Members of the Dogon tribe in their ceremonial attire. Photo: Wikipedia
The Dogon Tribe, of Mali in West Africa, are relatively unknown but remarkable. Despite having a population of less than one million, they have demonstrated an advanced understanding of astronomy that has led some to speculate about possible extraterrestrial contact in their past.
History of the Dogon People
The Dogon people are a native group located in West Africa's central plateau region of Mali, near the city of Bandiagara and in Burkina Faso, south of the Niger bend. Their population ranges between 400,000 to 800,000 individuals.
The Dogon's notable features are their religious customs, mask dances, wooden sculptures, and architecture. In recent years, the Dogon's social organization, beliefs, and material culture have undergone significant changes due to the area in which they live being a major tourist attraction in Mali since the 20th century.
Advanced Knowledge of the Dogon People
A Dogon Village
The knowledge of astronomy and mathematics possessed by the Dogon Tribe is remarkably advanced and accurate, leading some to speculate that they could not have developed or discovered it on their own.
The origins of the Dogon Tribe are unknown, with some suggesting they may have descended from Egypt.
Their customs and traditional ceremonies are in harmony with the movements of a mysterious and unnamed star, Sirius B, which they knew orbits around Sirius A in an elliptical manner every 50 years. This information was completely unknown to Western astronomers at the time.
While Sirius A is visible to the naked eye as a bright star in the western sky, Sirius B, its invisible companion, cannot be seen. The Dogon people understood that Sirius B was small but dense or heavy, and they had known about its existence for thousands of years. It wasn't until 1970, when Western astronomers took the first photograph of Sirius B, that its existence was officially confirmed.
The Dogon Tribe also possessed knowledge that Saturn has four moons and is surrounded by rings or halos, which can only be seen with powerful telescopes.
The Dogon People and the Aliens
A documentary from 1979 about the Dogon people and their advanced astral knowledge.
So where did this advanced celestial knowledge come from if the Dogon didn’t have telescopes or advanced mathematics?
As per the tribe elders who shared their story with French visitors in 1939, the Dogon people believe that their extensive knowledge of the sky was bestowed upon them by creatures who came to Earth from Sirius B thousands of years ago. These beings, known as Nommos, were amphibious and had an extraordinary understanding of astronomy and mathematics, and the Dogon people revere them as a source of their knowledge.
While Western scientists consider these accounts of extraterrestrial contact to be nothing more than handed-down myths, the Dogon Tribe has absolute faith in them, viewing them as undeniable as the ground beneath their feet.
Robert Temple's book "The Sirius Mystery," published by Random House in London in 1977 and revised in 1998, provides a well-documented but controversial discussion of the extraterrestrial roots of the Dogon Tribe's precise astronomical knowledge. Temple's book boldly claims that advanced extraterrestrial beings must have had contact with humans as early as 5000 and 3000 B.C.
According to Temple, not only the Dogon Tribe but also the ancient Babylonians and Egyptians spoke of creatures who came from the Sirius Star system. And their oral traditions align with the Dogon people's belief that these extraterrestrial beings were amphibious.
Skepticism about the Dogon People’s Astral Knowledge
More traditional Western astronomers and researchers have dismissed extraterrestrial theories as absurd, preferring to attribute the Dogon people’s advanced knowledge to modern contact with europeans.
Their assertion that there is no evidence of contact with beings from other planets or galaxies stems from the fact that, despite listening to radio signals from outer space for years, no intelligent sounds were detected. This led to the project's abandonment, as it was deemed a waste of time, money, and resources.
The SETI project (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) did not focus on the Sirius Star system but instead looked elsewhere in the vast universe. It is now known that the Milky Way alone has millions of Earth-like planets where life could exist.
How else can we justify the Dogon Tribe's precise knowledge of the planetary movements in the sky?
Ian Ridpath, a skeptic who wrote a critique in 1978, there are many ways the Dogon people could have obtained knowledge of Western astronomy before their encounter with Griaule and Dieterlen. In his book "Sirius Matters," Noah Brosch suggests that the Dogon tribe might have had contact with astronomers who were exploring the area during a five-week expedition in 1893 to study a solar eclipse, led by Henri-Alexandre Deslandres.
How do you think the Dogon people gained their advanced knowledge? Let us know in the comments.
If you enjoyed this article you might also be interested to learn about the Moon-Eyed People or Ancient UFO Sightings.
Further Reading
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