The Dogon of Mali
October 20, 2003 7:02 PM Subscribe
The beautiful and complex culture of the Dogon tribe of Mali... they may have had advanced astronomical knowledge long before their European counterparts. Particularly, their tribe has had a long mystical association with Sirius, leading some to speculate that their ideas had phenomenal roots. Regardless of the mystery, the tribe is also well known for it's amazing masks and intricate art.
Nice. Thanks, skallas.
posted by Guy Smiley at 11:34 PM on October 20, 2003
posted by Guy Smiley at 11:34 PM on October 20, 2003
to add to all that Skallas, didn't Erik von Däniken even have a TV show on the Discovery channel? *shudder*
posted by dabitch at 3:37 AM on October 21, 2003
posted by dabitch at 3:37 AM on October 21, 2003
Skallas- I was "this close" to adding the Skepdic page, because it's an excellent rebuttal of the claims of Temple et al. Temple, back when he was making the Art Bell circuit, was claiming similar wildness about Egypt, every conspiracist's favorite murky cauldron.
I remain objective about the whole affair, with a shoulder shrug and a "who knows?" Discovering the factual Dogon is just as fascinating to me as the myths that have sprung up around them.
posted by moonbird at 4:37 AM on October 21, 2003
I remain objective about the whole affair, with a shoulder shrug and a "who knows?" Discovering the factual Dogon is just as fascinating to me as the myths that have sprung up around them.
posted by moonbird at 4:37 AM on October 21, 2003
What I want to know is what are the mythic traditions about Canopus? In Doris Lessings Shikasta series, the lesser advanced race influencing Earth (Shikasta) is from Sirius, but the superadvanced race is from Canopus. She implies in a forward that both of these stars feature in lots of early human myths. Once when reading a Time-Life book about India (I was on a retreat), I saw a painting whose title was something like "The Light from Canopus" but that's the only clue I've ever encountered. Googling Canopus doesn't help, and Googling "Canopus Argos" gets a lot of Lessing results.
posted by xian at 6:50 AM on October 21, 2003
posted by xian at 6:50 AM on October 21, 2003
/off topic?
Dogons rock, but daily life is not easy.
Dogon women are also part of the fascinating behind-the-scenes science vs. religion tug-of-war surrounding the birth control pill.
posted by magullo at 11:09 AM on October 21, 2003
Dogons rock, but daily life is not easy.
Dogon women are also part of the fascinating behind-the-scenes science vs. religion tug-of-war surrounding the birth control pill.
posted by magullo at 11:09 AM on October 21, 2003
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posted by synecdoche at 10:26 PM on October 20, 2003