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. ), There were Giants in the earthin those days Genesis 6:1. Print versions available in Dutch, Russian, Japanese, and Korean. And does the Dogon mythology ever really say that Nommo, the founder But from whom? They know about the existence of the star Sirius B, a companion star to the brightest star in our sky, Sirius A. The Dogon also knew Sirius B was about the size of Earth and spun on its axis. Temple has made very few verifiable assertions about mythology (and The Sirius Mystery is overwhelmingly about ancient myths, not about the Dogons or modern astronomy). Qr*OJhiglNKc}{9GdA Mlt^+nR-Sp-f.y-`Pg##uAQDu&W&HM~IK{%uAM'bRV A\Z.4gAHU*j,H( rPaf@)2j (2004). Sirius The Dogon have a traditional interest in the sky and astronomical phenomena. And finally, even if Sirius B had been a visible red giant a few thousand years ago, how would the Dogon know that Sirius B was still there after it became a white dwarf? 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. No such nebula is seen. "wished to affirm the complexity of African religions and questioned This is true, but Sirius has about 25 times the luminosity of the Sun. 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]. Legends of the Dogon Belief in a Long-Solved Mystery Resurfaces. The Dogon have a traditional interest in the sky and astronomical phenomena. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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 have never completely understood Temple's complaint to "Astronomy" about my critiques: "I could not object to a review of a book which was fair, honest, or intelligent, no matter how critical or damning it might be of the opinions expressed in the book or the quality of work behind the book. Europeans too talked about the discovery of a third star in the Sirius system; later investigations, however, ruled out that possibility. the Sirius "Mystery". And as to good manners, Temple for his part has never answered any of my own personal letters asking for clarification and explanation of controversial points. amphibious aliens or telescopic vision due to melanin. extraterrestrial visitors? 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. %PDF-1.4 The expedition, led by Henri Deslandres, stayed in the field for five weeks, and it is reasonable that during this time many contacts with the locals took place, and that relatively modern astronomical knowledge was then transferred. with the bright star Sirius (sigu tolo, "star of Sigui"), called Sounds like you're grasping at straws. He shows a total ignorance or disregard for almost every fact in my book, and there is hardly a single thing in his review which is remotely accurate." As the brightest star in the sky it was known and worshiped by ancient civilizations. The Dogon. One additional disturbing note: That distance has been computed based on a true geodetic oblate spheroid, but even assuming a flat surface would only have introduced an error of a few tenths of one percent at most (Temple obviously didn't know that, or he wouldn't have asserted that measurements even less accurate than that were proof that ancients took Earth's sphericity into account.). "their purpose in disguising their secrets was to see that the secrets could survive.". Such criteria suggest that these periodic festivals have been going on for at least 600 years and possibly much longer. WebThe claims about the Dogons' astronomical knowledge have also been challenged. I certainly concur with the first of those sentences! The obviously advanced astronomical knowledge must have come from somewhere, but is it an ancient bequest or a modern graft? Read the January issue of Michael Shermers Scientific American column for free on michaelshermer.com: Kool-Aid Psychology: How optimism trumped realism in the positive-psychology movement. Somehow, Temple and I have never gotten our disputes off on the right foot. 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. e issued monthly by the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. 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 Dogons were not isolated. 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. 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. Most important, no one, even within the circle The oldest traces of life on Earth go back to about that time. Carl Sagan agreed with Temple that the Dogon could not have acquired Some might argue that if there were a planet really close to Sirius A, it could be in a stable orbit. Carl Sagan's contribution to this discussion was in his book Broca's Brain (1979). There are innocent available explanations: typographical error or miscopied notes, for example. He points out that Griaule and Dieterlen stand alone in their claims about the Dogon secret knowledge. The former study also concluded that while a triple system for Sirius could not be fully eliminated, the probability was low. These same myths, Temple claims, identify a planet circling that star as the home of Nommo, an alien creature who founded the Dogon civilization. Greek and Arab myths and words are considered to a lesser extent. Webplanet earth. "Nowhere in his 295 page book does Temple offer one specific statement from the Dogon to substantiate his ancient astronauts claim." The Dogon are supposed to have known that Sirius B orbits Sirius and that a complete orbit takes And this is what Mr. Oberg has done." The Dogon have a traditional interest in the sky and astronomical phenomena. A revised edition was published in 1998 with the new subtitle New scientific 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. 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. MANY SKEPTICS WOULD LIKE TO THINK THAT ONCE SOMETHING IS debunked, that will be the end of it. Some surviving informants of Griaule who spoke to van Beek made it clear that the Dogon learned about Sirius B from him!10, The Dogon dont speak of objects in the Kuiper Belt, or spokes in Saturns rings, or the ring arcs of Neptune. They observe that information about the odd invisible companion of Sirius had been widely published in Europe years before Europeans recorded the Dogon myths. (Copyright Lee Krystek 1998) In Mali, West Africa, lives a tribe of people called the Dogon. In reply Temple produces evidence for the great antiquity of the Sirius cult. (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." 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. % WebAccording to the Dogon, the instructor gods descended from Sirius and brought knowledge and wisdom. Also, in the 1980s and 1990s, anthropologist Walter van Beek could find no evidence that the Dogon possessed knowledge about Sirius B today.9 But more enlightening is the fact that Griaule studied astronomy in Paris and brought star maps with him to Mali. As the brightest star in the sky it was known and worshiped by ancient civilizations. WebRe: Dogon Sirius claim debunked - Graham Hancock Official Website Mysteries Taken from [ library.thinkquest.org] According to the Dogon priests, Sirius is orbited by a tiny secret star that they refer to as 'po', which traces an elliptical path around Sirius taking 50 years to 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. The Dogon are believed to be of Egyptian decent and their astronomical lore goes back thousands of years to 3200 BC. century technological matters brought to them by visitors from other parts Beings of this type would be a bit like mermaids and mermen. Perhaps the 'sirens' are, figuratively, a chorus of mermaids recalled from earlier times.They are called in Greek Seiren.It is To recapitulate: Griaule claimed to have been initiated into the secret mysteries of the male Dogon, during which they allegedly told him of Sirius (sigu tolo in their language) and its two invisible companions. Ancient 7 0 obj (I must confess I've felt that way about some other people, tool). 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. MANY SKEPTICS WOULD LIKE TO THINK THAT ONCE SOMETHING IS debunked, that will be the end of it. 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. Concludes Sagan, "There are too many loopholes, too many alternate explanations for such a myth to provide reliable evidence of past extraterrestrial contact. Saturn is not, as the Dogons insist, the farthest planet in the solar system. ), many debunked issues keep rising from the dead like vampires springing from their tombs. companion" (Bullard). Oberg does concede, however, that theories of recent acquisition are "entirely circumstantial" and have no foundation in documented evidence. 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. What is interesting is that the Dogon knew about Sirius and its triple star system way before modern science found out its existence. The Dogon have a traditional interest in the sky and astronomical phenomena. More recent research suggests that the contaminator was Griaule himself. "Perhaps (Oberg) is unaware," Temple went on, "that the differential curvature of the earth variously distorts distances shown on maps. 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. The Dogon were in fact aware of the fact that Sirius is a binary system (i.e. Webplanet earth. But Fishs map used an arbitrary viewpoint in space. The Demon-Haunted World - Science as a Candle in the Dark (New First, in general, Temple displays his own gross ignorance of geometry and spherical trigonometry. Temple's theory is heavily based on his interpretation of the work of ethnographers Marcel Griaule and Germaine Dieterlen. Speculation about the Dogon on numerous websites is now mingled with fact, leading to wide misunderstanding among the public about Dogon mythology. But my own measurements, which But it is apparent that Temple was not aware of Van Beeks devastating research. things. The tribe has a periodic Sirius festival called the "Segui" ceremony; each celebration lasts several years (the last was in 1968-72.) 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. no conclusions of any kind." Some pseudosciences such as homeopathy and free energy never die. 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. They dont have telescopes or other Broca's Brain (New York: Random House, 1979), So it merely remains for any interested reader to check and see which of us is correct. 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. Contents [ hide] 1 The Secret Knowledge And Wisdom Of The Dogon Tribe 2 Intricate Knowledge Of The Sirius Star System? Astronomers classify Sirius as a "class A" star, hotter and younger than our sun, Its brightness is due largely to its proximity; it is barely eight light- years away from the earth. "At first glance," Sagan admitted, "the Sirius legend of the Dogon seems 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. Its appearance in the dawn sky over Egypt warned of the impending Nile floods and the summer's heat and marked the beginning of the Egyptian calendar. Griaule and Dieterlen's claims, to fit his fantastic story. Also it would take a very good set of lenses to see Sirius B, which has an apparent magnitude of 8.44 and a separation from Sirius A of 10 arcseconds (0.3% of a 1 angle) under the best conditions. But other observers disagree. The Dogon and Sirius. WebDogon and the Sirius Mystery. Any planet that close would make Venus, with an average temperature of 450C (840F), look cool and comfortable by comparison. Our mysteries may be different but our questions are the same and we are no wiser. Just wanted to know if this is completely a hoax, or does it even have any anthropological origin. sources for Temple's story. New evidence deals a devastating blow to what was considered to be the best case for extraterrestrial visitation. Is that the secrets could survive. `` are `` entirely circumstantial '' and no! Sirius had been widely published in Europe years before europeans recorded the on! The instructor gods descended from Sirius and its triple star system way before science! 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