Cargo cults: what they are, and examples of associated religions

Cargo cults are an example of how normal events can be divinized.

Throughout history human beings have constantly asked themselves the why and how of their own existence, of their past and future, of their conditions and whether it is possible to improve them or even of the meaning of life itself or of reality. And among the different ways in which people have tried to answer these questions we can find that of faith: religion.

There are many confessions and cultures that have been emerging, living and in many cases disappearing. Although today a majority of the population tends to believe in one of the five most prevalent religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism or Buddhism), the truth is that there is still a wide variety of religious beliefs beyond these options.

These include a few very minor ones that have arisen from the contrast between disparate cultures and technological levels, as is the case with cargo cults. It is about this type of cults that we are going to talk about throughout this article.

What are cargo cults?

Cargo or cargo cults are a set of spiritual and religious cults or beliefs. cults or spiritual and religious beliefs present fundamentally in the islands of Oceania (and generally specific to the (and generally specific to Melanesia), specifically in those populated by indigenous people with limited contact with the rest of the world and limited technological development.

These are a series of religious confessions that, despite being heterogeneous and different from each other in many aspects, share the fact that they are based on the first contacts between the natives and the explorers, soldiers, travelers and castaways coming from much more technologically developed territories (usually European, American or Japanese) and the set of possessions that came with their cargoes.

Generally in this type of beliefs the cargoes themselves are considered to be goods sent by the gods or spirits to facilitate their existence, and the foreigners who arrive with them are considered to be the ones who have been sent by the gods or spirits to facilitate their existence.and the foreigners who arrive with them are seen as deities or envoys sent by them to provide them. This contact is not always positive, given that in some cases the non-distribution of cargoes and goods or unequal distribution is taken as a grievance or an act of greed and disobedience on the part of those who should deliver them, and on occasions insurrections have even formed.

The vehicles in which they arrived also receive a certain amount of veneration.The arrival of food parachuted from airplanes could mean a great change for the local population, who watched in wonder as the food was delivered to them from the sky by flying objects or entities whose nature they found it difficult to understand. In this sense, most of the cargo cults present rituals and customs such as the elaboration of replicas of parabolic antennas and airplanes, in order to attract their arrival by imitating the actions of the Europeans, Americans and Asians with whom they had contact.

It is important to keep in mind that although the hope and belief in the future arrival of cargo may lead one to think that they maintain an attitude of idleness and inactivity (and in some cases a focus on the arrival of cargo can be observed), in reality many of these peoples are tremendously active, and must be so in order to survive. The cargo cults have also entailed the incorporation of numerous rituals and customs adopted from the observation of the Europeans, in the hope that their replication will be possible in the future.in the hope that their replication will allow the arrival of new goods.

Where do these types of beliefs come from?

As we have indicated, most of these beliefs have their origin in the first contacts between the inhabitants of a relatively isolated tribe or culture and the arrival of European or Asian explorers, soldiers or castaways to their territory (especially relevant were the contacts and shipments that arrived at the time of World War II). In many cases, previous cultures highly valued the role of ancestors and their spirits, and sometimes the arrival of foreigners was taken as a symbol or a return of these.

But these outsiders also brought possessions that were non-existent and unknown to the natives: they came in large wooden or metal ships, or (in later cases) in airplanes that they saw and heard flying over their territory, and they brought food, tools or weapons that they had never seen before and that were more efficient or useful than those they had previously possessed. Thus, and especially and especially when the native population began to exchange or receive these goods, they identified them as a divine gift and began to worship the useful cargoes. and they began to worship the cargoes that were so useful.

Likewise, the emergence of cargo cults allowed them to explain the role and existence of other beings that until then had been nonexistent to them, by trying to to integrate foreigners into their explanation of the world without generating dissonance with pre-existing beliefs.. Even the presence of an engine noise can be interpreted as a sign that spirits are making an appearance.

In addition, similar to what happened initially in South and Central America when the Europeans arrived to their coasts, in more than one occasion the newcomers themselves began to see benefit in these beliefs and even encouraged them to obtain different types of advantage or so that the native population would not revolt. This led to the strengthening of cargo cults, although with the passage of time some of the peoples with this type of belief have become aware of the advantage and inequality of foreigners when it comes to sharing their goods and have ended up distrusting them.

Two examples of cargo cults

As we have indicated previously, there is no single cargo cult, but it is possible to find a wide diversity of peoples and beliefs that are part of this type of cargo cult. that are part of this type of cult. Below we can see some examples of this.

Tanna Island: The cult of John Frum

In this Melanesian island we can find several different cargo cults. One of the best known is the cult of John Frum, who was considered the king of America.

Probably an American aviator (it is speculated that the name comes from "John from America") arrived during the Second World War, this figure that is represented adorned with military uniform is considered a divinity that once came to the island who once came to the island with great gifts, but after some time and after having predicted the departure of the white man from the island, he left the island promising to return. The general belief is that someday he will, leaving the Yasur volcano, loaded with new goods.

Even today the inhabitants of the island perform various rituals, even marching with sticks resembling rifles and the American flag every February 15, in expectation of the return of their god.

Madang and the cult of the missionaries

Another of the best known cargo cults is present in Madang, on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. In this case the inhabitants of the region, seeing that the practices and beliefs of the western missionaries provided them with more developed tools and skills (in addition to receiving different cargoes), began to seek to learn Christian ideas and beliefs in an attempt to discover what their secret was.

However, in their quest to acquire and learn Western Christian beliefs, the locals acquired a different interpretation by mixing them with their quest for cargo: they considered that the Christ figure provided the people of Europe with the cargo.The missionaries themselves, however, wanted to keep it for themselves.

Later, the Second World War would come, in which they would be invaded by the Japanese. Given that the missionaries were driven out and were seen as obstacles or oppressors, they were initially well received, although the plundering that this army carried out ended up making the native settlers stop valuing and being interested in contact with foreigners, even after the withdrawal of the latter.

Bibliographical references:

• Harris, M. (2016). Cows, pigs, wars and witches. Ed. Alianza, pp. 150 - 172.
• Jebens, H. (2004): Cargo, Cult and Culture Critique, ed. University of Hawaii Press.