Dogon Sirius mystery: 50-year calendar based on Sirius B's orbital cycle. The Dogon live in southeast Mali along the Cliff of Bandiagara (Land of the Dogons) (UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1989) In the late 1930s, four Dogon priests shared secret traditions with French anthropologists Marcel Griaule and Germaine Dieterlen The Dogon know about Sirius B (Po Tolo), a white dwarf companion to Sirius, 8.6 light years from Earth
Dogon people in Mali knew about Sirius B centuries before Western astronomers. They call it Po Tolo (smallest seed), describing it as white, small, and heavy. Their 50-year calendar matches Sirius B's 49.9 year orbital cycle. Knowledge passed through oral tradition from the Nommo ancestors.
Key Facts
- The Dogon live in southeast Mali along the Cliff of Bandiagara (Land of the Dogons) (UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1989)
- In the late 1930s, four Dogon priests shared secret traditions with French anthropologists Marcel Griaule and Germaine Dieterlen
- The Dogon know about Sirius B (Po Tolo), a white dwarf companion to Sirius, 8.6 light years from Earth
- Po Tolo means 'smallest seed star'—they describe it as the smallest and heaviest thing, correctly identifying it as white in color
- Sirius B was first suspected by astronomers in 1844 and visually discovered by Alvan Clark in 1862
- Sirius B is smaller than planet Earth and causes Sirius A's wavy movement through gravitational pull
- The Dogon 50-year calendar matches the orbital cycle of Sirius B around Sirius A (49.9 years)
- This knowledge was transmitted through oral tradition attributed to the Nommo ancestral beings
- The Dogon are intensively studied with over 1,800 publications covering their cosmogony and masked dances
Related site: Cliff of Bandiagara (Land of the Dogons) — view location, images, and history on the Ancient Nerds map.
Source: African Megaliths and Ancient Astronomy | Charles Stirton | Megalithomania 2007 | AUDIO ONLY by MegalithomaniaUK