#18. Cargo Cults

 

It was a peaceful morning on the remote Pacific island of Waponi, and Maleko, a respected island elder, was tending to his taro garden under a clear, sunlit sky. The familiar sounds of birdsong and waves gently crashing upon the shore filled the air. Then suddenly, the tranquility was shattered. A deafening roar filled the heavens, and Maleko looked up in astonishment as an enormous metal bird descended from the sky, blotting out the sun and shaking the very ground beneath his feet.

This "metal bird" was, of course, an airplane, and its mysterious arrival was due to the tumultuous events of World War II. The island had inadvertently become a strategic location, attracting both American and Japanese military forces. Soldiers from these distant lands arrived, bringing vast amounts of cargo—food in shiny tins, clothing softer than anything the islanders had known, miraculous medicines, and strange metal boxes that emitted voices from far away. For weeks and months, airplanes continuously landed, filling the island with wondrous abundance.

Then, as abruptly as they arrived, the war ended, and the soldiers vanished, taking their airplanes and magical cargo with them. Desperate to bring back these precious supplies, Maleko and his community began mimicking the behaviors they'd observed from the soldiers. They cleared the jungle to build imitation airstrips, erected bamboo "control towers," and crafted wooden radios. Islanders constructed planes from palm fronds and sticks, marched solemnly in formation, saluted like soldiers, and spoke earnestly into coconut-shell headphones, hoping their actions would entice the metal birds—and their valuable cargo—back from the sky.

These fascinating practices became known as "cargo cults," phenomena that emerged among several isolated Pacific island communities during and after World War II. Islanders believed replicating the behaviors of their departed visitors could summon more cargo from the heavens.

One of the most famous cargo cults is the "John Frum" movement from the island of Tanna, Vanuatu. Followers revered a mythical figure named John Frum, who promised prosperity and the return of abundant cargo if followers performed certain rituals and rejected colonial influences. Even today, John Frum followers celebrate annually on February 15th, still awaiting the prophesied return of their legendary benefactor.