When does a myth become truth? Pt4 - The Dogon and the Nommos.

How could an ancient tribe from Africa have knowledge about the Universe past down to them from the distant past that modern astronomers have only just 'discovered' again in the last century?

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The Dogon people are from Western Mali in NW Africa. To say they have a strange belief of their own history is an understatement however to dismiss it would be ignoring an important piece of circumstantial evidence as we look for the truth of our shared albeit distant past.

Situated in the central plateau region of Mali, south of the Niger bend near the city of Bandiagara the Dogon are best known for their religious traditions, wooden mask dances, architecture and wooden sculptures.

The focus of this post however is going to be on their alleged visitations and astronomical beliefs that have been incorporated into religious beliefs and details extrasolar astronomical bodies that cannot be seen with the naked eye.

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So what do they believe?

The Dogon believe that they were visited in antiquity by an amphibious race of space travelers called Nommos who came from the Sirius B star system!

Now that statement itself I'm sure is enough for some to switch off and zone out but stick with me people its an interesting story.

In this article from Crystalinks there are a lot of facts regarding the history and beliefs of the Dogon people. Here are some excerpts.

The Dogon are famous for their astronomical knowledge taught through oral tradition, dating back thousands of years, referencing the star system, Sirius linked with the Egyptian goddess Isis. The astronomical information known by the Dogon was not discovered and verified until the 19th and 20th centuries, making one wonder how the Dogon came by this knowledge. Their oral traditions say it was given to them by the Nommo. The source of their information may date back to the time of the ancient Egyptian priests.

As the story goes ... in the late 1930s, four Dogon priests shared their most important secret tradition with two French anthropologists, Marcel Griaule and Germain Dieterlen after they had spent an apprenticeship of fifteen years living with the tribe. These were secret myths about the star Sirius, which is 8.6 light years from the Earth.

The Dogon priests said that Sirius had a companion star that was invisible to the human eye. They also stated that the star moved in a 50-year elliptical orbit around Sirius, that it was small and incredibly heavy, and that it rotated on its axis.

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Initially the anthropologists wrote it off publishing the information in an obscure anthropological journal, because they didn't appreciate the astronomical importance of the information.

What they didn't know was that since 1844, astronomers had suspected that Sirius A had a companion star. This was in part determined when it was observed that the path of the star wobbled.

In 1862 Alvan Clark discovered the second star making Sirius a binary star system (two stars).

In the 1920's it was determined that Sirius B, the companion of Sirius, was a white dwarf star. White dwarfs are small, dense stars that burn dimly. The pull of its gravity causes Sirius' wavy movement. Sirius B is smaller than planet Earth.

The Dogon name for Sirius B is Po Tolo. It means star - tolo and smallest seed - po. Seed refers to creation. In this case, perhaps human creation. By this name they describe the star's smallness. It is, they say, the smallest thing there is. They also claim that it is 'the heaviest star' and is white in color. The Dogon thus attribute to Sirius B its three principal properties as a white dwarf: small, heavy, white.

So what good is this apparent knowledge of the stars to the Dogon? Why is it an integral part of their rituals? What message is hidden in their ancient rituals and dances?
Below is a picture of Dogon tribesmen wearing the 'Kanaga mask' which has been linked by writer Wayne Herschel to star maps along with many other historical artifacts, monuments and ancient sites.

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Herschel has an interesting take on the Kanga mask and links it to other ancient carvings and glyphs depicting the constallation of Orion. Orion, Sirius and 'Fish like Gods/teachers are prevalent throughout our oldest written ancient history.

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I first came across this story in a book called The Sirius Mystery by Robert Temple when it was republished in 1998 and on first reading I was taken in by the account and convinced by the science, however in the years since some the books evidence has been debunked as the original anthropological evidence gathering was possibly tainted.

This article by Phillip Coppins debunks some of the alleged evidence of celestial knowledge showing that it may have been added by the original anthropological team.

He states.....

The biggest challenge to Griaule, however, came from anthropologist Walter Van Beek. He points out that Griaule and Dieterlen stand alone in their claims about the Dogon secret knowledge. No other anthropologist supports their opinions. 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. 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. Van Beek actually spoke to some of Griaule’s 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. All agree, however, that they learned about the star from Griaule.” Van Beek states that this creates a major problem for Griaule’s claims.

Although he was an anthropologist, Griaule was keenly interested in astronomy and had studied it in Paris. 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. 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. To quote James and Thorpe: “As for Sirius B, only Griaule’s informants had ever heard of it.” Was Griaule told by his informants what he wanted to believe; did he misinterpret the Dogon responses to his questions? Either way, the original purity of the Dogon-Sirius story is itself a myth as it is highly likely that Griaule contaminated their knowledge with his own.

With this, the Dogon mystery comes crashing down. For more then 20 years, The Sirius Mystery has influenced speculation about the possibility that our ‘forefathers’ came from the stars. 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 Griaule’s claims even more spectacular and accurate. But it is apparent that Temple was not aware of Van Beek’s devastating research.

From the findings of Van Beek and the authors of Ancient Mysteries, it is clear that Griaule himself was responsible for the creation of a modern myth; one which, in retrospect, has created such an industry and near-religious belief that the scope and intensity of it can hardly be fathomed. Nigel Appleby – whose book Hall of the Gods was withdrawn from publication – has admitted to being tremendously influenced by Temple’s Sirius Mystery. He has written of Temple’s belief that present-day authorities are unwilling to set aside the blinkers of orthodoxy, unable to admit the validity of anything that lies outside their field or that offers a challenge to the status quo. Appleby also believes there exists a modern arrogance that cannot countenance the idea that ancient civilisations might have been scientifically superior.

So was the whole story made up then?

Of course not, one piece of evidence regarding knowledge of the Sirius System may have been 'embellished' by Griaule in order for the story to fit into his own preconceived idea and besides that still doesn't account for the ability to chart the stars orbits with such accuracy.
There are still more intriguing aspects to this story that deserve further investigation namely ...
The Nommos.

There are numerous depictions of these mythical amphibious creatures said to have arrived from the sky in a vessel accompanied by fire and thunder!

They have been depicted in many forms and this one on the left is a classic 'folk art' piece showing the humanoid and fishlike chimera described.
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Wikipedia states....

The Nommo are ancestral spirits (sometimes referred to as deities) worshipped by the Dogon people of Mali. The word Nommos is derived from a Dogon word meaning "to make one drink." The Nommos are usually described as amphibious, hermaphroditic, fish-like creatures. Folk art depictions of the Nommos show creatures with humanoid upper torsos, legs/feet, and a fish-like lower torso and tail. The Nommos are also referred to as “Masters of the Water”, “the Monitors”, and "the Teachers”. Nommo can be a proper name of an individual, or can refer to the group of spirits as a whole. For purposes of this article “Nommo” refers to a specific individual and “Nommos” is used to reference the group of beings.

Dogon mythology says that Nommo was the first living creature created by the sky god Amma. Shortly after his creation, Nommo underwent a transformation and multiplied into four pairs of twins. One of the twins rebelled against the universal order created by Amma. To restore order to his creation, Amma sacrificed another of the Nommo progeny, whose body was dismembered and scattered throughout the universe.[1] This dispersal of body parts is seen by the Dogon as the source for the proliferation of Binu shrines throughout the Dogons’ traditional territory; wherever a body part fell, a shrine was erected.

In the latter part of the 1940s, French anthropologists Marcel Griaule and Germaine Dieterlen (who had been working with the Dogon since 1931) were the recipients of additional, secret mythologies, concerning the Nommo. The 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). The Nommos descended from the sky in a vessel accompanied by fire and thunder. After arriving, the Nommos created a reservoir of water and subsequently dived into the water. The Dogon legends state that the Nommos required a watery environment in which to live. According to the myth related to Griaule and Dieterlen: "The Nommo divided his body among men to feed them; that is why it is also said that as the universe "had drunk of his body," the Nommo also made men drink. He gave all his life principles to human beings." The Nommo are also thought to be the origin of the first Hogon.

I find the story of the arrival of the Dogon and their appearance eerily similar to other creation 'myths' from around the world. Many Amphibious Gods have been reported throughout history and linked to our creation. If this was isolated that would be one thing however the fact that similar stories are found the world over suggest a shared history. Stories of 'teachers' appear in many cultures and personally I believe there have been multiple cataclysms that have sent humanity back millennia in development. The stories of the teachers pop up on nearly all continents and pose many interesting questions.
Where were they from?
Were they the survivors of a destroyed earthly civilisation trying to repopulate/reeducate the remnants of civilisation?
Or were they really visitors from elsewhere?

The following graphics are interesting as they show the striking similarities between differing cultures in antiquity and their belief that they were visited by entities/gods from the same part of space and not only looked similar but travelled in the same manner.

DAGON

Dagon was the god of the Philistines. The idol was represented in the combination of both man and fish. The name 'Dagon' is derived from 'dag' which means 'fish'. Although there was a deep affection from Dagon's worshippers to their deity, the symbol of a fish in human form was really meant to represent fertility and the vivifying powers of nature and reproduction. His name is a lot like 'Dogon'.

EA/ENKI

Sumer where kingship first descended from heaven. EA was thought to live in the 'Apsu' or submarine palace. Zoroaster can be seen above the amphibious gods.

MATSUA

Matsya the Fish appeared in the Satya Yuga and represents beginning of life.

The Fish Incarnation is the first incarnation of Vishnu. Lord Vishnu takes the form of a fish in order to retrieve the Vedas from the demon Hayagriva, who stole them from Lord Brahma. Without the Vedas, Creation of the Universe cannot take place. He slayed the demon Hayagriva, recovered the Vedas, and also saved the pious king Satyavrata from the deluge so that life and religion can be preserved for the next cycle of Creation.

According to legend, the king Manu was washing his hands in a river when a little fish swam into his hands and begged him to save it. He put it in a jar, which it soon outgrew; he successively moved it to a tank, a river and then the ocean. The fish then warned him that a Great Flood would occur in a week that would destroy all life. Manu therefore built a boat which the fish towed to a mountaintop when the flood came, and thus he survived along with some "seeds of life" to re-establish life on earth.

OLOKUN

Olokun is experienced in male and female personifications, depending on what region and of West Africa He/She is worshipped. Olokun is personified in several human characteristics; patience, endurance, sternness, observation, meditation, appreciation for history, future visions, and royalty personified. Its characteristics are found and displayed in the depths of the Ocean. Its name means Owner (Olo) of Oceans (Okun).
Olokun is considered the patron orisa of the descendants of Africans that were carried away during the Maafa, or what is sometimes referred to as the Transatlantic Slave Trade or Middle Passage. Olokun works closely with Oya (Deity of Sudden Change)and Egungun (Collective Ancestral Spirits) to herald the way for those that pass to ancestorship, as it plays a critical role in Death (Iku), Life and the transition of human beings and spirits between these two existences.
Olokun also signifies unfathomable wisdom. That is, the instinct that there is something worth knowing, perhaps more than can ever be learned, especially the spiritual sciences that most people spend a lifetime pondering. Olokun also governs material wealth, psychic abilities, dreaming, meditation, mental health and water-based healing.
Olokun is one of many Orisa known to help women that desire children. Olokun also is worshipped by those that seek political and social ascension, which is why heads of state, royalty, entrepreneurs and socialites often turn to Olokun to not only protect their reputations, but propel them further among the ranks of their peers.

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Coincidence?

If you click the Amphibious Gods link above you will see how many there are, I find it difficult to believe that there is not a shared common history here, I believe there are too many coincidental similarities in beliefs from all over the world dating back to pre history that have being ignored, misinterpreted or deliberately obfuscated.
This final link from Labrintha.com called The Fisher Kings links them all together nicely and begs the question... Who were they?

The Dogon people do indeed have what Western academia would call 'strange beliefs' regarding their history however when you look at the many other cultures that have had and indeed still have to this day similar beliefs.
Could they all of made up similar fantastical histories? I doubt it.
Do these different cultures have a shared history, are they telling the same story? Maybe
Were they each visited by teachers from a yet to be discovered Earthly civilisation? Possibly
We're the teachers from somewhere else? No concrete evidence of that yet

Just more questions....

For all previous parts of this series please check out @tremendospercy

Please remember this is not a definitive history of the Dogon people or any of the other civilisations mentioned. This post as ever has been brought to you in the hope that you will go and look into to it yourselves. There is much history that has been lost to us either by accident or by design, it's up to us to go and search for it.

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