THE CONTINUATION OF THE STORY

The teachings of the Dogon may be one of the last surviving fragments of "The Great Knowledge" that has been handed on successively throughout the ages, from generation to generation. It differs dramatically from any of the well-known religious, philosophical, metaphysical or scientific systems in the world. The onerous task of discovering and fulfilling the sense and aim of our existence evokes a picture of man that is scarcely found elsewhere.*

* There is an interesting reference in J.G. Bennett’s book entitled, “Gurdjieff – Making a New World”, which suggests that Sirius, the dog-star, stands for the spirit of wisdom in the Zoroastrian tradition. The question of whether a link exists between Dogon mythology and Zoroastrian culture has not been posed yet.

However, it would be well beyond the scope of this short presentation to explore the many fascinating and intricate details of the Dogon’s profound cosmogonic myth. We merely cited a few selected excerpts from Mary Beach’s original English translation of "Le Renard Pâle", as we believe that the astronomical allusions contained in these quotes relate in some way to our own findings; i.e. the results of the observation and recordation of the transit periods of Sirius.

It is our sincere wish that the astute reader, who is willing to take the time to critically study this matter, will discover, according to his or her own "reason of understanding", more of the hidden Truth that is transmitted and that has reached us from ancient times.

The Fulani people have a saying: "Learning is known by man, but also all that is not man, for he has been given the knowledge of what is not he."

In that spirit, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to all those special people who worked so relentlessly and selflessly to preserve the important scientific contributions of the eminent anthropologists Marcel Griaule and Germaine Dieterlen, in particular their detailed treatise entitled "Le Renard Pâle", and by making it available to others, thus inviting further studies.

The Sirius Research Group

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References

J.G. Bennett (1973): “Gurdjieff – Making a New World”, Bennett Books, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1992, orig. publication (1973) Harper & Row

M. Griaule & G. Dieterlen (1965): "Le Renard Pâle", Tome I, Fascicule 1, Institut d' Ethnologie, Paris ("The Pale Fox", Translation by Mary Beach, by permission and courtesy of the Anodos Foundation, Archives of Arthur M. Young, 2004)

M. Griaule & G. Dieterlen (1950): "Un Systéme Soudanais de Sirius" - Journal de la Société des Africainistes,Tome XX, Fascicule 2 ("A Sudanese Sirius System", 1950, reprinted by permission in The Sirius Mystery by Robert K.G. Temple, 1998)

M. Griaule & G. Dieterlen (1965): "Conversations with Ogotemmêli", Oxford University Press, 1975 printing

G.I. Gurdjieff (1950): "Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson", revised original 1950 translation, Viking Arkana, 1992

I. Ridpath (1978): "Investigating the Sirius ‘Mystery’", Skeptical Inquirer Magazine, Article http://www.csicop.org/si/7809/sirius.html

L. Scranton (2002): "Hidden Meanings: A Study of the Founding Symbols of Civilizations", Xlibris, Laird Scranton

P.C. Steffey (PhD): "The Venus Calendar and Related Lore of the Dogon", Abstract, http://home.earthlink.net/~pcstef/venus_dogon.html

R. Temple (1998): "The Sirius Mystery", Century Random House UK Limited

T. Vergani (1998): "Ethnomathematics and Symbolic Thought – The Culture of the Dogon", Abstract, http://www.fiz-karlsruhe.de/fiz/publications/zdm/zdm992a4.pdf

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