Dogon People -- Sources Bibliography and Further Reading

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Dogon People -- Sources, Bibliography, and Further Reading

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Primary Ethnographic Sources

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The Griaule-Dieterlen Corpus

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  • Griaule, Marcel. Masques Dogons. Travaux et Memoires de l'Institut d'Ethnologie, 33. Paris: Institut d'Ethnologie, 1938. The first major published study of Dogon material culture; focuses on masks and ceremonies; does not yet include the inner cosmological system.
  • Griaule, Marcel. Conversations with Ogotemmeli: An Introduction to Dogon Religious Ideas. London: Oxford University Press, 1948 (reprinted 1970). The primary source for the inner Dogon cosmological system as revealed by the blind elder Ogotemmeli over 33 days in 1946. Essential reading for understanding what Griaule actually found.
  • Griaule, Marcel and Germaine Dieterlen. The Pale Fox (Le Renard Pale). Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 1986 (first published in French, 1965). The complete Dogon cosmological system, including the detailed Sirius material, the cosmological sand drawings, and the full Amma-Nommo creation narrative. The most complete source for the Dogon astronomical claims.
  • Dieterlen, Germaine. Essai sur la religion bambara. Paris: PUF, 1951. Dieterlen's separate major work; demonstrates her independent scholarly standing.

Skeptical and Critical Scholarship

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  • Van Beek, Walter E.A. "Dogon Restudied: A Field Evaluation of the Work of Marcel Griaule." Current Anthropology, 32(2), 1991, pp. 139-167. The essential critical reassessment; includes commentaries by Griaule specialists including Calame-Griaule. The strongest empirical challenge to the Sirius mystery.
  • Ridpath, Ian. "Investigating the Sirius Mystery." Skeptical Inquirer, Fall 1978, pp. 56-62. The first systematic astronomical critique of Temple's claims; remains the most focused technical analysis.
  • Sagan, Carl. Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science. New York: Random House, 1979. Chapter on the Dogon mystery; Sagan's terrestrial contamination hypothesis; his exact quote about needing contact with "an advanced technological civilisation."
  • Oberg, James. "The Sirius Mystery" (review). Various publications, 1978-1980. Astronomer's systematic response to Temple's astronomical claims.

The Sirius Mystery Literature

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  • Temple, Robert K.G. The Sirius Mystery: Was Earth Visited by Intelligent Beings from a Star in the System of Sirius? London: Century, 1976. The book that brought the Dogon case to international attention; the primary source for the extraterrestrial contact hypothesis.
  • Temple, Robert K.G. The Sirius Mystery: New Scientific Evidence of Alien Contact 5,000 Years Ago. Rochester, VT: Destiny Books, 1998. The expanded edition; includes Temple's responses to critics and the CIA/KGB persecution claim.

Astronomical Sources

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  • Benest, Daniel and J.L. Duvent. "Is Sirius a Triple Star?" Astronomy and Astrophysics, 299, 1995, pp. 621-628. The 1995 paper proposing Sirius C based on astrometric data; not confirmed.
  • Holberg, J.B., et al. "Sirius B: A New, More Accurate View." Astrophysical Journal, 627, 2005. The Hubble Space Telescope precision measurements of Sirius B's properties.

Film and Documentary Sources

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  • Rouch, Jean. Sigui (film series). 1967-1973. Approximately 15 hours of film documenting the complete Sigui ceremony over its 7-year travelling cycle. Archived at Musee de l'Homme, Paris, and Cinematheque francaise. The essential visual record of Dogon ceremonial life.
  • Various documentary treatments of the Dogon mystery (History Channel, National Geographic, BBC) provide accessible introductions but should be read critically against the primary sources.

Online Resources

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  • The Hallofmaat.com "Investigating the Sirius Mystery" by Ian Ridpath -- the most accessible detailed skeptical analysis online.
  • The Skeptic's Dictionary (skepdic.com) entry on "Dogon and Sirius" -- concise summary of the skeptical position.
  • UNESCO World Heritage Centre: "Cliff of Bandiagara (Land of the Dogons)" -- the official World Heritage designation with background on the escarpment and Dogon culture.

Further Reading: Context

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  • Knight, Christopher and Alan Butler. Who Built the Moon?. London: Watkins, 2005. A parallel case of claimed mathematical precision in cosmological/astronomical arrangement; useful comparison.
  • Griaule, Marcel (daughter) -- articles by Genevieve Calame-Griaule in response to van Beek, available through Current Anthropology archives.
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