This website has stored cookies to help the work better. If you're not familiar with Cookies, please check more details in the link.

More Information
Close

Logo

BUFORA

The British UFO Research Association

Investigations & Research since 1962

   .

      

Guest Articles

      

Cosmic Connections in Different Cultures 2013

Cosmic connections in different cultures

by Oliver Hallen

 


Due to humanity’s intrinsic desire for the strange, wonderful and unknown, and its yearning to find reason and meaning in it, it comes as no surprise at all that a great many people claim to have experienced, throughout different eras and in different ways, what they believe or interpret to be paranormal events and we can see how the scope and possibilities in all this has grown, evolved and adapted over time. It is captivating to see how such experiences, regardless of whether they are witnessed personally or not, can be absorbed into our own lives and concept of reality, and the world at large, making them potentially appear as so much more than they really are and how, as a result, they ultimately affect us and our lives. The great and irrational lengths to which people will go to find or prove the so-called extraordinary is, in itself, amazing. The overwhelming influence it can have on different folk and their existence is fascinating, powerful and, in certain situations, genuinely disturbing.


The popular and dubious concept of ufology through ancient times, ranging from apparent UFO sightings to open contact, has certainly brought both incredible and absurd stories and claims to the fore. Having a real interest in this controversial area for some time, I decided, back in 2007, to collect together interesting data from a number of selected texts with regards to so-called parallels between archaeoastronomy, covering various areas, and ufology. Whilst the beliefs and cultural traits concerning this in disparate populaces do have what could be seen as similarities to what is recorded in accounts and information of a ufological nature, this is by no means proof of interaction in any way with a foreign intelligence, and I am certainly very sceptical of the famous and divisive ancient astronaut theory championed by such researchers like W. Raymond Drake and Erich von Däniken. The power of interpretation and suggestion is of great importance and must always be taken into account here.


It is interesting to see all the different areas cultures look to in order to find their so-called origins and deities. Obviously, those found in the skies above, or in some way connected to it, will always draw the attention of ufologists. The beliefs of ancient and lasting societies can certainly give us fresh insight into the subject as a whole, but the need for ufologists to keep a firm grip on the religious and cultural actions of these peoples is essential, so as not to brand every minor suspected esoteric event as a form of alien intervention or contact. No area should ever have a forced label attached to it just because it appears to fit into a particular theory, concept or frame of thinking. Though the likelihood of this happening can never be erased, more critical judgement should be implemented. Deductions need to be guided by the rational research carried out, not simply by the biased opinions of investigators. Whilst I admit speculation in all this can be a useful tool, it does need to be handled with care and treated as only that.


It is important to consider how the recording, understanding and use of a certain event or events by a people or culture could be incorrect in many ways, and the context in which it is used. If errors are present here, however slight, research into this is going to be based on flawed and misleading data, thus providing incorrect results which can produce many issues. Determining the real reason behind such an incident, if possible, can be severely problematic. The framework in which it is found needs to be re-evaluated carefully. The ways such information can be used and interpreted by researchers and others opens up a host of different problems, ranging from its use as apparent evidence to its place in the field overall. Many folk will enthusiastically control and project a myriad of deep and amazing views and ideas on to such an openly broad canvas as this, as we have witnessed so many times before.


Is the ever changing and mysterious paranormal force found throughout ufology, and that so many people follow in different ways, nothing more than a construct of humans, adapting over the years to the shifting culture, location and times as we do? Are the so-called mysterious answers that are peddled throughout ufology only discovered because their origins are found within ourselves? The different roles people play, knowingly and unknowingly, are essential in the creation, evolution and adaption of both mysteries and discoveries believed to be bizarre in this subject. Understanding the potent influence we have on the field, good and bad, is essential to finding genuine answers, whatever the situation. All of this is fascinating in regards to the complex relationship between ufology and human nature.


Presented below are just a few examples in many taken from a minority of the different texts which I mentioned earlier in this article, with each one provided with the title and ISBN of the publication referenced. Finding such parallels with ufology is simple here, just like in many other areas, and it is easy to see how such data can be incorrectly subsumed into the field and used in many different and creative ways, with the possibilities on the whole being vast, deep and multiple. Though the information found below is fascinating, we must understand that such data is not immune to error and revision, past or present, like any other field of research.
“Each new eclipse thus portended the end of the present age. Sahagun (1953), documented that prior to the Spanish conquest of Mexico, a solar eclipse would trigger a loud cry from all people, captives and people of light complexion were slain, and all people participated in blood-letting sacrifices. The noise raised by people during a solar eclipse was to scare away the Tzitzimine demons believed to be devouring the Sun, and to prevent these demons from diving headlong from the heavens to attack the Mexica. The Tzitzimine were visualised as constellations, individual stars and planets transformed during the eclipse into star-like, clawed demons. This is significant since the Mexica, like most traditional cultures, viewed planets, stars and constellations as being aspects of powerful gods or supernatural beings. In some Mexica cosmogonic myths, the transformation of these otherwise beneficent celestial gods into Tzitzimine potentially signalled the end of the world,” (Current Studies in Archaeoastronomy - ISBN 0-89089-771-9).


“According to myth, the first beings, or Universe People (ʉmʉarimasa), the Sun, the sky, the Moon and the stars, were created by the Primal Sun (Yeba Hakʉ) as his children. The creation of the human beings that followed them is presented as a process involving the death of these first beings and their subsequent return to immortal life in a world of space and time that is opposed  to that of mortal men,” (Ethnoastronomy and Archaeoastronomy in the American Tropics - ISBN 0-89766-161-3).


“The Pawnee Indians consisted of four bands who lived their traditional lives in what is now Nebraska and Kansas, along the Platte and Republican rivers and their tributaries. The Skidi band was particularly known for strong cosmic traditions. They believed that their ancestors  were in the sky. An old tradition told how the male Great Red Star of the east courted female Bright Star of the west, and from their union, the first human, a girl, was born and put on Earth. From the marriage of Sun and Moon, a boy was born and sent to join the girl. Other stars produced more people, also placed on Earth. Eventually, all the people who came down from the stars found each other and joined together in a confederation, the Skidi Pawnee,” (Viewing the Sky Through Past and Present Cultures - ISBN 1-882572-38-6).
When looking into a different culture and its practices, modern or ancient, you do so through the lens of the one in which you grew up in and how it has shaped you as a person, providing the possibility for negative influence. The data gathered is filtered through the information and understanding of your own personality and culture, with the potential for projection of your own viewpoint and ideas, intentionally or unintentionally, on to theirs in a route to so-called understanding and confirmation. The modification of a foreign society’s beliefs and customs, to suit what is desired by that person or group, is going to have a major bearing on the outcome of research into these. We must be aware of the significant and potentially disastrous affect we can have when working in such a sensitive and far-reaching area.


Regardless of what, how, when and who releases information in regards to explaining a so-called ufological mystery, so many people will find a way of manipulating or distorting such data to fit their own esoteric opinions and ideas as to what occurred and what is going on. Logical data and common sense can be turned around and used to promote and continue the wild, bizarre and unfounded tales ufologists and others so adore. As I have said before, rational or simple explanations can be the most difficult to get accepted in the UFO field. It is always amazing to read or hear in ufology the unshakable certainty present in folk concerning the so-called mysteries of the universe, ranging from the single smallest events to the grandest of occurrences. The confidence evident in the apparent universal knowledge possessed by both individuals and groups, which span a variety of ideologies, can be incorrect, misleading and dangerous. They believe that what they possess is a genuine and firm knowledge of the universe and all its oddities and complexities, unaware of the restricted nature of their own existence and data.


The connections between ufology and ancient stories, reports, records and physical aspects, in different forms, shows us the importance regarding how we can both use and manipulate the past to fit the views and data we have today. The significance and influence of the links found in personal and global history cannot be underestimated concerning ufology. What we can connect from our own lives and the world around us to the history, old or new, of what we are passionate about will always have great bearing on the way we understand the subject and pursue our research. However loose the connection or scarce the evidence, ufologists usually find a way of linking the desired areas together. When thinking about the many varied and purported anomalous matters in this field, ufologists seem, for the most part, to be completely oblivious to the bizarre behaviour exhibited by themselves. The different ways researchers work, both positively and negatively, is a very important aspect in the discovery of understanding and answers in this complex and ambiguous field.
Over the years, I have always felt that, concerning ufology overall, we need to keep our eyes as much on ourselves and this planet as we do to what is supposedly out there. Maybe then we will be on the way to somehow suitably reconciling these diverse areas.


Bio

Oliver Hallen is an ufologist based in England. Having been involved with this subject for over 20 years, he has conducted many varied research projects which include running his own UFO newsletter debris field times, writing a monthly UFO column for the Congleton Chronicle newspaper for more than two years, acquiring assorted documentation from various sources, maintaining his database project and contributing articles to such publications as UFO Encounter journal, Phenomena magazine, SUNlite and the Anomaly magazine and GT websites.