1 00:00:00,579 --> 00:00:16,863 This series presents information based in part on theory and conjecture. 2 00:00:16,863 --> 00:00:21,384 The producer's purpose is to suggest some possible explanations but not necessarily 3 00:00:21,384 --> 00:00:26,385 the only ones to the mysteries we will examine. 4 00:00:38,628 --> 00:00:49,310 These dances, these masks, these strange rituals have meaning. They describe 5 00:00:49,310 --> 00:00:54,312 precisely the relationship between a remote African tribe and the heavens. 6 00:00:54,312 --> 00:01:02,313 This tribe believes all life comes from a distant dark star invisible to the naked eye. 7 00:01:02,313 --> 00:01:09,315 Recently, modern science was able to find this star and confirm its existence. 8 00:01:09,315 --> 00:01:15,316 Now we must ask, how did a primitive people, lacking instruments of any kind, 9 00:01:15,316 --> 00:01:19,317 discover a dark star hidden deep in space? 10 00:01:28,319 --> 00:01:33,321 In Central Africa, among fortress-like cliffs on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert, 11 00:01:33,321 --> 00:01:35,321 live a people called the Dogon. 12 00:01:37,322 --> 00:01:43,323 A thousand years ago, fleeing from warring tribes, the Dogon found refuge here. 13 00:01:43,323 --> 00:01:48,324 The Dogon have endured and preserved mysterious ancient knowledge, 14 00:01:48,324 --> 00:01:53,325 knowledge of an invisible star and its movements through the heavens. 15 00:02:01,327 --> 00:02:06,328 The hum of the bull roar is believed to be the voice of the sacred star. 16 00:02:07,329 --> 00:02:14,330 It calls initiates to a ceremony high in the cliffs. 17 00:02:25,333 --> 00:02:29,334 Dating back to a time when the Western world was locked in the dark ages, 18 00:02:29,334 --> 00:02:33,335 this ritual has taken place year after year. 19 00:02:36,335 --> 00:02:41,336 During the ceremony, the full spectrum of Dogon knowledge is revealed 20 00:02:41,336 --> 00:02:44,337 and passes from generation to generation. 21 00:02:54,340 --> 00:02:58,340 A circle within a circle depicts Saturn and its rings, 22 00:02:58,340 --> 00:03:01,341 which can only be seen with a telescope. 23 00:03:07,343 --> 00:03:20,346 A large circle and four satellites, the planet Jupiter and its moons. 24 00:03:26,347 --> 00:03:29,348 Most remarkable is this symbol. 25 00:03:29,348 --> 00:03:35,349 It represents the orbit of the Dogon star, a phenomenon deep in stellar space. 26 00:03:36,349 --> 00:03:40,350 Yet, no such orbiting star is visible from the Earth. 27 00:03:40,350 --> 00:03:46,352 It was not until this century that Western astronomers began to suspect its existence. 28 00:03:48,352 --> 00:03:51,353 A desert tribe called the Dogon, isolated in the African wilderness, 29 00:03:51,353 --> 00:03:55,354 may have identified a star invisible to the unaided eye. 30 00:03:55,354 --> 00:03:57,354 How is this possible? 31 00:03:57,354 --> 00:04:02,355 How could the Dogon possess this sophisticated astronomical information? 32 00:04:06,356 --> 00:04:12,358 Approximately 200,000 Dogon live in 300 villages scattered through their land. 33 00:04:15,358 --> 00:04:19,359 Throughout most of Africa, the simple melodies of the shepherd's flutes 34 00:04:19,359 --> 00:04:22,360 reflect the unchanging pattern of village life. 35 00:04:30,362 --> 00:04:35,363 On the surface, there is little to separate the Dogon from countless other tribes. 36 00:04:36,363 --> 00:04:42,365 What makes the Dogon different is a unique social harmony maintained by strong tradition. 37 00:04:43,365 --> 00:04:48,366 Among these people, murder, theft and suicide is all but unknown. 38 00:04:50,367 --> 00:04:52,367 Greed is rare. 39 00:04:53,367 --> 00:04:57,368 Discutes are settled by debate in open forum. 40 00:04:58,368 --> 00:05:02,369 A goat has broken down a neighbor's wall and damaged his crops. 41 00:05:03,370 --> 00:05:05,370 The farmer demands repayment. 42 00:05:06,370 --> 00:05:11,371 The goat's owner insists it is the farmer's fault he should have built a better wall. 43 00:05:13,372 --> 00:05:17,373 The elders decide that indeed the wall should be stronger, 44 00:05:17,373 --> 00:05:21,374 that both men should rebuild it and replant the crop. 45 00:05:27,375 --> 00:05:29,376 Millet beer marks the settlement. 46 00:05:33,377 --> 00:05:37,378 The Dogon believes in a perfectly ordered existence. 47 00:05:38,378 --> 00:05:41,378 They believe they are a part of something much greater than themselves. 48 00:05:42,379 --> 00:05:48,380 That each task, however menial, reaffirms their integral connection with the rhythm of the universe. 49 00:05:50,381 --> 00:05:55,382 In myths and symbols, the Dogon linked the lowly with the lofty, the known with the unknown. 50 00:05:56,382 --> 00:06:01,383 All human activity is inscribed from the human body. 51 00:06:02,383 --> 00:06:05,384 From the origin of man to the mystery of death. 52 00:06:06,384 --> 00:06:10,385 The spinning and weaving of cotton describes the Dogon myth of creation. 53 00:06:14,386 --> 00:06:17,387 Each strand by itself is of little importance. 54 00:06:18,387 --> 00:06:22,388 But united by a guiding intelligence, they become an ordered fabric. 55 00:06:33,391 --> 00:06:37,392 Planting, harvesting, the winnowing of grain from chaff, 56 00:06:37,392 --> 00:06:42,393 each act of Dogon life has a practical and a spiritual value. 57 00:06:49,394 --> 00:06:53,395 The study of the Dogon has lured men like Dr. Hans Guggenheim, 58 00:06:53,395 --> 00:06:56,396 an anthropologist from Harvard University. 59 00:06:57,396 --> 00:07:02,397 He has probed the relationship between the Dogon and their mysterious dark stars. 60 00:07:03,398 --> 00:07:09,399 In order to discover this mystery, the mystery of Dogon knowledge about the stars, 61 00:07:09,399 --> 00:07:13,400 we have to begin by looking at the inside of their granaries. 62 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:19,401 Because the Dogon linked in their knowledge the science of growing grain 63 00:07:19,401 --> 00:07:22,402 and the understanding of the stars. 64 00:07:26,403 --> 00:07:31,404 All ancient civilizations have needed knowledge of the heavens for the growing of grain. 65 00:07:34,405 --> 00:07:39,406 Just as ancient astronomers studied the positions of the sun, moon and stars, 66 00:07:39,406 --> 00:07:47,408 Amandinghi, the elder, climbs to a place among the rocks to observe the sun as it moves along a heel stone. 67 00:07:49,408 --> 00:07:55,410 He will determine the exact time when his people must sow the seed that will ensure their survival. 68 00:07:56,410 --> 00:08:01,411 The Land of Dogon 69 00:08:02,411 --> 00:08:05,412 This land is normally a desert. 70 00:08:05,412 --> 00:08:08,413 The rainy season is short. 71 00:08:08,413 --> 00:08:12,414 Planting must begin at precisely the right moment. 72 00:08:12,414 --> 00:08:18,415 The harvest which follows must last through the harsh months of drought. 73 00:08:19,415 --> 00:08:25,417 Life or death of the tribe depends on the accuracy of observation by men like Amandinghi, 74 00:08:25,417 --> 00:08:27,417 the Dogon astronomer. 75 00:08:30,418 --> 00:08:36,419 As Amandinghi studies the heavens, is it possible that he can reach beyond the visible universe? 76 00:08:36,419 --> 00:08:41,420 Is it possible that he can sense phenomena deep in space? 77 00:08:48,422 --> 00:08:53,423 The Hogan, the high priest of Eru, is the chief of Dogon religious knowledge. 78 00:08:54,424 --> 00:09:01,425 Selected more than 30 years ago by signs and prophecies, he lives a prisoner in a small temple compound. 79 00:09:05,426 --> 00:09:11,427 The Hogan is adored and provided for by his people, but cannot be touched by man or woman. 80 00:09:12,428 --> 00:09:16,429 He is the living repository of all that is known. 81 00:09:16,429 --> 00:09:25,431 His isolation from worldly needs and worldly concerns ensures that the sacred knowledge he keeps will remain pure. 82 00:09:25,431 --> 00:09:31,432 Should the Hogan be contaminated by human contact, he must be killed. 83 00:09:36,433 --> 00:09:43,435 Away from the clamor of village life in caves and rock shelters, the teachings of the Hogan are renewed. 84 00:09:47,436 --> 00:09:58,438 Tribal legend tells us that beings called Numo descended from the sacred star and appeared before the Dogon ancestors. 85 00:09:58,438 --> 00:10:06,440 The Dogon were entrusted by the Numo with 366 symbols, given without meaning. 86 00:10:07,441 --> 00:10:13,442 The Dogon were charged with interpreting them and preserving the information for future generations. 87 00:10:14,442 --> 00:10:23,444 The symbols reveal an astonishing scope of astronomical knowledge, an infinite number of stars and spiraling worlds. 88 00:10:30,446 --> 00:10:37,448 After more than five years among the Dogon people, Dr. Guggenheim has gradually gained the confidence of the Dogon elders 89 00:10:38,448 --> 00:10:43,449 and acceptance into the inner circle of secret knowledge. 90 00:10:53,451 --> 00:10:59,453 The Dogon belief, the universe was born in a vast explosion and as it opened up, 91 00:10:59,453 --> 00:11:05,454 everything that we know about and everything that the Dogon know about in the world came pouring out 92 00:11:05,454 --> 00:11:08,455 and nothing was left except a shell. 93 00:11:08,455 --> 00:11:17,457 This empty shell became the star that they called the Pontolou and that we call Sirius B. 94 00:11:20,458 --> 00:11:25,459 In 1950, astronomers confirmed the existence of the Dogon star. 95 00:11:26,459 --> 00:11:32,460 At the United States Naval Observatory, Washington, D.C., 96 00:11:32,460 --> 00:11:38,462 Chief Astramar Dr. Irving Lindenblad devoted years to the search for the Dogon star. 97 00:11:38,462 --> 00:11:43,463 The Sirius system is a very interesting challenge, observationally, 98 00:11:43,463 --> 00:11:50,465 because it is very difficult to observe a star 10 seconds from such a bright object as Sirius A. 99 00:11:50,465 --> 00:11:58,466 After the years of effort, Dr. Lindenblad finally succeeded in taking this photograph of Sirius B and its giant companion. 100 00:12:02,467 --> 00:12:07,469 The Dogon possess even more startling information about the star they hold sacred. 101 00:12:07,469 --> 00:12:11,469 They say that when it gave forth all the information, 102 00:12:11,469 --> 00:12:18,471 it collapsed in upon itself, becoming incredibly dense and so heavy that all the earthly beings combined cannot lift it. 103 00:12:21,472 --> 00:12:25,473 The San Fernando Observatory, Silmar, California. 104 00:12:27,473 --> 00:12:32,474 Dr. Gary Chapman is an astronomer specializing in the field of astronomy. 105 00:12:32,474 --> 00:12:36,475 He is a very famous astronomer and he is a very famous astronomer. 106 00:12:37,476 --> 00:12:43,477 Dr. Gary Chapman is an astronomer specializing in the physical characteristics of stars. 107 00:12:44,477 --> 00:12:52,479 By splitting the light collected from a distant star into colored bands, its physical characteristics can be analyzed. 108 00:12:52,479 --> 00:13:01,481 Sirius B is fairly normal in surface layers, but we do rely on the calculation to tell us that the interior is essentially out of nuclear fuel. 109 00:13:01,481 --> 00:13:06,482 It's a dead star. We know from modern calculations that it has a very, very high density. 110 00:13:06,482 --> 00:13:20,486 It has a density about 5 million times that of water and if you were to be on the surface of Sirius B right now, you'd be crushed very, very flat because the surface gravity is about 100 million times that of the Earth. 111 00:13:21,486 --> 00:13:27,487 The symbol is explained. The knowledge preserved in rituals through the centuries has been confirmed. 112 00:13:27,487 --> 00:13:34,489 Beyond the doggone knowledge of the dark star, the symbols reveal more information about the celestial universe. 113 00:13:34,489 --> 00:13:43,491 They correctly place the Earth and our solar system within the Milky Way and state correctly that the massive cluster of stars is the source of the universe. 114 00:13:43,491 --> 00:13:53,493 They correctly place the Earth and our solar system within the Milky Way and state correctly that the massive cluster of stars is far more distant than the planets. 115 00:13:54,494 --> 00:14:00,495 The understanding of astronomical movements led the doggone to investigate the human anatomy. 116 00:14:00,495 --> 00:14:09,497 They discovered the circulation of blood in the body long before it was discovered by the English physician William Harvey in the 17th century. 117 00:14:10,497 --> 00:14:18,499 These symbols and the knowledge they hold are the legacy of the mysterious pneumoes, the messengers from the dark star. 118 00:14:20,500 --> 00:14:32,502 Many cultures claim their knowledge was given them by God-like beings descended from the heavens, but the doggones insist their gods descended from one star in particular, which they're able to identify and describe in detail. 119 00:14:33,503 --> 00:14:37,504 Does other evidence exist of this encounter between gods and men? 120 00:14:40,504 --> 00:14:46,506 In 1937, French anthropologists shot this rare film of the doggone. 121 00:14:46,506 --> 00:14:51,507 They found the people in a frenzy of preparation for a huge ceremony. 122 00:14:56,508 --> 00:15:01,509 The scientists were told the funeral of an important man would soon take place. 123 00:15:01,509 --> 00:15:13,512 But all this was an elaborate deception designed to protect their secret knowledge. 124 00:15:19,513 --> 00:15:28,515 The anthropologists counted themselves fortunate to have the opportunity to observe the making of ritual masks representing the panoply of doggone spirits. 125 00:15:28,515 --> 00:15:34,517 It would be years before the scientists would understand their true meaning. 126 00:15:59,523 --> 00:16:06,524 The giant ritual which the anthropologists witnessed was not a funeral at all. It was the SIGI. 127 00:16:07,525 --> 00:16:13,526 Occuring every 60 years, the SIGI is the most important ceremony in doggone life. 128 00:16:13,526 --> 00:16:17,527 The SIGI is an event relating directly to the sacred star. 129 00:16:18,527 --> 00:16:27,529 The SIGI marks the completion of an orbit, the time when Earth, the giant Sirius, and the SIGI are the most important ceremony in doggone life. 130 00:16:28,529 --> 00:16:35,531 The sacred star are directly aligned, the moment when the doggone and their star are closest. 131 00:16:37,532 --> 00:16:45,533 For western science to determine the orbit of the doggone star required calculations based on decades of astronomical observations. 132 00:16:46,534 --> 00:16:54,535 Minute shifts in the position of the giant Sirius led astronomers to suspect the gravitational influence of an unseen companion. 133 00:16:55,536 --> 00:17:05,538 When computer studies of the data were complete, they verified that a small star orbited Sirius every 60 years, exactly as the doggone claimed. 134 00:17:06,538 --> 00:17:21,542 The interesting thing is that in the vision of the stellar universe, they arrived at the conclusion that it was the smallest invisible star that was at the center of the universe. 135 00:17:21,542 --> 00:17:45,547 That moved the universe and that held Sirius, the SIGI, to low in place and determined its cause in an elliptical way which they have painted and grafted on the walls of their caves, an ellipse which has been borne out by western observations. 136 00:17:46,548 --> 00:17:57,550 More than four decades have passed since the last SIGI, only the oldest among the doggone recall it, the greatest experience of their lives. 137 00:18:01,551 --> 00:18:07,553 It is from the Citadel shrine of Yuga-Dugaru that the order to commence the next SIGI will come. 138 00:18:08,553 --> 00:18:15,554 Here live the only men who claim they have actually seen the alignment between the Earth and the distant star. 139 00:18:18,555 --> 00:18:28,557 Elders of a secret society, they are the venerated guardians of the shrine where they say a place in the cliff begins to glow when it is time for the SIGI ritual. 140 00:18:29,558 --> 00:18:41,560 What mysteries inspire these people to devote their lives to the keeping of a shrine, to the knotting of a rope measuring the time until a ceremony they will not live to see? 141 00:18:42,561 --> 00:18:48,562 In sanctuaries hidden among the cliffs, there is evidence of the antiquity of the SIGI ritual. 142 00:18:49,562 --> 00:18:58,564 The mask called Na dates from an early observation of the dark star. It is believed by scientists to be more than 300 years old. 143 00:18:59,565 --> 00:19:03,566 Masks for future rituals will be modeled on this example. 144 00:19:04,566 --> 00:19:09,567 So what conclusion does one come to from the doggone knowledge of the star Sirius? 145 00:19:10,567 --> 00:19:11,567 I feel there are one of three possibilities. 146 00:19:12,568 --> 00:19:16,569 A, that they have supernatural knowledge or extrasensory perception. 147 00:19:16,569 --> 00:19:20,570 B, perhaps they have been visited by creatures from outer space. 148 00:19:21,570 --> 00:19:23,570 Or C, that the whole thing is coincidence. 149 00:19:24,570 --> 00:19:29,572 And I must say as a professional astronomer, I strongly side with item C, that it is coincidence. 150 00:19:30,572 --> 00:19:32,572 How they managed to calculate this? 151 00:19:33,573 --> 00:19:43,575 We don't know. It is a mystery that we have been unable to solve up to now and that the doggone are not going to tell us. 152 00:19:46,576 --> 00:20:04,580 The average lifespan among the doggone is 38 years. The SIGI ritual is held every 60 years. 153 00:20:05,580 --> 00:20:13,582 Yet every doggone youth learns the complicated movements of the dance, hoping he might someday participate in the ceremony. 154 00:20:16,583 --> 00:20:27,585 Each hopes that he will be the one to wear the grand mask. 155 00:20:28,585 --> 00:20:37,588 The grand mask, the symbol of the sacred star, turning in endless orbit around the giant Sirius. 156 00:20:47,590 --> 00:20:49,590 Hello, my dear! 157 00:20:49,590 --> 00:20:52,591 Hello! 158 00:20:52,591 --> 00:20:54,591 Hello! 159 00:20:58,592 --> 00:21:00,593 Hello! 160 00:21:02,593 --> 00:21:04,594 Hello! 161 00:21:10,595 --> 00:21:12,596 Hello! 162 00:21:15,596 --> 00:21:18,597 Today the modern world surrounds the doggone. 163 00:21:18,597 --> 00:21:23,598 Their children will attend schools. Roads will connect them to major cities. 164 00:21:24,598 --> 00:21:27,599 Western goods and technology will soon become in place. 165 00:21:28,599 --> 00:21:32,600 As they gain new knowledge, will they lose this ancient wisdom? 166 00:21:33,601 --> 00:21:38,602 Can they travel into the future guided by tradition and social harmony? 167 00:21:39,602 --> 00:21:44,603 Will they retain the guiding wisdom of the dark star? 168 00:21:45,603 --> 00:21:52,605 Coming up next, 20th century with Mike Wallace reports on gang violence in America. 169 00:21:53,605 --> 00:21:57,606 Then, Weapons at War takes you aboard for a history of aircraft carriers. 170 00:21:58,606 --> 00:22:02,607 And log on at veterans.com, a new website brought to you by the History Channel. 171 00:22:03,608 --> 00:22:11,609 Veterans.com, a place where veterans, their families and others can connect, share stories and pass on the legacies of all American veterans.