The Dogon people of Africa will play a role in the unfolding story of The Myth of Merula. The Dogon are a people numbering at least 450,000 who live in Mali, farming onions and millet in the Niger river delta. They have not been converted to Islam to the extent of most of the population of Mali. Their own sacred traditions, beliefs and rituals remain strong. Islam is spreading more rapidly among the Dogon of today. Chrisitianity has made only small inroads. The people live in small mudbrick or stone mud-covered dwellings, many of them on cliff walls. Weaving is primarily a craft of men, while women engage in the crafts of pottery and cotton spinning. Frequent locust plagues and droughts often mean that farmers’ crop yields are meager. Boys are circumcised. This is thought necessary to remove the female element from their genitals so that they can become men. As the clitoris is considered a male element, it is also thought necessary to excise it so that girls can become women. (Since my character, Blackbird, was adopted by an American celebrity when she was a little girl, she will not have suffered this fate.)
It’s easier to find data on Mali in general than about the Dogon people in particular. Mali is among the five poorest countries in the world, partially due to a drought that has lasted since the mid-1980s. Adult literacy in Mali is 20% among men and 12% among women. Infant mortality is 118 per 1,000 births. Malnutrition is widespread, in part because vegetables are difficult to grow under drought conditions. Women spend a lot of time grinding millet. They also become very good at carrying heavy loads, including water pots, on top of their heads. They dress in colorful clothes, and every village has a diva who can rival Aretha Franklin.
Tourists online who have visited Mali say not to expect much air conditioning. They tell tales of having to get out and push their vehicles when they travel through the desert in groups. They say that the heat is relentless and when the wind blows the sand across the land, it gets into every orifice. Don’t expect too much variety in the food, they warn, and never drink any local water.
Mali Online
There isn’t much in the way of communications infrastructure, but Geekcorps Mali has installed a VIA Desert PC with R-BGAN satellite modem connection to give the Radio Beeray station, near Timbuktu, email and internet access. Wikipedia lists 30,000 internet users nationwide, along with 13 ISPs and 24 private ISPs. Two French expats operate a cyber cafe in the city of Bamako. You pay by the half hour, and you only pay half price if you’re a student. So goes the surface data from my research on the internet. All this says very little about the inner cultural life of the Dogon people. Dogon culture and religion is what primarily interests me.
What’s Really Fascinating About the Dogon
I have been fascinated by the Dogon, ever since reading The Sirius Mystery several years ago. The Sirius Mystery is, of course, a book in the genre of ancient alien contact. The author, Robert Temple, attempts to convince the reader of the likelihood that alien visitors brought civilization to humanity. This ancient civilization, he tries to show, is behind the civilizations of Egypt and Sumeria. The Dogon, he believes, are cultural descendents of the unknown “mother civilization” jump-started by the aliens. The aliens, as they are depicted by Dogon sculptures and described by stories, are apparently amphibious. To me, some of the carvings slightly resemble the annoying Jar Jar Binks. In terms of credibilty, The Sirius Mystery is somewhere in between Chariots of the Gods (not very credible) and Fingerprints of the Gods (much more credible). It sounds crazy, but don’t knock it ’till ya try it. Even if you do not agree with every conclusion and interpretation, you can still find much of the information fascinating. More recently, I have picked up a copy of The Science of the Dogon, which is what I’m currently reading.
The Science of the Dogon
The Science of the Dogon presents a case that Dogon mythology consists of surface and deep meanings. The author, Laird Scranton, contends that the deep meanings are allegories, metaphors and symbols for an ancient science more advanced than our own. One example he gives is that of water. He has found that the Dogon understanding of water, as expressed by Ogotemmeli, corresponds remarkably well to descriptions of water that appear in encylopedias. An encylopedia entry about water will typically present information about the molecular structure of water first. Second, it will usually describe the three physical states of water - liquid, solid and vapor. Third, the entry will elaborate on the natural water cycle; from evaporation, to clouds, to rainfall, to bodies of water, and back to clouds.
The Nummo Pair is Water or Hydrogen
How does this compare to water in the Dogon creation myth? First, the Dogon say that Nummo pair is found in all water. The Nummo pair is always associated with the numbers 2 and 8, which are extremely important and are all over the place. The numbers 2 and 8 happen to be the numbers of the electron structure of water. The same Dogon symbol that represents water also represents the burning rays of the sun. The sun is said to be surrounded by a spiral of copper that has 8 turns. Its fire is said to be excrement of the Nummo pair. If the Nummo pair symbolizes hydrogen, then this is correct, since the burning of the sun involves the fusion of hydrogen atoms. Hydrogen was the most abundant element in the primordial universe. The sun is also involved in the water cycle in that it causes the water to evaporate and form clouds.
The Dogon also say that there is water in copper. The electron structure of copper contains 2 electrons in the innermost electron ring and 8 in the second ring. As mentioned above, the sun is imagined as being surrounded by a spiral of copper with 8 turns. Modern science defines 8 separate zones or spheres that compose the sun: the core, the radiant zone, the convection zone, the photosphere, sunspots, the magnetic field, the corona and solar wind. Further, the Dogon know that the sun is a star.
The section about the three states of water is somewhat more complex and possibly more of a stretch (I’m not sure yet). I will quote it at length.
From our earlier discussion about the Sumerian gods An, Enlil, and Enki, we may recall the difficulties that scholars have faced when trying to categorize these three deities simply as gods of the heavens, the earth, and the waters, respectively, and the persistent link to water that comes into play in their symbolism. We may also recall differences in the symbolism of equivalent deities from culture to culture, as in the case of Enlil, Bel, and Neith, who are in some instances identified as gods or goddesses of the air (conceived of as a liquid), in others as gods of the atmosphere, and in still others as gods of vapor or humidity. However, if we step back and take a broader look at the complete triad of gods in any one culture, we quickly realize that as a group they might more aptly be represented as the three states of water - liquid, solid and vapor. Our encyclopedias tell us that water is the only substance that naturally occurs in all three of these states at temperatures of normal, daily life. Since ice is not a substance that would be familiar to the experience of a society living in a subtropical area of the world (in fact, Budge includes no entries in his Hieroglyphic Dictionary for the words “ice”, “freeze”, or “frozen”
, the images of hardened clay and moisture in rocks might have been substituted for ice as the solid form of water. When we test this supposition by applying the meaning of the word “clay” to Enki, Ea, and Khnum, we find that it draws together the divergent images of a god of dryness, a god of the earth, and a god of the waters of the earth in a way that makes complete sense. In a similar way, the assignment of water vapor as the symbol of our goddesses of the air helps us integrate the symbols of various gods and goddesses who are alternately represented by the atmosphere, moisture, and humidity.
In the Dogon creation myth, the Earth was originally flawed, because it did not contain water. Water was delivered in an act of fertilization. This agrees with the hypothesis that the bulk of water on Earth was delivered by comets. Life as we know it requires water, and we also know that the first single-cell organisms originated in the ocean. There is so much more. Water is only one example. The more resemblances you find between science and myth, and the more you learn how myth is recreated in daily life, the more you see how densely packed the Dogon culture is with layers upon layers of meaning that can be mapped to science as we know it.
Are the Dogon the Symbolic Carriers of a More Advanced Science That Existed in Ancient Times?
These symbologies may even have been mapped to a more advanced science known in ancient times. There is a very strong suggestion, for example, that this ancient science was aware of 266 sub-particles. We currently know there are over 200 but have not identified all of them. While it’s possible that these resemblances are coincidental, it’s also possible that an ancient civilzation embedded its scientific knowledge in mythology to preserve this knowledge through the ages and to keep its more advanced secrets from the common people. Maybe it was known how to split the atom, for example; but this knowledge was forbidden to all but the initiates into the deepest, most esoteric secrets. The Dogon say that it is forbidden to speak of Po, which is a small entity that resembles an atom and is thought to be the seed of which everything is made.
http://squirreltao.dreamfishery.com/2007/01/07/dogon/
It’s easier to find data on Mali in general than about the Dogon people in particular. Mali is among the five poorest countries in the world, partially due to a drought that has lasted since the mid-1980s. Adult literacy in Mali is 20% among men and 12% among women. Infant mortality is 118 per 1,000 births. Malnutrition is widespread, in part because vegetables are difficult to grow under drought conditions. Women spend a lot of time grinding millet. They also become very good at carrying heavy loads, including water pots, on top of their heads. They dress in colorful clothes, and every village has a diva who can rival Aretha Franklin.
Tourists online who have visited Mali say not to expect much air conditioning. They tell tales of having to get out and push their vehicles when they travel through the desert in groups. They say that the heat is relentless and when the wind blows the sand across the land, it gets into every orifice. Don’t expect too much variety in the food, they warn, and never drink any local water.
Mali Online
There isn’t much in the way of communications infrastructure, but Geekcorps Mali has installed a VIA Desert PC with R-BGAN satellite modem connection to give the Radio Beeray station, near Timbuktu, email and internet access. Wikipedia lists 30,000 internet users nationwide, along with 13 ISPs and 24 private ISPs. Two French expats operate a cyber cafe in the city of Bamako. You pay by the half hour, and you only pay half price if you’re a student. So goes the surface data from my research on the internet. All this says very little about the inner cultural life of the Dogon people. Dogon culture and religion is what primarily interests me.
What’s Really Fascinating About the Dogon
I have been fascinated by the Dogon, ever since reading The Sirius Mystery several years ago. The Sirius Mystery is, of course, a book in the genre of ancient alien contact. The author, Robert Temple, attempts to convince the reader of the likelihood that alien visitors brought civilization to humanity. This ancient civilization, he tries to show, is behind the civilizations of Egypt and Sumeria. The Dogon, he believes, are cultural descendents of the unknown “mother civilization” jump-started by the aliens. The aliens, as they are depicted by Dogon sculptures and described by stories, are apparently amphibious. To me, some of the carvings slightly resemble the annoying Jar Jar Binks. In terms of credibilty, The Sirius Mystery is somewhere in between Chariots of the Gods (not very credible) and Fingerprints of the Gods (much more credible). It sounds crazy, but don’t knock it ’till ya try it. Even if you do not agree with every conclusion and interpretation, you can still find much of the information fascinating. More recently, I have picked up a copy of The Science of the Dogon, which is what I’m currently reading.
The Science of the Dogon
The Science of the Dogon presents a case that Dogon mythology consists of surface and deep meanings. The author, Laird Scranton, contends that the deep meanings are allegories, metaphors and symbols for an ancient science more advanced than our own. One example he gives is that of water. He has found that the Dogon understanding of water, as expressed by Ogotemmeli, corresponds remarkably well to descriptions of water that appear in encylopedias. An encylopedia entry about water will typically present information about the molecular structure of water first. Second, it will usually describe the three physical states of water - liquid, solid and vapor. Third, the entry will elaborate on the natural water cycle; from evaporation, to clouds, to rainfall, to bodies of water, and back to clouds.
The Nummo Pair is Water or Hydrogen
How does this compare to water in the Dogon creation myth? First, the Dogon say that Nummo pair is found in all water. The Nummo pair is always associated with the numbers 2 and 8, which are extremely important and are all over the place. The numbers 2 and 8 happen to be the numbers of the electron structure of water. The same Dogon symbol that represents water also represents the burning rays of the sun. The sun is said to be surrounded by a spiral of copper that has 8 turns. Its fire is said to be excrement of the Nummo pair. If the Nummo pair symbolizes hydrogen, then this is correct, since the burning of the sun involves the fusion of hydrogen atoms. Hydrogen was the most abundant element in the primordial universe. The sun is also involved in the water cycle in that it causes the water to evaporate and form clouds.
The Dogon also say that there is water in copper. The electron structure of copper contains 2 electrons in the innermost electron ring and 8 in the second ring. As mentioned above, the sun is imagined as being surrounded by a spiral of copper with 8 turns. Modern science defines 8 separate zones or spheres that compose the sun: the core, the radiant zone, the convection zone, the photosphere, sunspots, the magnetic field, the corona and solar wind. Further, the Dogon know that the sun is a star.
The section about the three states of water is somewhat more complex and possibly more of a stretch (I’m not sure yet). I will quote it at length.
From our earlier discussion about the Sumerian gods An, Enlil, and Enki, we may recall the difficulties that scholars have faced when trying to categorize these three deities simply as gods of the heavens, the earth, and the waters, respectively, and the persistent link to water that comes into play in their symbolism. We may also recall differences in the symbolism of equivalent deities from culture to culture, as in the case of Enlil, Bel, and Neith, who are in some instances identified as gods or goddesses of the air (conceived of as a liquid), in others as gods of the atmosphere, and in still others as gods of vapor or humidity. However, if we step back and take a broader look at the complete triad of gods in any one culture, we quickly realize that as a group they might more aptly be represented as the three states of water - liquid, solid and vapor. Our encyclopedias tell us that water is the only substance that naturally occurs in all three of these states at temperatures of normal, daily life. Since ice is not a substance that would be familiar to the experience of a society living in a subtropical area of the world (in fact, Budge includes no entries in his Hieroglyphic Dictionary for the words “ice”, “freeze”, or “frozen”
, the images of hardened clay and moisture in rocks might have been substituted for ice as the solid form of water. When we test this supposition by applying the meaning of the word “clay” to Enki, Ea, and Khnum, we find that it draws together the divergent images of a god of dryness, a god of the earth, and a god of the waters of the earth in a way that makes complete sense. In a similar way, the assignment of water vapor as the symbol of our goddesses of the air helps us integrate the symbols of various gods and goddesses who are alternately represented by the atmosphere, moisture, and humidity.In the Dogon creation myth, the Earth was originally flawed, because it did not contain water. Water was delivered in an act of fertilization. This agrees with the hypothesis that the bulk of water on Earth was delivered by comets. Life as we know it requires water, and we also know that the first single-cell organisms originated in the ocean. There is so much more. Water is only one example. The more resemblances you find between science and myth, and the more you learn how myth is recreated in daily life, the more you see how densely packed the Dogon culture is with layers upon layers of meaning that can be mapped to science as we know it.
Are the Dogon the Symbolic Carriers of a More Advanced Science That Existed in Ancient Times?
These symbologies may even have been mapped to a more advanced science known in ancient times. There is a very strong suggestion, for example, that this ancient science was aware of 266 sub-particles. We currently know there are over 200 but have not identified all of them. While it’s possible that these resemblances are coincidental, it’s also possible that an ancient civilzation embedded its scientific knowledge in mythology to preserve this knowledge through the ages and to keep its more advanced secrets from the common people. Maybe it was known how to split the atom, for example; but this knowledge was forbidden to all but the initiates into the deepest, most esoteric secrets. The Dogon say that it is forbidden to speak of Po, which is a small entity that resembles an atom and is thought to be the seed of which everything is made.
http://squirreltao.dreamfishery.com/2007/01/07/dogon/
