© CNRS images-media-femis-CICT IRD Audiovisuel 1999

Reference

887

Sirius, the Dogon star

In July 1998, astrophysicist Jean-Marc Bonnet-Bidaud visited the Dogon people of Sanga in Mali along with ethnologists Germaine Dieterlen and Jean Rouch, to study the primary role of the star Sirius in the Dogon cosmogony. Among the Dogon, Sirius is the star of Sigui, one of the most important Dogon ceremonies, which takes place every 60 years. How do the Dogon know that the white dwarf, the star which they call Sigui's companion Tolo, orbits Sirius in 60 years, the same period as that between the ceremonies of Sigui?

Duration

00:26:00

Production year

Définition

SD

Color

Color

Sound

Sound

Version(s)

French

Original material

Digital Beta

Director(s)

Jérôme BLUMBERG

Author(s)

CNRS Images,

Our work is guided by the way scientists question the world around them and we translate their research into images to help people to understand the world better and to awaken their curiosity and wonderment.