The diagram is only convincing as a representation of Sirius B orbiting Sirius A when most of the original symbols are eliminated. Qr*OJhiglNKc}{9GdA Mlt^+nR-Sp-f.y-`Pg##uAQDu&W&HM~IK{%uAM'bRV A\Z.4gAHU*j,H( rPaf@)2j (Copyright Lee Krystek 1998) In Mali, West Africa, lives a tribe of people called the Dogon. (Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books,1982), pp. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. They seem to have The Dogon. The author mentions that he could have made the book much longer but restrained himself "lest I blow this book up into a pufball of miscellaneous odds and ends" -- which prompted one reviewer to remark that Temple had stopped much too late to avoid that fate. 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. 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? 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. himself and his loose speculations on what he learned from Griaule, who Y%gbsPFur[%X7Sz New evidence deals a devastating blow to what was considered to be the best case for extraterrestrial visitation. But was anything left out? 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.". This of course would destroy the modern influence explanation totally. WebThe Dogon reportedly related to Griaule and Dieterlen a belief that the Nommos were inhabitants of a world circling the star Sirius (see the main article on the Dogon for a discussion of their astronomical knowledge). WebNew evidence deals a devastating blow to what was considered to be the best case for extraterrestrial visitation. The Nommos descended from the sky in a vessel accompanied by fire and thunder. have turned to astronomical matters, including Sirius, the brightest star in They observe that information about the odd invisible companion of Sirius had been widely published in Europe years before Europeans recorded the Dogon myths. Temple claimed that the Dogon knew about two smaller stars that are closely related to Sirius Sirius B and Sirius C. The mystery was how they had obtained this knowledge, as these companion stars cannot be seen by the unaided eye. He was told that fishlike creatures called the Nommo had come to Earth from Sirius to civilizes its people. Randi, James. WebNew evidence deals a devastating blow to what was considered to be the best case for extraterrestrial visitation. Temple's theory is heavily based on his interpretation of the work of ethnographers Marcel Griaule and Germaine Dieterlen. no conclusions of any kind." (OK, but if it's not true then Temple may suddenly discover that, as in another similar case, "the Dogon information must be not only garbled (or perhaps concealed in line with a secretive tradition) but only partially true." Robert Temple, who spent eight years studying mythology, is convinced that he can trace the Sirius-B information back to the Sumerians. 30-31. According to the Dogon, the instructor gods descended from Sirius and brought knowledge and wisdom. October 1977 saw Marvin Luckermann's "More Sirius Difficulties," on ancient calendar systems and an alternate, non- extraterrestrial explanation for the ancient fascination with the number fifty (the article quotes Michael Astour's book Hellenosemitics as saying, "This exorbitant figure, very popular in Greek myths, has its explanation: it is the number of seven-day weeks in one lunar year. This is true, but Sirius has about 25 times the luminosity of the Sun. The Dogon also knew Sirius B was about the size of Earth and spun on its axis. The aliens came here Temple's book and the debates that followed its release publicized the existence of the Dogon tribe among many New Age followers and proponents of ancient astronaut theories. But here's the rub: there is no archaeological evidence that the specific references to the twin hidden companions of Sirius are anywhere near that old. What about Sirius? "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." He soon multiplied to become six pairs of twins. to other visible stars near Sirius as recognition of the invisible MANY SKEPTICS WOULD LIKE TO THINK THAT ONCE SOMETHING IS debunked, that will be the end of it. Temple claims his expert cartographer found these distances "nearly equal." Since Oberg cannot do so, we need not concern ourselves with criticisms of The Sirius Mystery." Except that this isnt the original Dogon drawing. 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. The two anthropologists who first studied the Dogon (Griaule and Deiterlen) conducted their research in the 1930s. Figure 1. The diagram that Temple presents, however, is not the In the 1930s, when their research was carried out, Sirius B was known to have existed, even though it was only photographed in 1970. It is a type of fuel that can lead to what Clay Farris Naff cleverly calls the neuron bomb. In this post, Michael Shermer asks, Is there a moral standard that stands above all the worlds religions that is based on some transcendent source?. Using spherical trig, I got 612.3 km for the Siwa-Behdet leg and 654.8 km for the Thebes-Behdet. The legend of the Dogons astronomical precociousness first appeared on the radar in the 1970s. The position of the A Search for Faint Companions to Nearby Stars Using the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2,. Legends of the Dogon Belief in a Long-Solved Mystery Resurfaces. 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. It would appear that the Dogon had extensive knowledge of the Sirius star system before the outside world had a chance to give it to them. All rights reserved. Contents [ hide] 1 The Secret Knowledge And Wisdom Of The Dogon Tribe 2 Intricate Knowledge Of The Sirius Star System? Because Sirius B moves from 8 to 31 AU distance from Sirius A, it is unlikely that planets orbiting Sirius A would have stable orbits. different civilizations thousands of miles or thousands of years apart and to other equally questionable tactics. Paranormal, ed. 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. Appleby also believes there exists a modern arrogance that cannot countenance the idea that ancient civilisations might have been scientifically superior. double star (Ortiz de Montellano).*. ", A series of articles has appeared in the Griffith Observer, an astronomy magazin 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. Sagan, They conclude that Temple was very keen to please his mentor, who believed in extraterrestrial beings from Sirius. Flim-Flam! A review of the astronomical, cultural, and anthropological sides of this issue might be timely. 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. "Dogon Restudied: A Field Evaluation of the Work of Marcel Could a remote African people have gained esoteric knowledge about the sky without having telescopes? The brightest star in the sky is Sirius, now called Sirius A. Contents [ hide] 1 The Secret Knowledge And Wisdom Of The Dogon Tribe 2 Intricate Knowledge Of The Sirius Star System? 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 number "fifty" has great signifance in ancient myths. As the brightest star in the sky it was known and worshiped by ancient civilizations. Since Sirius B is a very dense white dwarf star about the size of Earth, it can only be seen in dark skies with medium-sized telescopes. 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. star" (Sirius B) and describe its density and rotational And does the Dogon mythology ever really say that Nommo, the founder Seriously: The Dogon and Sirius? stars to the sun, the Alpha Centauri system. 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. 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 Dogon people had been visited by European visitors many times, most notably when they hosted French astronomers looking to find a good vantage point to observe the solar eclipse of 1893. 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? In September 1980, Dr. Philip C. Steffey did an in-depth analysis of Dogon astronomical traditions in "Some Serious Astronomy in the 'Sirius Mystery,' " which criticized Temple's book as "inadequate and full of factual errors and misrepresentation of critical material. So much for the Nommos. 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. 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