The Sirius Mystery: Difference between revisions
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'''''The Sirius Mystery''''' is a book by [[Robert K. G. Temple]] first published in 1976. It presents the hypothesis that the [[Dogon people]] of Mali, west Africa, preserve a tradition of contact with intelligent [[Sirians|extraterrestrial beings]] from the [[Sirius]] star-system. |
'''''The Sirius Mystery''''' is a book by [[Robert K. G. Temple]] first published in 1976. It presents the hypothesis that the [[Dogon people]] of Mali, west Africa, preserve a tradition of contact with intelligent [[Sirians|extraterrestrial beings]] from the [[Sirius]] star-system. |
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| last = Sheppard |
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| first = R.Z. |
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| title = Worlds in Collusion |
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| magazine = [[Time (magazine)]] |
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| pages = |
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| year = 1976 |
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| date = [[August 2]] [[1976]] |
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| ⚫ | * These beings, who taught the arts of civilization to humans, are claimed in the book to have originated the systems of the Pharaohs of Egypt, the mythology of Greek civilization, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and so on. Temple's theory was heavily based on his interpretation of the work of ethnographers [[Marcel Griaule]] and [[Germaine Dieterlen]]. A substantial bulk of ''The Sirius Mystery'' consists of comparative linguistic and mythological scholarship, pointing out patterns and multiple resemblances among Dogon, Egyptian and Sumerian beliefs and symbols. Greek and Arab myths and words are considered to a lesser extent. The “mystery” that is central to the book is how the Dogon acquired knowledge of Sirius B, the invisible companion star of Sirius A. |
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However, serious doubts have been raised about the reliability of Griaule and Dieterlein's work on which ''The Sirius Mystery'' is based<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.ramtops.co.uk/dogon.html| title = The Dogon Revisited| accessdate = 2007-10-13| author = Bernard R. Ortiz de Montellano| format = HTML}}</ref><ref name="coppens">{{cite web| url = http://www.philipcoppens.com/dogonshame.html | title = Dogon Shame| accessdate = 2007-10-13| author = Philip Coppens| format = HTML}}</ref>, and alternative explanations have been proposed. The basis claims about Dogon astronomical challenge have been challenged. For instance, the anthropologist Walter Van Beek who studied the Dogon after Griaule and Dieterlen found no evidence that the Dogon considered Sirius to be a double star and or that astronomy was particularly important in their belief system.<ref>Holberg, Jay B. ''Sirius'' Springer 2007 ISBN: 978-0387489414 p176 [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=zc3zw-YgOPkC&pg=PA172&dq=Sirians+Sagan&ei=22u2SfPZKJi8M6LflfEL&client=firefox-a#PPA180,M1]</ref> |
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* Astronomer [[Carl Sagan]] dealt with the issue in his book ''[[Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science|Broca's Brain]]'' (1979), stating that there are many problems with Temple's hypothesis. As an example Sagan mentions that the Dogon seem to have no knowledge of another planet beyond [[Saturn]] which has rings, which would suggest that their knowledge is more likely from European, and not extraterrestrial sources. |
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*There are many skeptics who seek to discredit the stories of the Dogon, the Nommo, and their tales of Sirius. They say the French researchers who published the information had simply invented everything. But french anthropologist Germaine Dieterlen, who had lived among the Dogon for most of her life and whose writings on their astronomy myths had caught Temple’s attention in the first place, called this idea "absurd" when asked about it by a reporter for BBC-TV’s Horizon program. Then she displayed for the show’s audience a Dogon object crafted 400 years earlier, which clearly indicated Sirius and its companion stars. Also, the Dogon is not the only culture with knowledge of Sirius B. Credo Mutwa, the Zulu shaman and that nations's official historian, says that his people have the same traditions. He says they call Sirius the "Star of the Wolf" and their ancient accounts say that a "sea-dwelling fish people" from Sirius came to the Earth. |
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* Another astronomer, [[Ian Ridpath]], points out in an article in the ''[[Skeptical Inquirer]]'' (1978), "The whole Dogon legend of Sirius and its companions is riddled with ambiguities, contradictions, and downright errors, at least if we try to interpret it literally".<ref>Ian Ridpath, ''[http://www.csicop.org/si/7809/sirius.html Skeptical Inquirer]'', Fall 1978 </ref> Ridpath stated that while the information that the Dogon probably gained from Europeans to some extent resembles the facts about Sirius, the presumed original Dogon knowledge on the star is very far from the facts. Ridpath concluded that the information that resembles the facts about Sirius was probably ascertained by way of cultural contamination. More recent research suggests that the contaminator was Griaule himself.<ref name="coppens"/> |
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* Journalist and skeptic [[James Oberg]] collected claims that have appeared concerning Dogon mythology in his 1982 book.<ref>James Oberg, "[http://www.debunker.com/texts/dogon.html Chapter 6, The Sirius Mystery]", in ''UFOs and Outer Space Mysteries'', (1982) Donning Press</ref> According to Oberg, the Dogon's astronomical information resembles the knowledge and speculations of European astronomical knowledge of the late 1920s. The Dogon could have gotten their astronomical knowledge, including the information on Sirius, from European visitors before their mythology was recorded in the 1930s. Oberg also points out that the Dogons were not an isolated tribe, and thus it was not even necessary for outsiders to inform the Dogon about Sirius B. They could very well have acquired such knowledge abroad, passing it on to their tribe later. (Sirius B was first observed in 1862, and had been predicted in 1844 on dynamic grounds. However, Oberg does concede that such assumptions of recent acquisition is "entirely circumstantial" and has no foundation in documented evidence. In this way, by the time Griaule visited the Dogon they had had a great deal of contact with the western world and had time to incorporate Sirius B into their religion. |
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* One unexplained aspect of the reported Dogon culture is the assertion that the Dogon knew of another star in the Sirius system |
* One unexplained aspect of the reported Dogon culture is the assertion that the Dogon knew of another star in the Sirius system and this was later confirmed, and then "disconfirmed" by Astronomers; but that is only because the powers that be want to suppress the information. Many other African tribes tell stories of the Nommo, who resemble the king of Water People in the Zulu legend. They are said to be intelligent beings who have visited the Earth several times. They are described somewhat like human beings, but with skins like reptiles. Other have described them as a cross between a human and a serpent with feathers. This echoes the Mayan god Quatzlcoatle; whose name means "feathered serpent. |
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| title = ADONIS high contrast infrared imaging of Sirius-B |
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| journal = Astronomy and Astrophysics |
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| accessdate = 2009-02-16 | author = Bonnet-Bidaud, J. M.; Pantin, E. |
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| year= 2008| month= October| volume= 489 |
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| pages= 651–655 |
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| doi = 10.1051/0004-6361:20078937}}</ref> |
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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. Speculation about the Dogon on numerous [[websites]] is now mingled with fact, leading to wide misunderstanding among the public about Dogon mythology. Temple, however, has stated in the reprint of ''The Sirius Mystery'' (1999) that he in no way supports cults that have been inspired by his book. |
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*Although Robert K.G. Temple’s book The Sirius Mystery was taken more seriously than many other ancient-astronaut writings when it was first published in 1977, it met with some bad luck; it was criticized by two important science figures, writer Ian Ridpath and celebrity-astronomer Carl Sagan. From that point on, many felt that it did not get the kind of consideration that its well-laid case deserved. |
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==See Also== |
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*Despite the criticism, Temple continued to defend his position. He pointed out that some of the information, like that concerning the superweight of Sirius B, was only a few years old when anthropologists first collected it from the Dogon in 1931. Temple wondered why Western astronomers would rush to far-off Mali to share their new astronomical knowledge with Dogon priests. And how, in two or three years’ time, could this information then filter down through the entire Dogon and surrounding cultures of over two million people and show up in hundreds of thousands of objects, woven blankets, carved statues, and more. These reasonable questions brought no response from Ridpath, Sagan, and other Temple critics. Whenever a writer or an article or book would report that the Dogon’s Sirius beliefs came from modern informants, Temple would respond with a point-by-point account that argued otherwise. But his comments were simply ignored. |
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*[[Nommo]] |
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==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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*Now there are other factors that cast doubts on the Dogon’s story and for scientists who search for evidence of intelligent life in the universe, Sirius has never been on their list of places to look. Still, Temple raised serious questions about the Dogon’s Sirius beliefs. Two decades after the publication of The Sirius Mystery, the book has been nearly forgotten (it has since been reprinted). Yet the puzzle of the Dogon’s remarkable astronomical knowledge remains. |
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==External links== |
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* [http://www.badarchaeology.net/extraterrestrial/sirius.php ''The Sirius Mystery: how do the Dogon people of Mali know about Sirius B?''] |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sirius Mystery}} |
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{{reflist}} or </references/> |
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[[Category:Books about extraterrestrial life]] |
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| ⚫ | |||
[[Category:1976 books]] |
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Children of the Matrix (David Icke Books, Isle of Wight, UK., 2001) |
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[[Category:Dogon]] |
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Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa, Song Of The Stars (Station Hill Openings, Barrytown, New York, 1966) |
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[[Category:Ancient astronaut theory]] |
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The Return of the Serpents of Wisdom by Mark Amaru Pinkham |
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[[Category:Alleged UFO-related entities]] |
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The Gods of Eden (William Bramley) |
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[[Category:Ufology]] |
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The 12th Planet (Zacharia Sitchin) |
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[[Category:Scientific controversies]] |
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Revision as of 02:07, 13 April 2009
| Author | Robert K. G. Temple |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
Publication date | 1976 |
| Publication place | United States |
| ISBN | ISBN 0 09 925744 0 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
The Sirius Mystery is a book by Robert K. G. Temple first published in 1976. It presents the hypothesis that the Dogon people of Mali, west Africa, preserve a tradition of contact with intelligent extraterrestrial beings from the Sirius star-system.
- These beings, who taught the arts of civilization to humans, are claimed in the book to have originated the systems of the Pharaohs of Egypt, the mythology of Greek civilization, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and so on. Temple's theory was heavily based on his interpretation of the work of ethnographers Marcel Griaule and Germaine Dieterlen. A substantial bulk of The Sirius Mystery consists of comparative linguistic and mythological scholarship, pointing out patterns and multiple resemblances among Dogon, Egyptian and Sumerian beliefs and symbols. Greek and Arab myths and words are considered to a lesser extent. The “mystery” that is central to the book is how the Dogon acquired knowledge of Sirius B, the invisible companion star of Sirius A.
- There are many skeptics who seek to discredit the stories of the Dogon, the Nommo, and their tales of Sirius. They say the French researchers who published the information had simply invented everything. But french anthropologist Germaine Dieterlen, who had lived among the Dogon for most of her life and whose writings on their astronomy myths had caught Temple’s attention in the first place, called this idea "absurd" when asked about it by a reporter for BBC-TV’s Horizon program. Then she displayed for the show’s audience a Dogon object crafted 400 years earlier, which clearly indicated Sirius and its companion stars. Also, the Dogon is not the only culture with knowledge of Sirius B. Credo Mutwa, the Zulu shaman and that nations's official historian, says that his people have the same traditions. He says they call Sirius the "Star of the Wolf" and their ancient accounts say that a "sea-dwelling fish people" from Sirius came to the Earth.
- One unexplained aspect of the reported Dogon culture is the assertion that the Dogon knew of another star in the Sirius system and this was later confirmed, and then "disconfirmed" by Astronomers; but that is only because the powers that be want to suppress the information. Many other African tribes tell stories of the Nommo, who resemble the king of Water People in the Zulu legend. They are said to be intelligent beings who have visited the Earth several times. They are described somewhat like human beings, but with skins like reptiles. Other have described them as a cross between a human and a serpent with feathers. This echoes the Mayan god Quatzlcoatle; whose name means "feathered serpent.
- Although Robert K.G. Temple’s book The Sirius Mystery was taken more seriously than many other ancient-astronaut writings when it was first published in 1977, it met with some bad luck; it was criticized by two important science figures, writer Ian Ridpath and celebrity-astronomer Carl Sagan. From that point on, many felt that it did not get the kind of consideration that its well-laid case deserved.
- Despite the criticism, Temple continued to defend his position. He pointed out that some of the information, like that concerning the superweight of Sirius B, was only a few years old when anthropologists first collected it from the Dogon in 1931. Temple wondered why Western astronomers would rush to far-off Mali to share their new astronomical knowledge with Dogon priests. And how, in two or three years’ time, could this information then filter down through the entire Dogon and surrounding cultures of over two million people and show up in hundreds of thousands of objects, woven blankets, carved statues, and more. These reasonable questions brought no response from Ridpath, Sagan, and other Temple critics. Whenever a writer or an article or book would report that the Dogon’s Sirius beliefs came from modern informants, Temple would respond with a point-by-point account that argued otherwise. But his comments were simply ignored.
- Now there are other factors that cast doubts on the Dogon’s story and for scientists who search for evidence of intelligent life in the universe, Sirius has never been on their list of places to look. Still, Temple raised serious questions about the Dogon’s Sirius beliefs. Two decades after the publication of The Sirius Mystery, the book has been nearly forgotten (it has since been reprinted). Yet the puzzle of the Dogon’s remarkable astronomical knowledge remains.
or </references/>
| url = http://www.davidicke.com Children of the Matrix (David Icke Books, Isle of Wight, UK., 2001) Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa, Song Of The Stars (Station Hill Openings, Barrytown, New York, 1966) The Return of the Serpents of Wisdom by Mark Amaru Pinkham The Gods of Eden (William Bramley) The 12th Planet (Zacharia Sitchin)