Cargo cult
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
Cargo cult is name given to several religions. These religions appeared as tribal societies came in contact with Western civilsation. There are many Cargo cults in Melanesia and New Guinea. When the first contact happened, the tribespeople saw western manufactured goods, like radios (cargo). They did not know how these things worked, nor how they were made. They made imitations of such goods, which of course do not work.
They imitate the behaviour they saw the Weterners do, in the hope that some spirits will send them more cargo. In other cases, such as on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu, cult members worship Americans who brought the cargo.[1]
[change] References
[change] Other websites
- Vanuatu cargo cult marks 50 years (BBC News)
- Information on the Jon Frum Cargo Cult (still active)
- Contemporary Cargo Cults by John FitzGerald
- Western Oceanian Religions
- 2006 Smithsonian Magazine article entitled: "In John They Trust.".
- Cargo cults includes a bibliography
- Account of a Visit to a Jon Frum Village in 2005
- Air Force Magazine, January 1991, Vol. 74, No. 1. Summary from the guys who fly those Cargoes.
