The Dogon

     The Dogon are a people from Mali, in West Africa, believed to be descended from ancient Egyptians. Their belief system includes astronomical information so detailed and accurate that many wonder how they came to acquire this knowledge of the universe.According to the Dogon, they were visited by a race of extra-terrestrial beings called the Nommos thousands of years ago. The Nommos were ugly, amphibious beings who landed on Earth in a spinning ark, causing great noise and wind. They came from a star invisible to the human eye which orbits the bright star Sirius every 50 years. They shared with the Dogon knowledge of Jupiter's four moons, Saturn's rings, and the fact that the planets in our solar system orbit the sun. This influences their ritual life and art, and they celebrate the orbit of the Nommos' home star.