Another good day for odd religion news.

Every hear of the Cargo Cults?



I hadn't. They happened mostly in New Guinea and Melanesia. As I understand it, when a remote culture runs into Western technology for the first time, the encounter often figures into the local mythos (think The God's Must Be Crazy). The Westerners seem to have special "powers," and when they leave, natives try to replicate the magic they've seen through mimicry and ritual. Cargo cults have built straw airplanes and radios out of coconuts, trying to coax the gods to deliver them "cargo" and salvation.

Hey - worked for Gilligan.

Wikipedia has more.

One of the last of these cults is celebrating the 50 year anniversary, on Tanna Island in Vanuatu. The BBC has the story. Today, February 15th, is the date they believe that their messianic leader, a (potentially real historical) black American will return one year to free the islands of white influence and provide them with material wealth. Here's more from the BBC:

The John Frum Movement worships a mysterious spirit that urged them to reject the teachings of the Church and maintain their traditional customs.

...

Devotees say that an apparition of John Frum first appeared before tribal elders in the 1930s.

He urged them to rebel against the aggressive teachings of Christian missionaries and instead said they should put their faith in their own customs.

World War II and the arrival of American troops on Vanuatu was a turning point for the John Frum Movement.

Villagers believe that their messiah was responsible for sending the generous US military and its cargo to them.

Speaking in local pidgin, the movement's head, Chief Isaac Wan, said that John Frum was a god who would one day return. He's "our God, our Jesus," he said.

Islanders are convinced that John Frum was an American. Every year they parade in home-made US army uniforms beneath the Stars and Stripes.

They hope one day to entice another delivery of cargo.

As a side note: I love the name, living as I do in the shadow of the Williamsburg bridge here in New York. "Frum" in yiddish means observant, a good Orthodox Jew. It's generally take to mean someone who honors the Sabbath, eats kosher and observes the niddah, or sexual rules. You can see the good "frummers" heading past my house every Friday near sunset, walking either towards the Williamsburg bridge to reach the large Hassidic community there, or just down my block, to observe Friday prayers at the Orthodox Syagogue.

Thanks for the Vanuatu story goes to my friends over at Religion News Blog. If you haven't seen their site, you should check it out. It's run by Christian apologists and cult watchers in Holland, and they routinely pick up really interesting stories about smaller, offshoot and offbeat religious groups.