Archive for the 'Cargo cults' Category

In recent articles, the topic was the Sentinelese (category link) a hunter-gatherer tribe that is virtually untouched by modern civilization. They are extremely hostile to outsiders and even shot arrows at a Indian Air Force helicopter surveying the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

This article is about another interesting story of anthropology and what happens when worlds collide. The setting is the nation of Vanautu, an archipelago about 1,000 miles east of Australia. One of Vanautu’s islands, Tanna has about 30,000 residents and roughly 20% still practice a “cargo cult” called John Frum.

Cargo cult is term to describe what has happened when modern technology suddenly appears to isolated cultures. Local indigenous people assume that this technology was made by divine spirits and this sparks a cult that engages in activities like imitating the dress and behavior of the outsiders. This occurrence was widespread in WWII, when the American and Japanese military brought a massive amount of food, weapons, and other war matériel to their islands for the Pacific campaign.

After WWII was over, the endless supply chain of military supplies suddenly ceased when the outsiders left. They assumed that the Americans and Japanese knew how to summon their ancestors to send magical cargo from the heavens. So, they thought that if they behaved the same way, their ancestors would also deliver cargo planes full of canned goods and rifles. There are numerous accounts of islanders wearing headphones carved out of wood and sitting in control towers waiting for planes of cargo to arrive. They diligently maintained torches to light up runways at night and even saluted each other.

As you may have guessed, it wasn’t too long before these cults faded out but John Frum is still going fairly strong today because the arrival of the American military enhanced an existing pre-WWII cult. Back in the 1930’s, a cult was formed under the premise that if the islanders resisted all forms of European society, all the foreigners would leave and they would get to have all the material wealth that their colonial masters possessed. This cult picked up stream as WWII approached, but when 300,000 Americans arrived, the cult’s prophesy became much more believable. Not only did the Americans have enormous amounts of power and cargo, members of John Frum were deeply impressed that white and black American soldiers were working together in a way that highly contrasted to the treatment they received from the white colonists. All this led them to believe that their savior was an American. (The cult name John Frum probably came about because of the way American soldiers would introduce themselves: “Hi, I’m John from America”)

In the hope of attracting their American savior to fulfill the prophesy and being prosperity to all, every February 15th is John Frum Day in parts of Tanna. They conduct elaborate ceremonies at the base of Mount Yasur an active volcano where the spirit of John Frum is said to reside. Dressed in an old military uniform with adorned with medals and even the badge of the 101st Airborne, Chief Isaac Wan presided over the 50th John Frum Day earlier this week. Members of the cult with “USA” painted on their chests conducted drills with bamboo rifles, saluted a huge American flag, and played the American national anthem on bamboo flutes.

While this is interesting from anthropology standpoint, Marty Meth, a tourist from New York described a light-hearted viewpoint of the ceremony: “It’s really nice to see Americans welcome here since in so many places in the world we’re not so welcome these days.”

——
Posted by Tim Roth, author of the political blog Think Anew and Act Anew

Sources:
1. “Cargo cult lives on in South Pacific” by Phil Mercer, BBC News

2. “Cargo cult”, Wikipedia entry.

3. “John Frum”, Wikipedia entry.