Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Earth's Indigenous "Aliens"... and Our Convoluted Narratives


No, this is not a Hopi petroglyph! *
(click on images for enlargements)

"It may sound like the perfect plot for the new and upcoming series of The X-Files. But, it’s worth noting that this is a scenario that has surfaced on a number of previous occasions. In 2010, Anomalist Books published the final title from the late Mac Tonnies: The Cryptoterrestrials. Highly thought-provoking and deeply controversial in equal measures, the book focused on the idea that UFOs are not the products of alien races, but of very ancient, terrestrial people that dwell deep underground and who masquerade as extraterrestrials to camouflage their true identity."

From Nick Redfern's 2015 (Mysterious Universe) article: Roswell Slides and the Ant People.

"One of the most intriguing Hopi legends involves the Ant People, who were crucial to the survival of the Hopi—not just once but twice. The so-called “First World” (or world-age) was apparently destroyed by fire—possibly some sort of volcanism, asteroid strike, or coronal mass ejection from the sun. The Second World was destroyed by ice—Ice Age glaciers or a pole shift. During these two global cataclysms, the virtuous members of the Hopi tribe were guided by an odd-shaped cloud during the day and a moving star at night that led them to the sky god named Sotuknang, who finally took them to the Ant People—in Hopi, Anu Sinom. The Ant People then escorted the Hopi into subterranean caves where they found refuge and sustenance." 

From a 2013 article The Ant People of the Hopi by Gary David.

"The First People of Tokpela, the First World, were safely sheltered underground as fire rained down upon the earth. Volcanoes and fire storms destroyed all that was above them until the earth, the waters, and the air itself was all elemental Fire.

While this was going on, the people lived happily underground with the Ant People. Their homes were just like the people's homes on the earth-surface being destroyed. There were rooms to live in and rooms where they stored their food. There was light to see by, too. The tiny bits of crystal in the sand of the anthill had absorbed the light of the sun, and using the inner vision of the center located behind the eyes they could see by its reflection very well."


***

(Since posting this article two days ago, I happened upon Greg Bishop's latest radio show over at Radio Misterioso which, as it turns out is strongly related to the role of the story - and/or the "narrative" - and its relation to "paranormality."  I wish there was a transcript of Greg's and "Robert's" profound conversation, but, in lieu of that I can only recommend listening to “Burnt State” – The Story’s The Thing", if you haven't already. Had I listened to the show before I'd written this post, I would have surely mentioned it,  so I've updated the post to compensate for my unintentional omission.)

It's been a strange several months and, as for myself, after falling down a rabbit-hole (a sort of existential wormhole), I've become firmly entrenched in the mythology of the Middle Ages. (!) It began with a work of fiction I'd begun writing in January - also set in the Middle Ages - and then, thanks to the rabbits, dove-tailed into an exploration of medieval women's contributions to the arts. Now, you're probably asking yourself, what does this have to do with Mac Tonnies? Well, actually, medieval women aside, mythology is at the core of this post - as it was with the afore-mentioned fictional tale & the Trans-D posts - and, possibly with a little "narrative glue" (as Mac used to call it) I can tie a number of seemingly disparate threads into... well, one immense knot!

In any case, I've been avoiding the internet as of late and, so, it's of no great wonder that it took me a week to find Nick Redfern's article, Roswell Slides and the “Ant People”, over at Mysterious Universe. (Sorry, Nick!) His article brings up the topic of the Hopi Pueblo's mythic "Ant People," a benign subterranean race which rescued the Hopi from cataclysmic earth events in the First and Second "Worlds" of their history. This, in turn, led him down the Crypto trail - another sort of rabbit-hole - into Tonnies territory, specifically his compadre Mac Tonnies's Cryptoterrestrial theories outlined in Mac's posthumously published book... well, you know the book. The question NR asks is: might the Ant People actually have been bona fide cryptoterrestrials; that is, indigenous "aliens" who lived underground? From the descriptions it certainly seems possible....