The Dogons are a people with whom a secret is connected, hidden in the depths of antiquity.
In 1868, the German elephant tusk hunter Adam Renders, lost in a South African forest, came across a ten-meter wall. Walking along the wall, Renders hoped to find an entrance, as he expected people to be here. However, to his surprise, he found that he had returned to the point from where he started, making a circle.
Three years later, Adam Renders led the German geologist Karl Mauch to the ruins of the found structure. Mauch advanced the theory that Zimbabwe was once located in the mythical land of Ophir, where King Solomon mined gold and precious stones. This was just one of the many versions that tried to explain the mystery of Zimbabwe. It should be noted that one of the African states borrowed the name from these ruins - previously called Southern Rhodesia is now called Zimbabwe.
Now, when the forest around the mysterious structure has been cut down, you can see rocks in the distance, and a little further, in the valley, an oval-shaped fortress wall. The wall surrounds an area of approximately two football fields. This ellipse is now called the "Royal Residence", although nothing that usually serves as decoration for the royal court was found behind the wall. The height of the wall enclosing the Tsar's residence is 10 m, the average thickness is 4.5 m. European sources first mention this structure in the 16th century. In particular, the Portuguese historian Juan de Barros wrote: “The natives call this structure“Zimbabwe”… No one knows by whom and when it was built, since the locals have no written language, as well as oral legends on this score. True, they claim that Zimbabwe was built by the devil, since it supposedly has such properties,which can hardly be the work of human hands."
In the language of the Shona people, "Zimbabwe" means "revered house", which speaks of the possible connection of this object with religion. Besides, the ruins of Zimbabwe are not the only ones. In Mozambique (near the city of Nova Sofala), ruins of about a hundred such structures have been found - smaller in size, but similar in shape.
But this question does not solve it in any way. Inside the large oval are smaller ovals, then a circle of small walls and, finally, a wall running parallel to the main wall. There is a narrow passage between the two walls. It was assumed that the tower played the role of an observation tower. However, this version turned out to be wrong. It was believed that the building is a fortress. The English archaeologist Gertrude Caton-Thompson, who excavated the site in 1929, suggested that there was a tomb under the tower. However, this assumption also did not come true. The question of the purpose of the tower is still open.
This senseless tower and the wall that surrounded it interested the explorer Erich von Daniken. He drew a plan for Zimbabwe and, after analyzing it, came up with an interesting idea. In the northwest of Africa is the Republic of Mali, which is home to a people called the Dogon. The Dogon tribe has been studied quite well by ethnologists, in particular by the French. Every fifty years, the Dogon celebrate a very solemn holiday they call Sigui. But why exactly fifty years? After all, this is such a long period that not all Dogon live up to that age and, therefore, not all members of the tribe can take part in the celebration of this holiday at least once in their lives. But scientists managed to establish what this is connected with …