Nommo (ancestral spirits)

The Nommo are ancestral spirits worshiped by the Dogon people of the West African nation of Mali. In Dogon mythology, Nommo can refer to both the celestial being sent to Earth by the creator god and that being’s eight offspring who became the ancestors of the Dogon people. Stories of the Nommo vary among the Dogon, but most often they are said to have come from the sky and have fish-like attributes. The name Nommo in the Dogon language means “to make one drink.” Some modern theories have interpreted Dogon myth to claim that the Nommo were space aliens. This conclusion is based on the Dogons’ supposed knowledge of astronomical objects that can only be detected with modern technology. However, most modern experts dismiss these theories.

Background

The Dogon people are an ethnic group with an estimated 2018 population of about 1.5 million. They predominantly live in the highland area of southern Mali, near the border of Burkina Faso. Many Dogon villages are built atop large sandstone bluffs in a region known as the Cliffs of Bandiagara. Humans have been living in the region for thousands of years; however, the exact origins of the Dogon people remain unknown. It is likely they migrated to the region from somewhere else, as the Dogon were called the Habe, or “stranger,” by the native Fulbe people of the region.

Some archeologists speculate that the Dogon originated from ancient Egypt and migrated west into the areas of modern-day Libya and Mauritania over time. Sometime in the fifteenth century, the Dogon are believed to have moved south to Mali, possibly fleeing invaders or drought. Western researchers first began to study the Dogon in the early twentieth century. The first true scientific study of the Dogon was undertaken in 1931 by French anthropologists Marcel Griaule and Germaine Dieterlen. Much of the modern knowledge of Dogon myth comes from their research, most notably two books published by Griaule in 1938 and 1948.

Overview

Like most African cultures, traditional Dogon religion adheres to the belief in a creator god, a veneration of ancestors, and the presence of spirits in nature. Because Dogon tradition has been passed down through the centuries by word of mouth, many of their myths have developed more than one version. The concept of the Nommo is shared among all the Dogon people. However, the specifics of the myth can vary by village and regional dialect.

In the most common form of the myth, the Dogon believe that the god of the heavens was named Amma, and parts of his body could be seen in the sky as the stars. The constellation known as Orion, the hunter, was viewed by the Dogon as the “seat of heaven,” or “Amma’s naval.” Amma was said to have divided himself in two and sent the two halves down to Earth along the Milky Way, a celestial pathway the Dogon believed connected heaven and the earth. One half was called Ogo and represented universal chaos, bringing disorder to Earth. The other half was Nommo, a being that represented cosmic order. Nommo was said to have descended to Earth in a basket or ark wrapped in fire and thunder.

Some versions of the myth state that Amma also sent eight beings down the celestial pathway to assist Nommo in his tasks. These beings consisted of four sets of twins and were also called the Nommo. Other variations say that Nommo split himself into the eight beings. In both cases of the myth, the eight Nommo became the mothers and fathers of the Dogon people. In time, one of the Nommo disobeyed Amma and rebelled against his universal order. As punishment, Amma dismembered that Nommo, and the pieces of his body were scattered across the earth. At the spots where those pieces landed, sacred shrines were created. The shrines were said to house the spirits of the Dogon ancestors who existed before death entered the world.

According to Dogon myth, the Nommo resembled humans with fish-like qualities, and upon arriving on Earth, they created a lake of water in which to live. The Nommo are sometimes referred to as the “masters of water,” the “monitors,” or the “teachers.” The original Nommo to arrive on Earth was said to have divided his body up to provide the life-giving drink for humanity. Other Dogon legends state that this Nommo will one day return to Earth in human form.

One distinctive aspect about the myth is that the Dogon believe the Nommo were sent to Earth from the star Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. Dogon legend states that the Nommo gave the people knowledge about Sirius and other astronomical objects. The Dogon referred to Sirius as Sigi Tolo and claimed it had a smaller companion star called Po Tolo, which orbited the main star once every fifty years. Dogon tradition also says that the planet Jupiter had four large moons, and the planet Saturn was surrounded by a ringed haze.

What seems to be incredible is that some of these Dogon myths were astronomically correct. Saturn, of course, does have rings, and Jupiter’s four largest moons rival the size of Mercury, the smallest planet. Sirius also does in fact have a companion star that orbits in a period close to fifty years. While the star was first theorized in the 1860s, it was not actually seen by astronomers until the 1970s. Some modern theorists point to the fact the Dogon could not have known this information without telescopes as evidence that the Nommo were actually space aliens. They claim the Nommo visited Earth in ancient times and acted as teachers to the Dogon.

Most experts readily discount these claims, noting that many other aspects of Dogon myth are factually incorrect. For example, the Dogon claim Sirius also had a third companion star around which circled the Nommo’s home planet. Astronomers have found no evidence of a third star in the Sirius system, and any planets orbiting any of the stars would not have liquid water or be able to support life. Some scientists believe the Dogon may have heard about Jupiter, Saturn, and Sirius from contact with Westerners over the years and incorporated that knowledge into their myth. Others suggest that the anthropologists Griaule and Dieterlen may have misrepresented Dogon beliefs in their research and gave rise to later ideas of alien contact.

Bibliography

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Irele, Abiola, and Biodun Jeyifo, eds. “Nommo.” The Oxford Encyclopedia of African Thought, vol. 1, Oxford UP, 2010, pp. 166-167.

Kamalu, Chukwunyere. The Word at Face Value—An Abridged Account of Dogon Cosmology. Orisa Press, 2016.

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Ujaama, Iniko. “Dogon High Science: Keys to Overstanding History, Mystery, and Prophecy.” AfricaSpeaks.com, www.africaspeaks.com/reasoning/index.php?topic=5612.0;wap2. Accessed 13 Feb. 2019.