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Thursday, May 12, 2016

Dogon

Introduction
The Dogon live in Mali.  They have their own religion and do the same star dance as the Hopi.  They are lovers of mother earth .  Some them are able to see Sirius B with the naked eye.  They make beautiful sculptures.  Their artwork was influenced by pygmies that use live in the region.  They have 4 calendars. One for Venus, Jupiter, Moon and Earth.   They knew about blood in the body b4 the British.  They understand quantum physics.  They are patriarchal and very peaceful.
History
They originated in Kemet.  They left Kemet in 400 B.C.E.  They traveled to West Africa.  They lived in the Mali Empire in Medieval times.  Muslims tried to make them convert.  They didn't want too, so they went to cliffs.  When they got there they met giants (tall people) and pygmies.  They moved out when the Dogon moved in.
Language
The language has many dialects and even more sub-dialects.  They have a secret ritual language that is only for men.  Their language is ancient and it may be a member of the Niger-Congo language family.  The word order of this language is subject-object-verb.    
Art 
Dogon art is symbolic and it is kept away from the public.  It has a lot of religious iconographies.  Their art has layers of meaning.  They make many different types of masks.  Each mask has a different meaning.
Music
They use their voice, whistles, and drums for music.  They perform music at every milestone a person has. They dance after they hunt.  They are great drummers.

Religion
They believe in a creator named Amma.  Amma is based on the Kemetic creator deity Amen.  They feel Amma transcends humanity, so they mainly deal with the ancestors.  In the beginning of time, there was a cosmic egg that had a male and female pairs of twins in them.  One of the males got out of the egg without his sister. He is incomplete.  He went on a rampage; his name Yurugu.  They believe in beings called the Nommo. They were amphibious being that taught the Dogon civilization.  They even died so the Dogon can eat!  There similar creatures in Babylonian mythology.  Some people believe the Nommo were really aliens from Sirus B (polo tolo).  Polo Tolo means small star.  Sirus B is a white dwarf star.  Dwarf stars are very heavy and Dogon has known these for millennia!!!!!  If you want to learn more sciencey stuff from the Dogon.  Read books from Laird Scranton.  There is a story about a woman having sex with a Nommo or something similar.  Their children were dolphins.  The spiritual leader of the village is called a hogon.  A priest of Vodou is called a houngan.  What a coincidence!  They have serval cults that deal with different aspects of their society.  Awe cult deals with the dead and they reorder spiritual energy.The Lebe cult deals with farming.  Hogons are members of this cult.  Binu cult that communicate with the ancestors.  They may have other cults.
Politics
Hogons are the leaders of each village and high priest.  They consult a council of elders when they make decisions.  Hogons works with a priest, he has 3 bodyguards, announcer, and ambassador.  There is a supreme hogon as well. He rules over all the hogons.
Customs             
They celebrate the new year in May and June.  They have lots of festivals.  Their most important festival is called Sigi festival.  Sirus B takes 50 years to complete its orbit around Sirus A.  That is what the Sigi festival is celebrating.  I think this is the time they dance the movements of the stars.  They circumcise boys because they think foreskin makes men feminine.  They circumcise girls because they think the clit makes them masculine.
Conclusion
The Dogon are a wonderful people.  They have sweet festivals and I like their religion.  They are very scientific and peaceful.  They have exquisite art and they are very ancient.
References
https://theearthcenter.org/dogon-elders/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogon_people
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhyMfd7iBQ0
http://www.dogoncountry.com/about-pays-dogon/music-and-dance/
http://www.britannica.com/topic/Amma
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pcw4Nc3nthU

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