The Nommo

The Nommo are ancestral spirits (sometimes referred to as deities) worshipped by the Dogon tribe of Mali. The word Nommos is derived from a Dogon word meaning,

“to make one drink,” The Nommos are usually described as amphibious,hermaphroditic, fish-like creatures. Folk art depictions of the Nommos show creatures with humanoid

upper torsos, legs/feet, and a fish-like lower torso and tail. The Nommos are also referred to as “Masters of the Water”, “the Monitors”, and ”the Teachers”. Nommo can be a

proper name of an individual, or can refer to the group of spirits as a whole. For purposes of this article “Nommo” refers to a specific individual and “Nommos” is used to

reference the group of beings.

Nommo Mythology

Dogon mythology states that Nommo was the first living creature created by the sky god Amma. Shortly after his creation, Nommo underwent a transformation and multiplied

into four pairs of twins. One of the twins rebelled against the universal order created by Amma. To restore order to his creation, Amma sacrificed another of the Nommo

progeny, whose body was dismembered and scattered throughout the world.This dispersal of body parts is seen by the Dogon as the source for the proliferation of Binu

shrines throughout the Dogons’ traditional territory; wherever a body part fell, a shrine was erected.

In the latter part of the 1940s, French anthropologists Marcel Griaule and Germaine Dieterlen (who had been working with the Dogon since 1931) were the recipients

of additional, secret mythologies, concerning the Nommo. The Dogon reportedly related to Griaule and Dieterlen a belief that the Nommos were inhabitants of a world

circling the star Sirius (see the main article on the Dogon for a discussion of their astronomical knowledge). The Nommos descended from the sky in a vessel accompanied

by fire and thunder. After arriving, the Nommos created a reservoir of water and subsequently dove into the water. The Dogon legends state that the Nommos required a

watery environment in which to live. According to the myth related to Griaule and Dieterlen: “The Nommo divided his body among men to feed them; that is why it is also

said that as the universe ”had drunk of his body,” the Nommo also made men drink. He gave all his life principles to human beings.” The Nommo was crucified on a tree,

but was resurrected and returned to his home world. Dogon legend has it that he will return in the future to revisit the Earth in a human form.

Common Motifs

The Nommos bear some physical resemblance to several other mythological beings: the Oannes (Babylon), the Enki (Sumer), Fuxi (China), Dagon (Philistine), and Nereus

(Greece), to name a few. It is also interesting to note the motifs common to the story of Nommo with the story of Osiris (dismemberment and the erection of temples at the

final resting places of their respective body parts). There are also numerous parallels between the story of Nommo and the traditions of Jesus: both were crucified, both

instructed followers to “drink of my body”, and both were associated with the fish (see Controversy).

Controversy

In the 1970’s a book by Robert Temple titled The Sirius Mystery popularized the traditions of the Dogon concerning Sirius and the Nommos. In The Sirius Mystery, Temple

came to the conclusion that the Dogon’s knowledge of astronomy and non-visible cosmic phenomenon could only be explained if said knowledge was imparted upon them

by an extraterrestrial race that had visited the Dogon at some point in the past and given them information concerning the cosmos. Temple related this race to the legend

of the Nommos and contended that the Nommos were extraterrestrial inhabitants of the Sirius star system who had traveled to earth at some point in the distant past and

had imparted knowledge about the Sirius star system as well as our own solar system upon the Dogon tribes.

An anthropologist studying the Dogon (namely Walter van Beek) found no evidence that they had any historical advanced knowledge of Sirius. Van Beek postulated that

Griaule engaged in such leading and forceful questioning of his Dogon sources that new myths were created in the process by confabulation. Carl Sagan has noted that the

first reported association of the Dogon with the knowledge of Sirius as a binary star was in the 1940’s, giving the Dogon ample opportunity to gain cosmological

knowledge about Sirius and the solar system from more scientifically advanced, terrestrial societies whom they had come in contact with. It has also been pointed out that

binary star systems like Sirius are theorized to have a very narrow or non-existent Habitable zone, and thus a high improbability of containing a planet capable of sustaining

life (particularly life as dependent on water as the Nommos were reported to be).

However, daughter and colleague of Marcel Griaule, Genevieve CalameGriaule, came to defend the project, dismissing Van Beek’s criticism as misguided speculation and

being rooted in an apparent ignorance of esoteric tradition.There are also several unexplained aspects of the reported Dogon culture that still remain. The assertion

that the

Dogon knew of another star in the Sirius system, Emme Ya, or ”larger than Sirus B but lighter and dim in magnitude” has particularly baffled critics. In 1995,

gravitational studies indicated the possible existence of a red dwarf star circling around Sirius but further observations have failed to confirm this.Neither does an external cause seem to explain the 400-year old Dogon artifact that apparently depicts the Sirius

, or reports that the Dogon were aware of the super dense nature of the white dwarf star, Sirius B, since this was only postulated not long before the Dogon came in

contact with the anthropologists.Space journalist and skeptic James Oberg collected claims that have appeared concerning Dogon mythology in his 1982 book and concedes that such assumptions of recent acquisition is ”entirely circumstantial” and has no foundation in documented evidence and concludes that it seems

likely that the Sirius mystery will remain exactly what its title implies; a mystery. Earlier, other critics such as the astronomers Peter and Roland Pesch and Ian Ridpath had attributed the supposed ”advanced” astronomical knowledge of the Dogon to a mixture of over-interpretation by commentators and cultural contamination.

References in fiction

The belief structure surrounding Nommo, as well as Robert Temple’s conclusion from The Sirius Mystery, were used by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes as the background

for the role-playing game in The California Voodoo Game, the third volume in their Dream Park series. Novelist Tom Robbins discusses Nommo and the Sirius mysteries in

his novel Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas. Nommo and the Dogon are also widely mentioned in Phillip K. Dick‘s novel Valis. The Nommo are also mentioned in the second book of Ian Douglas’s Legacy Trilogy (Battlespace) where the marines encounter the Nommo in the Sirius star system.

The Nommo are a splinter species of the Trilarians in the game Master of Orion III who appear as squid-like animals that believed that their gods created them (they were actually created by an Antaran). They are religious extremists who wish to regain their homeworld.

The great chain of being or scala naturæ is a classical and western medieval conception of the order of the universe, whose chief characteristic is a strict hierarchical system.

The chain of being is composed of a great number of hierarchical links, from the most basic and foundational elements up through the very highest perfection, in other words, God, or the Prime Mover.

God, and beneath him the angels, both existing wholly in spirit form, sit at the top of the chain. Earthly flesh is fallible and ever-changing: mutable. Spirit, however, is unchanging and permanent. This sense of permanence is crucial to understanding this conception of reality. One does not abandon one’s place in the chain; it is not only unthinkable, but generally impossible. The hierarchy is a chain and not a ladder. (One exception might be in the realm of alchemy, where alchemists attempted to transmute base elements, such as lead, into higher elements, either silver, or more often, gold—the highest element.)

In the natural order, earth (rock) is at the bottom of the chain; these elements possess only the attribute of existence. Moving on up the chain, each succeeding link contains the positive attributes of the previous link, and adds (at least) one other. Rocks, as above, possess only existence; the next link up, plants, possess life and existence. Beasts add not only motion, but appetite as well.

Man is a special instance in this conception. He is both mortal flesh, as those below him, and also spirit. In this dichotomy, the struggle between flesh and spirit becomes a moral one. The way of the spirit is higher, more noble; it brings one closer to God. The desires of the flesh drag one down. The Christian fall of Lucifer is especially terrible, because that angel is wholly spirit, who yet defies God, the ultimate perfection.

Churchill hammer six to clinch title in style

Churchill Brothers are the new I-League football champions.Goa’s top team recorded their maiden triumph with a thumping 6-2 victory over Kolkata’s Mohammedan sporting here on Thursday at the Nehru Statdium before a capacity home crowd.

The Goan club did not have to worry about the outcome of the match between the other contenders for the title,Mohun Bagan,who lost 1-2 to Mahindra United to finish second.

Churchill,who were in contention for the country’s professional football league title on at leastfour occasions,also made their serbian coach Zoran Djordjevic proud as he became the first overseas coach
to pilot a team to the championship title.As luck would have it,Mohun Bagan lost their lastmatch 1-2 to Mahindra and churchill Brothers finished with 46 points,three more than the kolkata team.

Churchill’s prolific goalscorer Odafe Okalie (8th,84th)was again on target with his brace making the Nigerianthe highest goal scorer for the second successive time with 26 goals.His compatriot Felix Chimaokwu(61st)
Khan Thang paite(63rd) and Naoba singh(88th) and wasim Feroze’s(5th)own goal added to ‘s tally.Mike Okora(52nd) and Jothi kumar(93rd) reduced the margin for Mohammedan Sporting.

Churchill took the lead in the fifth minute,When defender Feroze in his attempt to clear the ball from Odafein the box slotted into his own net.Three minutes later,Odafe showed his class when he made room in the box by
foxing the defenders and booted it into the top corner.

Churchill went into the break with 2-0 lead but Mohammedan sporting came back strongly after the breather as veteran
Mike Okora headed Satyajit Bose’s flag-kick to reduce the margin.But Churchill were unstoppable.

The brilliant Odafe found an unmarked Feilx Chimaokwu,who unleashed a powerful right footer to make it 3-1 for the Goans.
Paite and Naoba piled the misery on Mohammeadan Sporting to complete the tally for the winners.

In injury time,substitute Jothi pulled one back for mohammedan sporting but couldn’t help his from sufferingthe ignominy of suffering of relegation with Vasco.

Meanwhile,a brace from Edeh Chidi lifted Mahindra Unied to a 2-1 win over title aspirants Mohun Bagan in their I-League encounter at
the Ambedkar Statdium on Thursday.In the final analysis,Bagan’s hopes of completing a domestic treble(after winning the Kolkata League and Federationcup) Were up in smoke even before the Nigerian striker scored the opener.As news came in of Churchill Brothers taking a commanding 2-0
lead over Mohammedan Sporting within the first 10 minutes,one could see shoulders drop among the Bagan ranks.The loss sees Bagan end the
season in second place,with 43 points-three adrift of champions Churchill .Sporting Clube de Goa’s 2-1 win over Air India in Gurgaon pulled them levelwith Baganon 43 points,but the Goans finished third due to an inferior goal difference.

Mahindra went ahead in 42nd minute as a cleverly disguised through ball from Mohammed Rafi sneaked past the backline anto onto the path of Chidi.The Nigerian ran towards the
advancing Bagan goalkeeper and coolly slotted the ball under his legs.Mahindra doubled the advantage in the 60th minute.The ball broke for Chidi Just outside the penalty box and he hit a low pile
drive past goalie Sangram Mukherjee.

Substitute striker Branco Cardozo pulled a goal back for Bagan in the final minute of regulation time,as he slid in a close range effort.

I-LEAGUE TABLE

Team        P  W  D  L   P

Churchill   22 13 7  2   46

Bagan       22 13 4  5   43

Sporting    22 13 4  5   43

Dempo       22 8  7  7   31

Mahindra    22 8  7  7   31

E.Bengal    22 7  7  8   28

Mumbai      22 7  7  8   28

Chirag      22 6  8  8   26

JCT         22 6  7  9   25

Air India   22 5  9  8   24

Md.Sptg     22 5  7  10  22

Vasco       22 2  4  16 10

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Churchill hammer six to clinch title in style

Churchill Brothers are the new I-League football champions.Goa’s top team recorded their maiden triumph with a thumping 6-2 victory over Kolkata’s Mohammedan sporting here on Thursday at the Nehru Statdium before a capacity home crowd.

The Goan club did not have to worry about the outcome of the match between the other contenders for the title,Mohun Bagan,who lost 1-2 to Mahindra United to finish second.

Churchill,who were in contention for the country’s professional football league title on at leastfour occasions,also made their serbian coach Zoran Djordjevic proud as he became the first overseas coach
to pilot a team to the championship title.As luck would have it,Mohun Bagan lost their lastmatch 1-2 to Mahindra and churchill Brothers finished with 46 points,three more than the kolkata team.

Churchill’s prolific goalscorer Odafe Okalie (8th,84th)was again on target with his brace making the Nigerianthe highest goal scorer for the second successive time with 26 goals.His compatriot Felix Chimaokwu(61st)
Khan Thang paite(63rd) and Naoba singh(88th) and wasim Feroze’s(5th)own goal added to Churchill’s tally.Mike Okora(52nd) and Jothi kumar(93rd) reduced the margin for Mohammedan Sporting.

Churchill took the lead in the fifth minute,When defender Feroze in his attempt to clear the ball from Odafein the box slotted into his own net.Three minutes later,Odafe showed his class when he made room in the box by
foxing the defenders and booted it into the top corner.

Churchill went into the break with 2-0 lead but Mohammedan sporting came back strongly after the breather as veteran
Mike Okora headed Satyajit Bose’s flag-kick to reduce the margin.But Churchill were unstoppable.

The brilliant Odafe found an unmarked Feilx Chimaokwu,who unleashed a powerful right footer to make it 3-1 for the Goans.
Paite and Naoba piled the misery on Mohammeadan Sporting to complete the tally for the winners.

In injury time,substitute Jothi pulled one back for mohammedan sporting but couldn’t help his from suffering
the ignominy of suffering of relegation with Vasco.

Meanwhile,a brace from Edeh Chidi lifted Mahindra Unied to a 2-1 win over title aspirants Mohun Bagan in their I-League encounter at
the Ambedkar Statdium on Thursday.In the final analysis,Bagan’s hopes of completing a domestic treble(after winning the Kolkata League and Federation cup) Were up in smoke even before the Nigerian striker scored the opener.As news came in of Churchill Brothers taking a commanding 2-0
lead over Mohammedan Sporting within the first 10 minutes,one could see shoulders drop among the Bagan ranks.The loss sees Bagan end the
season in second place,with 43 points-three adrift of champions Churchill .Sporting Clube de Goa’s 2-1 win over Air India in Gurgaon pulled them levelwith Baganon 43 points,but the Goans finished third due to an inferior goal difference.

Mahindra went ahead in 42nd minute as a cleverly disguised through ball from Mohammed Rafi sneaked past the backline anto onto the path of Chidi.The Nigerian ran towards the advancing Bagan goalkeeper and coolly slotted the ball under his legs.Mahindra doubled the advantage in the 60th minute.The ball broke for Chidi Just outside the penalty box and he hit a low pile drive past goalie Sangram Mukherjee.

Substitute striker Branco Cardozo pulled a goal back for Bagan in the final minute of regulation time,as he slid in a close range effort.

I-LEAGUE TABLE

Team        P  W  D  L   P

Churchill   22 13 7  2   46

Bagan       22 13 4  5   43

Sporting    22 13 4  5   43

Dempo       22 8  7  7   31

Mahindra    22 8  7  7   31

E.Bengal    22 7  7  8   28

Mumbai      22 7  7  8   28

Chirag      22 6  8  8   26

JCT         22 6  7  9   25

Air India   22 5  9  8   24

Md.Sptg     22 5  7  10  22

Vasco       22 2  4  16 10

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Mum-to-be Coleen Rooney is reportedly drawing plans to give birth to her baby via Caesarean so that her footie-ace hubby Wayne can play for England in a World cup qualifier.The 23-year-old,who tied the knot with the Manchester United striker in June last year,had revealed the couple’s first baby was due in october.

It was previously suggested that Wayne might have to miss out on the chance to play for the country’s key match with Ukraine to be with his wife.

But now friends have claimed Cooleen has referred to doctorsabout having the baby in last September to make it easier for her better half.”Both of them are so excited about the baby”,the sun quoted a pal as saying.”But Cooleen didn’t want to be worrying about whether Wayne would be there or not-so she is being super-organised and has already pencilled in the date for the operation,”the pal added.

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Union Ministers P Chidambaram and Mani Shankar Aiyar and TNCC chief K.V.Thangabalu will be among the 14 Congress candidates to contest from Tamil Nadu.

Releasing the candidates list for the southern state,after several state,after several rounds of discussion between party leaders and the high command for the last few weeks,the all India Congress committee on Thursday said that Union Minister and AICC general secretary V.Narayananswamy had been nominated for puducherry.Eight of 10 sitting MPs have been renominated while five new faces have also been named.How-ever,Kancheepuram (SC) candidate is yet to be announced as there are several bidders including AICC member and legislation K.Jayakumar.

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