Believed to be progenies of Ancient Kemet (Egypt), the Dogon people who live in the central region of Mali are among the few African tribes who have managed to preserve their culture over time.
Renowned for their knowledge of the Sirius system which dates back to 3200 BC, long before scientists discovered it in 1862 AD. The Dogon People amassed a wealth of detailed astronomical observations. Many of which were so advanced that some modern scholars credit their discoveries instead to space aliens or unknown European travelers, even though the Dogon culture is steeped in ceremonial tradition centered on several space events.
The Dogon knew of Saturn’s rings, Jupiter’s moons, the spiral structure of the Milky Way, and the orbit of the Sirius star system. Hundreds of years ago, they plotted and predicted orbits in this system accurately through the year 1990. They knew this system contained a primary star and a secondary star (now called Sirius B) of immense density and not visible to the naked eye.
They commemorate Sirius A’s fifty-year elliptical orbit around Sirius B with the ‘Sigui Celebration’ every sixty years (instead of fifty) and since the last Sigui celebration was in 1967, the next celebration is expected to happen in 2027.
Above is a breathtaking photograph of two Dogon People on Stilts in Mali, Africa. Photo via Historical.time.machine on Instagram.
