Travel to Mali

Dogon

The Dogon are an ethnic group located mainly in the administrative districts of

Bandiagara and Douentza in Mali, West Africa.

This area is composed of three distinct topographical regions: the plain, the

cliffs, and the plateau.

Within these regions the Dogon population of about 300,000 is most heavily

concentrated along a 200 kilometer (125 mile) stretch of escarpment called the

Cliffs of Bandiagara.

These sandstone cliffs run from southwest to northeast, roughly parallel to the

Niger River, and attain heights up to 600 meters (2000 feet).

The cliffs provide a spectacular physical setting for Dogon villages built on

the sides of the escarpment. There are approximately 700 Dogon villages, most

with fewer than 500 inhabitants.

The precise origin of the Dogon, like those of many other ancient cultures, is

undetermine. Their civilization just emerged, in much the same manner as ancient

Sumer and Ancient Egypt.

The early histories are informed by oral traditions that differ according to the

Dogon clan being consulted and archaeological excavation much more of which

needs to be conducted.

Because of these inexact and incomplete sources, there are a number of different

versions of the Dogon's origin myths as well as differing accounts of how they

got from their ancestral homelands to the Bandiagara region. The people call

themselves 'Dogon' or 'Dogom', but in the older literature they are most often

called 'Habe', a Fulbe word meaning 'stranger' or 'pagan'.

Certain theories suggest the tribe to be of ancient Egyptian descent. They next

migrated to Libya, then somewhere in the regions of Guinea or Mauritania.

Around 1490 AD, fleeing invaders and/or drought, they migrated to the Bandiagara

cliffs of central Mali.

Carbon-14 dating techniques used on excavated remains found in the cliffs

indicate that there were inhabitants in the region before the arrival of the

Dogon. They were the Toloy culture of the 3rd to 2nd centuries BC, and the

Tellem culture of the 11th to 15th centuries AD.

The religious beliefs of the Dogon are enormously complex and knowledge of them

varies greatly within Dogon society. Dogon religion is defined primarily through

the worship of the ancestors and the spirits whom they encountered as they

slowly migrated from their obscure ancestral homelands to the Bandiagara cliffs.

There are three principal cults among the Dogon; the Awa, Lebe and Binu.

The Awa is a cult of the dead, whose purpose is to reorder the spiritual forces

disturbed by the death of Nommo, a mythological ancestor of great importance to

the Dogon.

Members of the Awa cult dance with ornate carved and painted masks during both

funeral and death anniversary ceremonies. There are 78 different types of ritual

masks among the Dogon and their iconographic messages go beyond the aesthetic,

into the realm of religion and philosophy.

The primary purpose of Awa dance ceremonies is to lead souls of the deceased to

their final resting place in the family altars and to consecrate their passage

to the ranks of the ancestors.

The cult of Lebe, the Earth God, is primarily concerned with the agricultural

cycle and its chief priest is called a Hogon.

All Dogon villages have a Lebe shrine whose altars have bits of earth

incorporated into them to encourage the continued fertility of the land.

According to Dogon beliefs, the god Lebe visits the hogons every night in the

form of a serpent and licks their skins in order to purify them and infuse them

with life force. The hogons are responsible for guarding the purity of the soil

and therefore officiate at many agricultural ceremonies.

Nowadays, the Dogon blacksmiths forge mainly scrap metal recuperated from old

railway lines or car wrecks. So, little by little, the long process of iron ore

reduction, which demands a perfect knowledge of fire and its temperatures, has

been abandoned.

One of the last smeltings was done in Mali, in 1995, by the Dogon blacksmiths.

The event became the subject of a film which was entitled 'Inagina, The Last

House of Iron'. Eleven blacksmiths, who still hold the secrets of this ancestral

activity, agreed to perform a last smelt. They gathered to invoke the spirits.

They sunk a mine shaft, made charcoal, and built a furnace with earth and lumps

of slag. The last furnace - or Inagina -meaning literally the'house of iron'

gave birth to 69 kilos of iron of excellent quality. With this, the blacksmiths

forged traditional tools intended for agriculture, the making of weapons, and

jewelery for the Dogon people.

The cult of Binu is a totemic practice and it has complex associations with the

Dogon's sacred places used for ancestor worship, spirit communication and

agricultural sacrifices. Marcel Griaule and his colleagues came to believe that

all the major Dogon sacred sites were related to episodes in the Dogon myth of

the creation of the world, in particular to a deity named Nommo.

Binu shrines house spirits of mythic ancestors who lived in the legendary era

before the appearance of death among mankind. Binu spirits often make themselves

known to their descendants in the form of an animal that interceded on behalf of

the clan during its founding or migration, thus becoming the clan's totem.

The priests of each Binu maintain the sanctuaries whose facades are often

painted with graphic signs and mystic symbols. Sacrifices of blood and millet

porridge the primary crop of the Dogon are made at the Binu shrines at sowing

time and whenever the intercession of the immortal ancestor is desired.

Through such rituals, the Dogon believe that the benevolent force of the

ancestor is transmitted to them.

Kananga masks form geometric patterns. These masks represent the first human

beings. The Dogon believe that the Dama dance creates a bridge into the

supernatural world. Without the Dama dance, the dead cannot cross over into

peace.

Their self-defense comes from their social solidarity which is based on a

complex combination of philosophic and religious dogmas, the fundamental law

being the worship of ancestors. Ritual masks and corpses are used for ceremonies

and are kept in caves. The Dogons are both Muslims and Animists.

A 'Togu Na' - 'House of Words' - stands in every Dogon village and marks the

male social center. The low ceiling, supported by carved or sculptured posts,

prevents over zealous discussions from escalating into fights. Symbolic meaning

surrounds the Togu Na. On the Gondo Plain, Togu Na pillars are carved out of

Kile wood and often express themes of fertility and procreation. Many of the

carvings are of women's breasts, for as a Dogon proverb says, "The breast is

second only to God."

Unfortunately, collectors have stolen some of the more intricately carved

pillars, forcing village elders to defacetheir Togu Na posts by chopping off

part of the sculpted wood. This mutilation of the sculpted pillars assures their

safety. According to Dogon mythology, Nommo was the first living being created by Amma,

the sky god and creator of the universe.

He soon multiplied to become six pairs of twins. [This is a metaphor for our

original 12-strand DNA. Our present physical DNA contains 2 strands which hold

the genetic codes for our physical evolvement.]

The twins rebelled against the order established by Amma, thereby destabilizing

the universe. In order to purify the cosmos and restore its order, Amma

sacrificed another of the Nommo, whose body was cut up and scattered throughout

the universe. This distribution of the parts of the Nommo's body is seen as the

source for the proliferation of Binu shrines throughout the Dogon region.

The Dogon say that their astronomical knowledge was given to them by the Nommo,

amphibious beings sent to Earth from the Sirius star system for the benefit of

humankind. They look like Merfolk - Mermaids and Mermen.

There are references in the oral traditions, myths, drawings and tablets of the

Dogons, to human-looking beings who have feet but who are portrayed as having a

large fish skin running down their bodies.

After the landing in a space ship, something with four legs appeared and dragged

the vessel to a hollow, which filled with water until the vessel floated in it.

The Dogon, call this spaceship 'Pelu Tolo' or 'Star of the Tenth Moon'.

These aliens supposedly came from the Sirian star system. Their spaceship

spiraled down from the sky. It landed somewhere to the northeast of the Dogon's

present homeland. There was a great noise and wind. The ship landed on three

legs, skidded to a stop, scoring the ground. Four legs appeared and dragged the

vessel to a hollow, which filled with water until the vessel floated.

At the same time a new star was seen in the sky, which possibly was a large

space ship. The star was described by the Dogon as having a circle of reddish

rays around it. This circle of rays was like a spreading spot yet it still

remaining the same size.

There is a Dogon drawing of the spaceship hovering in the sky, waiting for the

Nommo who landed on the Earth. It represents three stages of 'Pelu Tolo' when it

is spurting different amounts of blood or flames [as if it crash landed].

They called the Nommo 'Masters of the Water', 'The Monitors', 'The Teachers or

Instructors', 'Saviors', and 'Spiritual Guardians'.

According to Dogon art, the Nommo were more fishlike than human, and they spent

most of their time in the water.

As with all creational myths, the Dogons believe their gods, the Nommo, will

return one day. I have to wonder if the word 'Nommo' means 'No More' - 'No

Longer'.

In the future Nommo will return to the Earth. This also links to the return of

Nibiru or the 12 Planet - Planet 'X'.

X =10 = (1+0) =1 = New Beginnings

The 'Dog'on Tribe and the Dog Star Mystery

The Dogons have a unique distinction. Supposedly when they left Egypt and

migrated to Mali where they brought with them sacred knowledge in the form of

oral traditions - perhaps handed down by the ancient priests of Egypt. There are

oral tradition about interaction with Amphibious Gods who came to Earth from the

star Sirius (now called Sirius A).

Dogon astronomical lore goes back at least 5000 years. This knowledge most

likely dates back to the time of the ancient Egyptian priests - who stored their

knowledge as their civilization was destroyed. This knowledge was too be part of

our collective unconsciousness - to be remembered - to be brought to the public

- when it was time for humanity to make great changes. These changes are

reflected in all ancient prophecies. The information is about creation by

Geometry - Mathematical patterns or formulas. We sense change in our thinking

and our souls. We dream unusal dreams about changes and look for Magic in our

lives, moveis, books, tV shows. We experience beyond third dimension.

The souls of children, teens and young adults are often called Indigo Children -

Children of the Blue Ray sense this. They are telekinetic sometimes moving

objects - or bending objects with their minds.

This collective unconscious is a program of grids. The Dogon draw grids. They

understand the nature of our reality, based on an electromagnetic grid program

that stores memory - The Matrix is the grids.

Following the pattern of the grids ...... Dogon legend came with them from Egypt

based on the ancient religions and the mystery school teachings of Isis and

Osiris. It all begins in the area that was Sumer - The Cradle of Civilization -

but in truth the area that surround the Great Pyramid. The Egyptian Goddess Isis

is identified by the Egyptians with the star Sirius. The Dogons knew about

Sirius long before modern man discovered the star system. Their religious

tradition, dating back to their Egyptian roots, was later imparted through Greek

migratory patterns. The name Sirius was given by the ancient Greeks.

Planet Earth has many metaphors, archetypes and symbols that help us understand

the nature of our creation. To this end we study the heavens and celestial

blueprints and the physical planet, to unravel secrets buried until it was

time..... 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 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.

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 - 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.

The earliest Egyptians believed Sirius - 'Sothis' - was the home of

souls that have crossed over. This belief is also shared with the Dogon.

Creation is linked to the Great Pyramid which links to Orion in the Kings

Chamber (male). I have been there and connected - and to Sirius in the Queens

Chamber (female) - Isis - Not far from the Pleaides - The Seven Sisters The sky

is like a big giant map of messages a blueprint, if you will, of creational

patterns. Ancient civilizatins named the planets and created myths about them -

all linked to the heavens and gods who created humans and came to Earth from the

sky.

Isis and Osiris - Zeus and Hera - Amma (not sure about his female counterpart

but he had to have one as this matrix and grid is all based on opposites -

polarities - like a magnetic (north and south).

The Star of Isis is called Sothis, or Sirius

and is the brightest star in our night sky.

The Dogon also describe this 'star' specifically as having

a circle of reddish rays around it, and this circle of rays

is 'like a spot spreading' but remaining the same size.

The Dogons have described perfectly the DNA pattern made by this elliptical

orbit created by the two stars as they rotate make around each other. They

believe Sirius to be the axis of the universe, and from it all matter and all

souls are produced in a great spiral motion.

The Dogon also claimed that a third star Emme Ya - sorghum female - exists in

the Sirius system. Larger and lighter than Sirius B, this star revolves around

Sirius A as well. It has not been proven to exist, though some people have

called it Sirius C.

Sirius C translated from the Dogon language into English is called the "Sun of

Women". It is described by the Dogan as "the seat of the female souls of living

or future beings". Its symbol contains two pair of lines that are relevant

features of a Dogan legend. The Dogon believe that Sirius C sends out two pairs

of beams and that the beams represent a feminine figure.

Some of the ancient Egyptian temples, such as the Temple of Isis at Denerah,

were created so that the light of the helical rising of Sirius would travel down

the main corridor to place its red glow upon the altar in the inner sanctum of

the temple. When that light reached the altar, the beam of light from Sirius was

transformed into Sothis, the Star Goddess, Isis.

In a manner of speaking, the same belief system was involved in the Greek

Temples, such as the Parthenon, which were oriented to receive the beams of

light from the Pleiades into their inner sanctums, where the beams were then

transformed into seven women. As the beams from the Pleiades entered the

Egyptian temple of Hathor it became the seven Hathors female judges of mankind.

Within the Dogon tradition, those pairs of feminine figures beamed down from the

Star/Sun/Planet of Women to their original home near the Hoggar mountains

bringing many aspects of civilization to the ancestors of their tribes.

Dogon oral traditions state that for thousands of years they have known that the

Earth revolves around the Sun, that Jupiter's has moons and that Saturn's has

rings.

The Dogons calendar is quite non-traditional in that its 50 year cycle is based

neither on the Earth's rotation around the Sun (as is our Julian calendar) nor

the cycles of the Moon (a lunar calendar). Instead, the Dogon culture centers

around the rotation cycle Sirius B which encircles the primary star Sirius A

every 49.9 - or 50 years.