Extraterrestrial Life in Non-Western Thought?

August 26, 2014 1:05 PM

This recent post on the historical debate over extraterrestrial life got me interested in historical thought on the topic in other parts of the world. Can anyone provide some information?

Academic papers, popular books, blogs, whatever. I'd like to know what cultures in East Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Americas, Central Asia, Africa, Oceania, Africa, etc have thought about life on other worlds. Does anyone have any sources I could read to learn more about this? Thanks!

posted by Sangermaine to Society & Culture (4 answers total)

I actually spent some time searching for scholarly literature on exactly this subject a couple of years ago for a course I was teaching, and was unable to find much. There's some non-Western science fiction (China has apparently developed a taste for the genre, but I couldn't find any of it in translation), and The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, but for the most part I was stymied. I didn't devote a ton of time to it, though.

Sort of related, Bollywood does sci-fi.
posted by baby beluga at 6:16 PM on August 26, 2014

Dogon and Sirius
posted by goethean at 6:32 PM on August 26, 2014 [1 favorite]

Here's an interesting look at what Jewish texts have to say on the subject.
posted by Mchelly at 8:56 PM on August 26, 2014 [1 favorite]

Not something to read and it's about UFOs rather than life on other planets, but maybe this is as close as you can get: Indians and Aliens. It's definitely interesting to learn about Aboriginal perspectives/experiences of UFO/ET phenomena. (Not sure if you can view this outside Canada)
posted by foxjacket at 8:56 PM on August 26, 2014 [1 favorite]