The Dogon people with whom French anthropologists Griaule and Germaine Dieterlen worked during the 1930s and 1940s had a system of signs which ran into the thousands, including "their own systems of astronomy and calendrical measurements, methods of calculation and extensive anatomical and physiological knowledge, as well as a systematic pharmacopoeia".[20] The religion embraced many aspects of nature which are found in other traditional African religions

The key spiritual figures in the religion were the Nummo/Nommo twins. According to Ogotemmêli's description of them, the Nummo, whom he also referred to as "Water", had green skin covered in green hair, and were formed like humans from the loins up, but serpent-like below. Their eyes were red, their tongues forked, and their arms flexible and unjointed.[21]

Ogotemmêli classified the Nummo as hermaphrodites. Their images or figures appeared on the female side of the Dogon sanctuary.[22] They were primarily symbolized by the Sun, which was a female symbol in the religion. In the Dogon language, the Sun's name (nay) had the same root as "mother" (na) and "cow" (nā).They were symbolized by the colour red, a female symbol.

Amma is an African tribal deity – the supreme creator god in the Dogon religion.The Dogon story of the creation of the world relates that the sky god Amma mated with the earth goddess, and because Amma was prevented from joining the goddess's clitoris in the form of a giant termite mound, he produced only an imperfect offspring – a desert fox or jackal – and therefore eventually removed the termite mound. Leaving the earth, he instituted the religious ritual of female circumcision.After removing the termite mound, the god Amma with the earth goddess continued procreating and begat humans. Duality is central to Dogon religion, the heavenly forces also have a dual character: the supreme god Amma has androgynous characteristics. The birth of twins is celebrated among the Dogon with a special religious ritual, as twins refer to the original dual structure of creation and to the harmony between earthly and heavenly.

What is the 60 year ritual in Dogon?

The Dogon people are known for their legends about their origins and knowledge about space and extraterrestrials.

Every 60 years, a secretive ceremony called the sigui is also held to mark the appearance of a star, Sirius, from which amphibious creatures reportedly traveled 3,000 years ago to visit the Dogon . The sigui is also used to mark a hand-over of responsibilities from dead members of the secret society Awa to the living.