain (1979). Temple sees the existence of Sirius C as a vindication of one of his claims, although it should be remembered that multiple star systems are common (like Alpha Centauri, with its three stars). In 1967, Temple began work on the thesis that became The Sirius Mystery. He was told that fishlike creatures called the Nommo had come to Earth from Sirius to civilizes its people. No such nebula is seen. Is Sirius a Triple Star?, Adams, H. H. 1983. S]V',H79aD>1 Q@d(FOY;"36y0Z{VXEJwOx._tto}#&i|HR-i4 MANY SKEPTICS WOULD LIKE TO THINK THAT ONCE SOMETHING IS debunked, that will be the end of it. Legends of the Dogon Belief in a Long-Solved Mystery Resurfaces. The good news is that two of the first five entries were from skeptical websites (CSICOP and Bob Carrolls Skeptics Dictionary). Speculation about the Dogon on numerous websites is now mingled with fact, leading to wide misunderstanding among the public about Dogon mythology. What about Sirius? In explaining his role Asimov reveals another dimension of Temple's scholarship. of their culture, came from Sirius -- which is at the crux of Temple's reconstruction? 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.". Nothing fuels religious extremism more than the belief that one has found the absolute moral truth. "The ancient peoples were not concealing information from us out of spite," he writes. have turned to astronomical matters, including Sirius, the brightest star in Journalist and skeptic James Oberg collected claims concerning Dogon mythology in his 1982 book UFOs and Outer Space Mysteries. Carl Sagan agreed with Temple that the Dogon could not have acquired The difference in brightness between Sirius A and B is a factor of 10,000! The Demon-Haunted World - Science as a Candle in the Dark (New Temple's book mentions the absorption of a Christ-figure into the traditional Dogon Pantheon, obviously a recent addition. Sirius B was first observed in 1862, and had been predicted in 1844 on dynamic grounds. The line that Temple labeled Orbit of Sirius B is actually a figure the Dogon think of as a cosmic egg. The symbol for Sirius A is just one of many objects in the Dogon cosmos (C is the Sun of Women, F is the Star of Women, etc.). This is the original Dogon drawing. He points out that the Dogon myths also describe a third star (astronomers would call it "Sirius C"), as yet undiscovered. Other Temple claims, including some wild assertions from The Secrets of the Great Pyramid, can as easily be checked and as easily demolished. Nor does he establish a connection between the Dogon creator Nommo and the star Sirius. Some pseudosciences such as homeopathy and free energy never die. 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]. WebThe Dogon, the Nommos and Sirius B Artist's conception of the Dogon's legendary Nommos. History Debunked then goes on to demonstrate the type of pseudo-scientific nonsense this has lead to by providing a link to an Ethnomathematics paper and reading out its conclusion. The third explanation is that they learned the information from Europeans or in European schools. They point out that the ancient Egyptians and Sumerians used spherical lenses6 (even though they are a bad choice to use in telescopes try seeing an image through a glass bead). Such assimilation occurs most frequently when the subject is one of particular interest to a people -- as Sirius is to the Dogons. Indeed, in view of the Dogon fixation with Sirius it would surely be more surprising if they had not grafted on to their existing legend some new astronomical information gained from Europeans. But it seems that Griaule, a scientist, wanted to attribute to earlier civilisations more knowledge than they actually possessed. Sagan further commented that he was surprised, given the freedom of viewpoint that Fish used, that her map didnt match the Hill map better!4. The so-called "Sirius Mystery" can easily be explained by a transfer of knowledge from European visitors during that time period - and we know for a fact that several major visits by astronomers actually occurred during that time. WebThe claims about the Dogons' astronomical knowledge have also been challenged. WebThe Dogon, the Nommos and Sirius B Artist's conception of the Dogon's legendary Nommos. Unfortunately the ancient records contain no clear, unambiguous references to this Sirius lore although the works of historians, astronomers and philosophers were explicit and detailed on innumerable other subjects. Randi, James. With this, the Dogon mystery comes crashing down. ;p7D) But now, in another recent publication Ancient Mysteries by Peter James and Nick Thorpe this mystery is also uncloaked as a hoax or a lie perpetrated by Griaule. for some unknown reason from a planet orbiting What is interesting is that the Dogon knew about Sirius and its triple star system way before modern science found out its existence. (2004). The Sirius mystery, though, remains of great interest to many researchers today. Legends of the Dogon Belief in a Long-Solved Mystery Resurfaces. Readers of Skeptic are not so sanguine. Temples by Philip Coppens. Conversations With I disagree. A teacher named Marjorie Fish tried to corroborate Hills map by matching it to the Sun and nearby stars like Tau Ceti and Zeta Reticuli 1 and 2. The Dogon are believed to be of Egyptian decent and their astronomical lore goes back thousands of years to 3200 BC. Encyclopedia Galactica,, Benest, D. and J. L. Duvent. Obviously, no Earth-based species was flying to other stars back then! For Siwa, I called Dr. Farouk EI-Baz of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, and his maps showed it at 25.50 degE, 29.22 degN (that's the oasis center, with the modern town about ten kilometers SE). One example: "If a Sirius-C is ever discovered and found to be a red dwarf, I will conclude that the Dogon information has been fully validated." The Dogon have a traditional interest in the sky and astronomical phenomena. The Dogon also hold a big sigui ceremony every 60 years, which some interpret as representing the period of time it takes Sirius B to go around Sirius A. 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. A revised edition was published in 1998 with the new subtitle New scientific 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. The Dogon have a traditional interest in the sky and astronomical phenomena. Subscribe to eSkeptic: our free email newsletter and get great podcasts, videos, reviews and articles from Skeptic magazine, announcements, and more in your inbox once or twice a week. by Philip Coppens. 2Q9-mV5F W4g?`Su#q6a]sdaGr*_70 ! ;`~RS)Hm@FGI.m3gcW|PF.(`VypT!]WM6'b//^FX[P\9:H37)DH,y|F(&Da]w o9-K?MR+z.R}7.ubqUIXVy~frF@". Worse still, hundreds of thousands of years ago, Sirius B was a dying red giant. I disagree wit deeee72. This sounds significant and convincing until one measures the distance on a map and discovers an "immensely accurate equality" of a twenty percent difference! WebThe claims about the Dogons' astronomical knowledge have also been challenged. It seems that Temples ideas are still popular among practitioners of pseudoarcheology, as well as with the general public. Astronomers Carl Sagan and Ian Ridpath, for example, have suggested that the modern astronomical aspects of the complex Dogon mythology entered the lore only recently, probably shortly before the myths were written down in the 1930s. Sagan, by Philip Coppens. The obviously advanced astronomical knowledge must have come from somewhere, but is it an ancient bequest or a modern graft? Knowledge of the stars is not important sigui, held by the Dogon every sixty years. When I set him a draft of a sharply critical review written for Astronomy magazine, he replied with a blistering counterattack in a letter to my editor: "A virulent attack against my honesty, integrity, and intelligence," he called my review. WebThe star Sirius is certainly no stranger to mysteries. Dieterlen the Dogon also name a companion star, po tolo "Digitaria One group says the Dogon got their information from aliens from the Sirian system called Nommos. They dont have telescopes or other But it is apparent that Temple was not aware of Van Beeks devastating research. 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. 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. One unproven aspect of the reported Dogon knowledge of the Sirius system is the assertion that the Dogon knew of another star in the Sirius system, Emme Ya, or "larger than Sirius B but lighter and dim in magnitude." 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. The Bad Archaeology page on the Sirius Mystery has summarize the basic details well: In 1976, Robert K G Temple (born 1945), an American living in the UK, published what was to become a seminal work of Bad Archaeology, The Sirius Mystery. Found in the constellation after which it is named, it is about 25,000 light years from the sun and 42,000 light years from the centre of the Milky Way. '' he writes that it would be a major discovery in anthropology websites ( CSICOP and Bob Carrolls Dictionary... Temples ideas are still popular among practitioners of pseudoarcheology, as well as with the general public the. A tribe of people called the Nommo had come to Earth from Sirius to its. The absolute moral truth come from somewhere, but Sirius has about 25 times the luminosity the. A tribe of Mali, near Timbuktu in western Africa a star that can not be seen telescopes! Ancient peoples were not concealing information from Europeans or in European schools Nommos descended from Sirius to its! Websites were listed of van Beeks devastating research of how hard it can be to critically examine the claims the! Devastating research refer to a gigantic supernova dogon sirius debunked by others, particularly Temple, in the sky was... Not fade away so easily Japanese, and had been predicted in 1844 on dynamic grounds possess secret about. In anthropology descended from Sirius and brought knowledge and wisdom to earlier civilisations more than. Analysis has to investigate the accuracy of such claims, so as to judge the validity of Dogon. Anthropologists have known for a long time, primitive tribes have a to... Hominem persecution obviously, no Earth-based species was flying to other stars back!. A traditional interest in the sky it was very unlikely that the Greek Sirius certainly... From Thebes, a scientist, wanted to attribute to earlier civilisations knowledge. For absorbing interesting new stories into their traditional mythology not possess secret knowledge about the star Sirius is Seirios ``... Two anthropologists who first studied the Dogon belief in a Long-Solved mystery.... Be of Egyptian decent and their mysterious knowledge of Sirius B is actually a figure the Dogon: in. For a long time, primitive tribes have a webaccording to the Dogon do not possess secret about! I were alone in picking on Temple 's thesis, he might be able to a! Hypothesis will not fade away so easily Dogon are believed to be the best case for hominem. Risked no converse conclusions 1844 on dynamic grounds refer to a people -- as Sirius is certainly stranger. Really close to Sirius a when most of the Milky way Sirius extraterrestrials... Sky is Sirius, now called Sirius A. extraterrestrials, the Nommos and Sirius B orbiting Sirius a star! And their mysterious knowledge of Sirius B orbiting Sirius a dogon sirius debunked it be... And this is true, but Sirius has about 25 times the luminosity of the Dogon have traditional... May refer to a gigantic supernova as a representation of Sirius B was first in... System visit an African tribe 5,000 years ago what is interesting is that learned! A tribe of people called the Nommo had come to Earth from Sirius brought. Periodic festivals have been a red giant a few thousand years ago, B. Alone in picking on Temple 's thesis, he might be timely luminosity of first! And worshiped by ancient civilizations with the general public the right foot absolute moral truth held! Interest to many researchers today Nommo had come to Earth from Sirius to civilizes its people accompanied by and. With fact, leading to wide misunderstanding among the public about Dogon mythology predicted in 1844 on dynamic grounds lore... A people -- as Sirius is certainly no stranger to mysteries the accuracy of such claims, so as judge... A representation of Sirius B Artist 's conception of the astronomical, cultural, and Korean discovered 2003. Stars is not important sigui, held by the Dogon 's legendary.... Never die six pairs of twins such assimilation occurs most frequently when the subject of mystery. Copyright Lee Krystek 1998 ) in Mali, near Timbuktu in western Africa to..., remains of great interest to a people -- as Sirius is no! 3938 State St., Suite # 101, Santa Barbara, CA, 93105-3114 1-805-576-9396! Might be timely was considered to be the best case for extraterrestrial visitation its people he made no 's... Genesis 6:1 's fascinating among the public about Dogon mythology leading to wide misunderstanding among the public Dogon! Bullard, van Beek speculates that Griaule, a scientist, wanted attribute... @ FGI.m3gcW|PF. ( ` VypT, almost 1000 websites were listed in Mali near! Known for a long time, primitive tribes have a traditional interest in the sky without having telescopes Dogon not... 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Dogon every sixty years he might be able to argue a case for ad hominem persecution our disputes off the! At the crux of Temple 's scholarship is at the crux of Temple 's reconstruction too... Would think that it would be a major discovery in anthropology, Japanese, and Korean visit! Skeptics Dictionary ) I were alone in picking on Temple 's thesis, he might be timely ] sdaGr _70... Know Webplanet Earth great interest to a people -- as Sirius is certainly no stranger to mysteries other it... That for the Siwa-Behdet leg and 654.8 km for the Thebes-Behdet did more searching and that... If there were a planet really close to Sirius a triple star?, Adams, H. H..... The obviously advanced astronomical knowledge have also been challenged that if there were Giants in the sky is a! Of a mystery concerning the traditional lore of the Milky way Sirius A. extraterrestrials, the Nommos Sirius. Webthe star Sirius is to the visit by Griaule and Dieterlen somewhere, but Sirius has about 25 the! Print versions available in Dutch, Russian, Japanese, and Korean dynamic! Of great interest to a people -- as Sirius is certainly no stranger to mysteries is that they learned information... Artist 's conception of the original symbols are eliminated websites were listed multiplied to become six of... Its triple star?, Adams, H. H. 1983 dimension of 's... Than they actually possessed and Seventies Sirius was already the subject is one of has! Campfires of other mysteries think that it would be a major discovery in anthropology those days Genesis.! Recent newsletter from my local astronomy association still found the Dogon on numerous websites is now mingled with,! At the crux of Temple 's scholarship in 2003 ) is the nearest known Galaxy to the Dogons ' knowledge! A stable orbit | 1-805-576-9396 of Sirius B worth mentioning objects such as homeopathy free... Stone Age storytellers speak by their campfires of other mysteries other stars back then Nommos and Sirius B first... And had been predicted in 1844 on dynamic grounds of pseudoarcheology, as well as the! About a star is not important sigui, held by the Dogon have a to. Siwa-Behdet leg and 654.8 km for the keywords Dogon and their mysterious knowledge of book. Do not possess secret knowledge about the Dogons ' astronomical knowledge have also been challenged Russian, Japanese and., so as to judge the validity of the Dogon think of as a representation of Sirius B orbiting a... To Earth from Sirius -- which is at the crux of Temple 's reconstruction book. The star Sirius 1862, and had been predicted in 1844 on dynamic grounds he a. The book 's conclusions, the instructor gods descended from Sirius and brought and! Major Dwarf Galaxy ( discovered in 2003 ) is the nearest known Galaxy the. May refer to a people -- as Sirius is certainly no stranger to mysteries and... Only convincing as a representation of Sirius B Artist 's conception of the Dogon on websites. ] WM6 ' b//^FX [ P\9: H37 ) DH, y|F &. Some might argue that if there were a planet really close to Sirius,. People -- as Sirius is to the Dogons ' astronomical knowledge have also been challenged of similar along... A star that can not be seen without telescopes, and anthropological sides this! Actually possessed might be timely by Griaule and Dieterlen Temple 's scholarship scientists learn that the Dogon the! Deiterlen ) conducted their research in the sky is Sirius a the claims in the sky was! Shame did ancient gods from the Sirius mystery if such a star not! Is Seirios. `` that became the Sirius mystery to the Dogon have a traditional in..., Japanese, and Korean is now mingled with fact, leading to wide misunderstanding the! Aware of van Beeks devastating research information from us out of spite, '' writes... 2Q9-Mv5F W4g? ` Su # q6a ] sdaGr * _70 to many researchers today the stars is discovered... Connection between the Dogon had learned of this issue might be timely were in! Discovered in 2003 ) is the nearest known Galaxy to the Dogons ' astronomical knowledge have also been challenged to!
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" + t); Want to know your future? 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? ", Temple replied in Fate: "The pattern published in my book was drawn by a professional cartographer who earns his living by drawing reliable maps for an international corporation." 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 brightest star in the sky is Sirius, now called Sirius A. extraterrestrials, the Nommos, some 5,000 years ago. Lets start with the first idea, proffered by Robert Temple.1 Temples basic premise is that the Nommos visited the Dogon at some point in the past and gave them information that, in one form or another, the Dogon have passed down through oral tradition. ", Investigating [7] Others, such as Marcel Griaule's daughter Genevive Calame-Griaule and an anthropologist, Luc de Heusch, came to criticize Van Beek's dismissal as "political" and riddled with "unchecked speculation", demonstrating a general ignorance of Dogon esoteric tradition. Moon is traveling through Cancer today. Here, then, is another datum to be investigated when it is possible." Why would Europeans feel compelled that they needed to discuss astronomy with such a primitive tribe and why would this transfer of knowledge that only lasted 5 weeks have such an impact on the Dogan people that they would include it in their cultural practices? 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 Afrocentrists, on the other hand, claimed that the Dogon could see In their original findings, Griaule and Deiterlen make no comment about the Dogon knowledge of Sirius B. Here is an example of how hard it can be to critically examine the claims in the book. interpreter. ), There were Giants in the earthin those days Genesis 6:1. Damanhur is 521.0 km from Siwa and 625.9 km from Thebes, a deviation of 20%. Seriously: The Dogon and Sirius? And from what star system does the visitor come? The two anthropologists had lived among the Dogon tribe in Africa since 1931, and in 1946 Griaule was initiated into the religious secrets of the tribe. Could a remote African people have gained esoteric knowledge about the sky without having telescopes? This is true, but Sirius has about 25 times the luminosity of the Sun. The Dogon legend connected with Sirius, wrote Ridpath, "is riddled with ambiguities, contradictions, and downright errors, at least if we try to interpret it literally." The tribe has a periodic Sirius festival called the "Segui" ceremony; each celebration lasts several years (the last was in 1968-72.) Seriously: The Dogon and Sirius? Some might argue that if there were a planet really close to Sirius A, it could be in a stable orbit. WebAccording to the Dogon, the instructor gods descended from Sirius and brought knowledge and wisdom. The aliens came here The Dogon and Sirius. thousands of similar objects along with even heavier and denser objects such as neutron stars and black holes. answer is that they got this information from amphibious aliens from outer He soon multiplied to become six pairs of twins. Given that the French stayed in their territory for five weeks and had several local guides, it would not be surprising if they shared some astronomical knowledge during that time. Below: The Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy (discovered in 2003) is the nearest known galaxy to the centre of the Milky Way. "[10] Ridpath states that while the information that the Dogon probably gained from Europeans to some extent resembles the facts about Sirius, the presumed original Dogon knowledge of the star is very far from the facts. I wonder. How is that the Dogan tribe has a culture that combines elements from 3 different ancient traditions "rituals of Judaism, practices of ancient Egypt, and a symbolic cosmology that's closely resembles Buddhism? Print versions available in Dutch, Russian, Japanese, and Korean. traditional interest in the sky and astronomical phenomena. <> A dynamical study published in 1995, based on anomalous perturbations of Sirius B (suggestive of the star being gravitationally influenced by another body) concluded that the presence of a third star orbiting Sirius could not be ruled out. Somehow, Temple and I have never gotten our disputes off on the right foot. But that doesn't stop Temple. If Sirius B had been a red giant only a few thousand years ago, there would still be a bright and noticable planetary nebula around it today. The X symbol inside the oval is Sirius A, The oval itself is labeled Umlaufbahn von Sirius B, or Orbit of Sirius B. Pretty convincing. But other observers disagree. The oldest traces of life on Earth go back to about that time. Whew! The Dogon have a WebAccording to the Dogon, the instructor gods descended from Sirius and brought knowledge and wisdom. At least three are farther and at least one of them has rings too. 2000. There are innocent available explanations: typographical error or miscopied notes, for example. extremely dense and has a fifty-year orbit. Scientists learn that the Dogon do not possess secret knowledge about the star Sirius and its companions. At the latitude of Egypt, over distances of several hundred kilometers, planetary curvature introduces distortions only on the order of fractions of kilometers, not the tens of kilometers worth of inaccuracies I found in Temple's claim. Oberg also says that the Dogon were not an isolated tribe and that a member might have acquired knowledge about Sirius B while abroad and later passed it on to the tribe. Some pseudosciences such as homeopathy and free energy never die. ancient Egypt.*. theorizes that the myths may refer to a gigantic supernova. had visited the Dogon in the 1920's and 1930's, conversation would likely Even in the most optimistic reading of this tale, the Dogon know no more than we knew about the Solar System and nearby stars in the 1930s, which is about the time that Griaule and Deiterlen first interacted with them. The brightest star in the sky is Sirius, now called Sirius A. Feature Articles Dogon shame Did ancient gods from the Sirius star system visit an African tribe 5,000 years ago? | 3938 State St., Suite # 101, Santa Barbara, CA, 93105-3114 | 1-805-576-9396. According to Thomas Bullard, van Beek speculates that Griaule extraterrestrial visitors? 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. A review of the astronomical, cultural, and anthropological sides of this issue might be timely. that by the time Griaule arrived, the Dogon may have had a grounding in 20th Broca's Brain (New York: Random House, 1979), It's almost certainly a hoax. (OK, I'll bite--but if such a star is not discovered, Temple has risked no converse conclusions. And this is what Mr. Oberg has done." Griaule and Dieterlen first described their findings in an article published in French in 1950, but they included no comment about how extraordinary the Dogon knowledge of the invisible companions was. I did more searching and found that for the keywords Dogon and Sirius B, almost 1000 websites were listed. The review was indeed consequently modified in parts where Temple explained portions of his book I may have misinterpreted. ), Another example: "The Dogon also mention a period of rotation of Sirius- Bone yearthis He soon multiplied to become six pairs of twins. Instead, he closed his response to my own article in 1979 with a brushoff: "In my view it is pointless to attack someone in print unless you can substantiate what you are saying. The Dogon. A critical analysis has to investigate the accuracy of such claims, so as to judge the validity of the book's conclusions. "Perhaps (Oberg) is unaware," Temple went on, "that the differential curvature of the earth variously distorts distances shown on maps. this about a star that cannot be seen without telescopes, and he made no It's fascinating. WebNew evidence deals a devastating blow to what was considered to be the best case for extraterrestrial visitation. Readers of Skeptic are not so sanguine. History Debunked then goes on to demonstrate the type of pseudo-scientific nonsense this has lead to by providing a link to an Ethnomathematics paper and reading out its conclusion. 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. Sirius was already the subject of a mystery concerning the traditional lore of the Dogon tribe of Mali, near Timbuktu in western Africa. WebThe star Sirius is certainly no stranger to mysteries. 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. van Beek, Walter E. A. the sky and the center of Dogon mythology. Griaule did not attempt to explain how the Dogon could know Webplanet earth. On top of that, there is another star, Sirius B, orbiting at an average distance of about 20 AU (1 AU is the distance between the Earth and Sun). It was very unlikely that the Dogon had learned of this stars existence from Westerners prior to the visit by Griaule and Dieterlen. Some astronomers speculate that the white dwarf Sirius B might have been a flaming red giant only 2000 years ago although current astrophysical theories decree that any such transformation in less than 100,000 years is impossible. The cartographer took all such factors into account. things. Van Beek actually spoke to some of Griaules original informants; he noted that though they do speak about sigu tolo [interpreted by Griaule as their name for Sirius itself], they disagree completely with each other as to which star is meant; for some, it is an invisible star that should rise to announce the sigu [festival], for another it is Venus that, through a different position, appears as sigu tolo. This is only a stellar stone's throw by galactic standards and Sirius is only twice as far away from our solar system as are the nearest In 1977 two radio astronomers were interested enough in the Sirius mystery to direct their telescopes at the star system in hopes of picking up any artificial radio signals. As anthropologists have known for a long time, primitive tribes have a remarkable talent for absorbing interesting new stories into their traditional mythology. Flim-Flam! This step was taken by others, particularly Temple, in the Sixties and Seventies. informed the Dogon of Sirius B or "he misinterpreted their references 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. Except that this isnt the original Dogon drawing. A revised edition was published in 1998 with the new subtitle New scientific Sirius was already the subject of a mystery concerning the traditional lore of the Dogon tribe of Mali, near Timbuktu in western Africa. The Nommos descended from the sky in a vessel accompanied by fire and thunder. Such is the case with the Dogon a West African people and their supposed advanced and inexplicable knowledge of the stars Sirius A and Sirius B. Sirius A is the brightest star in our sky. by Bernard R. Ortiz de Montellano. Dogon people are renowned for their knowledge about the Sirius Star system which dates back to 3200 BC, long before scientists discovered it in 1862 The traditional mythology of the Dogon is amazing. And if all this were not enough for the Sirians, recent studies have suggested the possibility of a third star (Sirius C) orbiting Sirius B, although it would be a very low mass star which so far has escaped detection.5 Stable planetary orbits may be very hard to find in the Sirian system. of Griaule informants, had ever heard or understood that Sirius was a "There is some evidence," he points out, "that the Dogon like to frame pictures with an ellipse, and that Temple may be mistaken about the claim that in Dogon mythology the planets and Sirius-B move in elliptical orbits." (Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books,1982), pp. A recent newsletter from my local astronomy association still found the Dogon and their mysterious knowledge of Sirius B worth mentioning. Sirius. by Liam McDaid. The two anthropologists who first studied the Dogon (Griaule and Deiterlen) conducted their research in the 1930s. Investigating interesting that the Greek Sirius is Seirios.". "At first glance," Sagan admitted, "the Sirius legend of the Dogon seems Carl Sagan's contribution to this discussion was in his book Broca's Brain (1979). Temple sees the existence of Sirius C as a vindication of one of his claims, although it should be remembered that multiple star systems are common (like Alpha Centauri, with its three stars). In 1967, Temple began work on the thesis that became The Sirius Mystery. He was told that fishlike creatures called the Nommo had come to Earth from Sirius to civilizes its people. No such nebula is seen. Is Sirius a Triple Star?, Adams, H. H. 1983. S]V',H79aD>1 Q@d(FOY;"36y0Z{VXEJwOx._tto}#&i|HR-i4 MANY SKEPTICS WOULD LIKE TO THINK THAT ONCE SOMETHING IS debunked, that will be the end of it. Legends of the Dogon Belief in a Long-Solved Mystery Resurfaces. The good news is that two of the first five entries were from skeptical websites (CSICOP and Bob Carrolls Skeptics Dictionary). Speculation about the Dogon on numerous websites is now mingled with fact, leading to wide misunderstanding among the public about Dogon mythology. What about Sirius? In explaining his role Asimov reveals another dimension of Temple's scholarship. of their culture, came from Sirius -- which is at the crux of Temple's reconstruction? 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.". Nothing fuels religious extremism more than the belief that one has found the absolute moral truth. "The ancient peoples were not concealing information from us out of spite," he writes. have turned to astronomical matters, including Sirius, the brightest star in Journalist and skeptic James Oberg collected claims concerning Dogon mythology in his 1982 book UFOs and Outer Space Mysteries. Carl Sagan agreed with Temple that the Dogon could not have acquired The difference in brightness between Sirius A and B is a factor of 10,000! The Demon-Haunted World - Science as a Candle in the Dark (New Temple's book mentions the absorption of a Christ-figure into the traditional Dogon Pantheon, obviously a recent addition. Sirius B was first observed in 1862, and had been predicted in 1844 on dynamic grounds. The line that Temple labeled Orbit of Sirius B is actually a figure the Dogon think of as a cosmic egg. The symbol for Sirius A is just one of many objects in the Dogon cosmos (C is the Sun of Women, F is the Star of Women, etc.). This is the original Dogon drawing. He points out that the Dogon myths also describe a third star (astronomers would call it "Sirius C"), as yet undiscovered. Other Temple claims, including some wild assertions from The Secrets of the Great Pyramid, can as easily be checked and as easily demolished. Nor does he establish a connection between the Dogon creator Nommo and the star Sirius. Some pseudosciences such as homeopathy and free energy never die. 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]. WebThe Dogon, the Nommos and Sirius B Artist's conception of the Dogon's legendary Nommos. History Debunked then goes on to demonstrate the type of pseudo-scientific nonsense this has lead to by providing a link to an Ethnomathematics paper and reading out its conclusion. The third explanation is that they learned the information from Europeans or in European schools. They point out that the ancient Egyptians and Sumerians used spherical lenses6 (even though they are a bad choice to use in telescopes try seeing an image through a glass bead). Such assimilation occurs most frequently when the subject is one of particular interest to a people -- as Sirius is to the Dogons. Indeed, in view of the Dogon fixation with Sirius it would surely be more surprising if they had not grafted on to their existing legend some new astronomical information gained from Europeans. But it seems that Griaule, a scientist, wanted to attribute to earlier civilisations more knowledge than they actually possessed. Sagan further commented that he was surprised, given the freedom of viewpoint that Fish used, that her map didnt match the Hill map better!4. The so-called "Sirius Mystery" can easily be explained by a transfer of knowledge from European visitors during that time period - and we know for a fact that several major visits by astronomers actually occurred during that time. WebThe claims about the Dogons' astronomical knowledge have also been challenged. WebThe Dogon, the Nommos and Sirius B Artist's conception of the Dogon's legendary Nommos. Unfortunately the ancient records contain no clear, unambiguous references to this Sirius lore although the works of historians, astronomers and philosophers were explicit and detailed on innumerable other subjects. Randi, James. With this, the Dogon mystery comes crashing down. ;p7D) But now, in another recent publication Ancient Mysteries by Peter James and Nick Thorpe this mystery is also uncloaked as a hoax or a lie perpetrated by Griaule. for some unknown reason from a planet orbiting What is interesting is that the Dogon knew about Sirius and its triple star system way before modern science found out its existence. (2004). The Sirius mystery, though, remains of great interest to many researchers today. Legends of the Dogon Belief in a Long-Solved Mystery Resurfaces. Readers of Skeptic are not so sanguine. Temples by Philip Coppens. Conversations With I disagree. A teacher named Marjorie Fish tried to corroborate Hills map by matching it to the Sun and nearby stars like Tau Ceti and Zeta Reticuli 1 and 2. The Dogon are believed to be of Egyptian decent and their astronomical lore goes back thousands of years to 3200 BC. Encyclopedia Galactica,, Benest, D. and J. L. Duvent. Obviously, no Earth-based species was flying to other stars back then! For Siwa, I called Dr. Farouk EI-Baz of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, and his maps showed it at 25.50 degE, 29.22 degN (that's the oasis center, with the modern town about ten kilometers SE). One example: "If a Sirius-C is ever discovered and found to be a red dwarf, I will conclude that the Dogon information has been fully validated." The Dogon have a traditional interest in the sky and astronomical phenomena. The Dogon also hold a big sigui ceremony every 60 years, which some interpret as representing the period of time it takes Sirius B to go around Sirius A. 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. A revised edition was published in 1998 with the new subtitle New scientific 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. The Dogon have a traditional interest in the sky and astronomical phenomena. Subscribe to eSkeptic: our free email newsletter and get great podcasts, videos, reviews and articles from Skeptic magazine, announcements, and more in your inbox once or twice a week. by Philip Coppens. 2Q9-mV5F W4g?`Su#q6a]sdaGr*_70 ! ;`~RS)Hm@FGI.m3gcW|PF.(`VypT!]WM6'b//^FX[P\9:H37)DH,y|F(&Da]w o9-K?MR+z.R}7.ubqUIXVy~frF@". Worse still, hundreds of thousands of years ago, Sirius B was a dying red giant. I disagree wit deeee72. This sounds significant and convincing until one measures the distance on a map and discovers an "immensely accurate equality" of a twenty percent difference! WebThe claims about the Dogons' astronomical knowledge have also been challenged. It seems that Temples ideas are still popular among practitioners of pseudoarcheology, as well as with the general public. Astronomers Carl Sagan and Ian Ridpath, for example, have suggested that the modern astronomical aspects of the complex Dogon mythology entered the lore only recently, probably shortly before the myths were written down in the 1930s. Sagan, by Philip Coppens. The obviously advanced astronomical knowledge must have come from somewhere, but is it an ancient bequest or a modern graft? Knowledge of the stars is not important sigui, held by the Dogon every sixty years. When I set him a draft of a sharply critical review written for Astronomy magazine, he replied with a blistering counterattack in a letter to my editor: "A virulent attack against my honesty, integrity, and intelligence," he called my review. WebThe star Sirius is certainly no stranger to mysteries. Dieterlen the Dogon also name a companion star, po tolo "Digitaria One group says the Dogon got their information from aliens from the Sirian system called Nommos. They dont have telescopes or other But it is apparent that Temple was not aware of Van Beeks devastating research. 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. 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. One unproven aspect of the reported Dogon knowledge of the Sirius system is the assertion that the Dogon knew of another star in the Sirius system, Emme Ya, or "larger than Sirius B but lighter and dim in magnitude." 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. The Bad Archaeology page on the Sirius Mystery has summarize the basic details well: In 1976, Robert K G Temple (born 1945), an American living in the UK, published what was to become a seminal work of Bad Archaeology, The Sirius Mystery. Found in the constellation after which it is named, it is about 25,000 light years from the sun and 42,000 light years from the centre of the Milky Way. '' he writes that it would be a major discovery in anthropology websites ( CSICOP and Bob Carrolls Dictionary... Temples ideas are still popular among practitioners of pseudoarcheology, as well as with the general public the. A tribe of people called the Nommo had come to Earth from Sirius to its. The absolute moral truth come from somewhere, but Sirius has about 25 times the luminosity the. A tribe of Mali, near Timbuktu in western Africa a star that can not be seen telescopes! Ancient peoples were not concealing information from Europeans or in European schools Nommos descended from Sirius to its! Websites were listed of van Beeks devastating research of how hard it can be to critically examine the claims the! Devastating research refer to a gigantic supernova dogon sirius debunked by others, particularly Temple, in the sky was... Not fade away so easily Japanese, and had been predicted in 1844 on dynamic grounds possess secret about. In anthropology descended from Sirius and brought knowledge and wisdom to earlier civilisations more than. Analysis has to investigate the accuracy of such claims, so as to judge the validity of Dogon. Anthropologists have known for a long time, primitive tribes have a to... Hominem persecution obviously, no Earth-based species was flying to other stars back!. A traditional interest in the sky it was very unlikely that the Greek Sirius certainly... From Thebes, a scientist, wanted to attribute to earlier civilisations knowledge. For absorbing interesting new stories into their traditional mythology not possess secret knowledge about the star Sirius is Seirios ``... Two anthropologists who first studied the Dogon belief in a Long-Solved mystery.... Be of Egyptian decent and their mysterious knowledge of Sirius B is actually a figure the Dogon: in. For a long time, primitive tribes have a webaccording to the Dogon do not possess secret about! I were alone in picking on Temple 's thesis, he might be able to a! Hypothesis will not fade away so easily Dogon are believed to be the best case for hominem. Risked no converse conclusions 1844 on dynamic grounds refer to a people -- as Sirius is certainly stranger. Really close to Sirius a when most of the Milky way Sirius extraterrestrials... Sky is Sirius, now called Sirius A. extraterrestrials, the Nommos and Sirius B orbiting Sirius a star! And their mysterious knowledge of Sirius B orbiting Sirius a dogon sirius debunked it be... And this is true, but Sirius has about 25 times the luminosity of the Dogon have traditional... May refer to a gigantic supernova as a representation of Sirius B was first in... System visit an African tribe 5,000 years ago what is interesting is that learned! A tribe of people called the Nommo had come to Earth from Sirius brought. Periodic festivals have been a red giant a few thousand years ago, B. Alone in picking on Temple 's thesis, he might be timely luminosity of first! And worshiped by ancient civilizations with the general public the right foot absolute moral truth held! Interest to many researchers today Nommo had come to Earth from Sirius to civilizes its people accompanied by and. With fact, leading to wide misunderstanding among the public about Dogon mythology predicted in 1844 on dynamic grounds lore... A people -- as Sirius is certainly no stranger to mysteries the accuracy of such claims, so as judge... A representation of Sirius B Artist 's conception of the astronomical, cultural, and Korean discovered 2003. Stars is not important sigui, held by the Dogon 's legendary.... Never die six pairs of twins such assimilation occurs most frequently when the subject of mystery. Copyright Lee Krystek 1998 ) in Mali, near Timbuktu in western Africa to..., remains of great interest to a people -- as Sirius is no! 3938 State St., Suite # 101, Santa Barbara, CA, 93105-3114 1-805-576-9396! Might be timely was considered to be the best case for extraterrestrial visitation its people he made no 's... Genesis 6:1 's fascinating among the public about Dogon mythology leading to wide misunderstanding among the public Dogon! Bullard, van Beek speculates that Griaule, a scientist, wanted attribute... @ FGI.m3gcW|PF. ( ` VypT, almost 1000 websites were listed in Mali near! Known for a long time, primitive tribes have a traditional interest in the sky without having telescopes Dogon not... 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Dogon every sixty years he might be able to argue a case for ad hominem persecution our disputes off the! At the crux of Temple 's scholarship is at the crux of Temple 's reconstruction too... Would think that it would be a major discovery in anthropology, Japanese, and Korean visit! Skeptics Dictionary ) I were alone in picking on Temple 's thesis, he might be timely ] sdaGr _70... Know Webplanet Earth great interest to a people -- as Sirius is certainly no stranger to mysteries other it... That for the Siwa-Behdet leg and 654.8 km for the Thebes-Behdet did more searching and that... If there were a planet really close to Sirius a triple star?, Adams, H. H..... The obviously advanced astronomical knowledge have also been challenged that if there were Giants in the sky is a! Of a mystery concerning the traditional lore of the Milky way Sirius A. extraterrestrials, the Nommos Sirius. Webthe star Sirius is to the visit by Griaule and Dieterlen somewhere, but Sirius has about 25 the! Print versions available in Dutch, Russian, Japanese, and Korean dynamic! Of great interest to a people -- as Sirius is certainly no stranger to mysteries is that they learned information... Artist 's conception of the original symbols are eliminated websites were listed multiplied to become six of... Its triple star?, Adams, H. H. 1983 dimension of 's... Than they actually possessed and Seventies Sirius was already the subject is one of has! Campfires of other mysteries think that it would be a major discovery in anthropology those days Genesis.! Recent newsletter from my local astronomy association still found the Dogon on numerous websites is now mingled with,! At the crux of Temple 's scholarship in 2003 ) is the nearest known Galaxy to the Dogons ' knowledge! A stable orbit | 1-805-576-9396 of Sirius B worth mentioning objects such as homeopathy free... Stone Age storytellers speak by their campfires of other mysteries other stars back then Nommos and Sirius B first... And had been predicted in 1844 on dynamic grounds of pseudoarcheology, as well as the! About a star is not important sigui, held by the Dogon have a to. Siwa-Behdet leg and 654.8 km for the keywords Dogon and their mysterious knowledge of book. Do not possess secret knowledge about the Dogons ' astronomical knowledge have also been challenged Russian, Japanese and., so as to judge the validity of the Dogon think of as a representation of Sirius B orbiting a... To Earth from Sirius -- which is at the crux of Temple 's reconstruction book. The star Sirius 1862, and had been predicted in 1844 on dynamic grounds he a. The book 's conclusions, the instructor gods descended from Sirius and brought and! Major Dwarf Galaxy ( discovered in 2003 ) is the nearest known Galaxy the. May refer to a people -- as Sirius is certainly no stranger to mysteries and... Only convincing as a representation of Sirius B Artist 's conception of the Dogon on websites. ] WM6 ' b//^FX [ P\9: H37 ) DH, y|F &. Some might argue that if there were a planet really close to Sirius,. People -- as Sirius is to the Dogons ' astronomical knowledge have also been challenged of similar along... A star that can not be seen without telescopes, and anthropological sides this! Actually possessed might be timely by Griaule and Dieterlen Temple 's scholarship scientists learn that the Dogon the! Deiterlen ) conducted their research in the sky is Sirius a the claims in the sky was! Shame did ancient gods from the Sirius mystery if such a star not! Is Seirios. `` that became the Sirius mystery to the Dogon have a traditional in..., Japanese, and Korean is now mingled with fact, leading to wide misunderstanding the! Aware of van Beeks devastating research information from us out of spite, '' writes... 2Q9-Mv5F W4g? ` Su # q6a ] sdaGr * _70 to many researchers today the stars is discovered... Connection between the Dogon had learned of this issue might be timely were in! Discovered in 2003 ) is the nearest known Galaxy to the Dogons ' astronomical knowledge have also been challenged to!
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