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A '''cargo cult''' is any of a group of unorthodox [[religious movement]]s appearing in tribal societies in the wake of [[Western Civilization|Western]] impact, especially in [[New Guinea]] and [[Melanesia]].  Cargo cults sometimes maintain that manufactured western goods ("cargo") have been created by divine spirits and are intended for the local indigenous people, but that Westerners have unfairly gained control of these objects.  Cargo cults thus focus on overcoming what they perceive as undue 'white' influences by conducting rituals similar to the white behavior they have observed, presuming that the ancestors will at last recognize their own and send them cargo.  Thus a characteristic feature of cargo cults is the belief that spiritual agents will at some future time give much valuable cargo and desirable manufactured products to the cult members. In other instances such as on the island of [[Tanna (island)|Tanna]] in [[Vanuatu]], cult members worship Americans who brought the cargo. <ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6370991.stm Cargo cult lives on in South Pacific] Phil Mercer, BBC News, 17 February 2007. </ref>
A '''cargo cult''' is a group of [[people]] who worship aspects of modern [[society]] or consider members of [[technology|technologically]]-modern nations to be divinely favoured because their behaviour and standard of living are inexplicable, perhaps through being unaware of international [[trade]]. For example, because of the apparently [[supernatural]] appearance of [[cargo]] without evidence of [[agriculture]] or [[industry]] practised by such organisations as the [[U.S. Army]] during [[World War II]], a few [[Pacific Ocean]] islanders assumed that the foreigners were favoured by spirits, and created their own [[bamboo]] effigies of [[airfield]]s, [[tank]]s, and so on, as well as mimicking [[military]] marches, in the hope that good fortune would also be bestowed on them. The rapid rise of cargo [[cult]]s is argued to be how mainstream ]]religions get started.<ref>Dawkins (2007: 234-239).</ref>


Based on the above definition, '''cargo cult''' is also used in business and science to refer to a particular type of [[fallacy]] whereby ill-considered effort and ceremony takes place but goes unrewarded due to a flawed model of causation. For example, Maoism has been referred to as "cargo cult Leninism" and New Zealand's optimistic adoption of liberal economic policies in the 1980s as "cargo cult capitalism".
Based on the above definition, '''cargo cult''' is also used in [[business]] and [[science]] to refer to a particular type of [[fallacy]] whereby ill-considered effort and ceremony takes place but goes unrewarded due to a flawed model of causation. For example, [[Maoism]] has been referred to as "cargo cult [[Leninism]]" and [[New Zealand]]'s adoption of [[liberal|liberalism]] [[economy|economic]] policies in the 1980s as "cargo cult [[capitalism]]". '''to be verified'''


== Overview ==
==Overview==
An isolated society's first contact with the outside world can be a shock — often people will first assume that the newcomers are spiritual beings of some kind who possess divine powers. With time, however, it will inevitably become apparent that the outsiders are mortal and that their power comes from their equipment (or cargo). Cargo cults tend to appear among people that covet this 'magical' equipment, but are unable to obtain it easily through [[trade]]. Given their relative isolation, the cult participants generally have little knowledge of modern [[manufacturing]] and are liable to be sceptical of Western explanations. Instead, [[symbols]] they associate with [[Christianity]] and modern [[Western society]] tend to be incorporated into their rituals as magical artefacts. Across cultural differences and large geographic areas, there have been instances of the movements independently organising.


An isolated society's first contact with the outside world can be a shock — often the natives will first assume that the newcomers are spiritual beings of some kind who possess divine powers.  With time, however, it will inevitably become apparent that the outsiders are mortal and that their power comes from their equipment (or cargo). Cargo cults tend to appear among people that covet this 'magical' equipment, but are unable to obtain it easily through trade.  Given their relative isolation, the cult participants generally have little knowledge of modern [[manufacturing]] and are liable to be skeptical of Western explanations.  Instead, symbols they associate with [[Christianity]] and modern [[Western society]] tend to be incorporated into their rituals as magical artifacts. Across cultural differences and large geographic areas, there have been instances of the movements independently organizing.
Famous examples of cargo cult activity include the setting up of mock [[airstrip]]s, [[airport]]s, [[office]]s and the attempted construction of Western goods, such as [[radio]]s made of [[coconut]]s and [[straw]]. Believers may stage 'drills' and 'marches' with twigs for [[rifle]]s and military-style [[insignia]] and '[[United States of America|USA]]" painted on their bodies to make them look like [[soldier]]s, treating the activities of Western [[military]] personnel as [[ritual]]s to be performed for the purpose of attracting cargo. The cult members built these items and 'facilities' in the belief that the structures would attract cargo. This perception has reportedly been reinforced by the occasional success of an 'airport' to attract military transport [[aircraft]] full of cargo.


Famous examples of cargo cult activity include the setting up of mock [[airstrip]]s, [[airport]]s, [[office]]s and the [[fetishization]] and attempted construction of western goods, such as [[radio]]s made of coconuts and straw. Believers may stage "drills" and "marches" with twigs for [[rifle]]s and military-style [[insignia]] and "[[USA]]" painted on their bodies to make them look like soldiers, treating the activities of western military personnel as rituals to be performed for the purpose of attracting cargo. The cult members built these items and 'facilities' in the belief that the structures would attract cargo. This perception has reportedly been reinforced by the occasional success of an 'airport' to attract military transport [[aircraft]] full of cargo{{Fact|date=April 2007}}.
Today, many [[historian]]s and [[anthropologist]]s argue that the term 'cargo cult' is a misnomer that describes a variety of phenomena. However, the idea has captured the imagination of many people in [[developed nation]]s, and the term continues to be used today. For this reason, and possibly many others, the cults have been labelled [[Millenarianism|millenarian]], in the sense that they hold that a [[utopia]]n future is imminent or will come about if they perform certain rituals.


Today, many [[historian]]s and [[anthropologist]]s argue that the term "cargo cult" is a misnomer that describes a variety of phenomena{{Fact|date=February 2007}}.  However, the idea has captured the imagination of many people in [[developed nation]]s, and the term continues to be used today. For this reason, and possibly many others, the cults have been labelled [[Millenarianism|millenarian]], in the sense that they hold that a [[utopia]]n future is imminent or will come about if they perform certain rituals.
==History==
Discussions of cargo cults usually begin with a series of movements that occurred in the late [[nineteenth century]] and early [[twentieth century]]. The earliest recorded cargo cult was the [[Tuka Movement]] that began in [[Fiji]] in 1885. Cargo cults occurred periodically in many parts of the island of [[Papua New Guinea]], including the [[Taro Cult]] in northern Papua New Guinea, and the [[Vailala Madness]] that arose in 1919 and was documented by [[F.E. Williams]], one of the first [[anthropology|anthropologists]] to conduct fieldwork in Papua New Guinea. Less dramatic cargo cults have appeared in western New Guinea as well, including the [[Asmat]] and [[Dani]] areas.


== History ==
The classic period of cargo cult activity, however, was in the years during and after World War II.  The vast amounts of [[Matériel|war matériel]] that were [[airdrop]]ped into these islands during the [[Pacific War|Pacific campaign]] against the [[Empire of Japan]] necessarily meant drastic changes to the lifestyle of the islanders, many of whom had never seen Westerners or Japanese before.  Manufactured [[clothing]], [[medicine]], [[canned food]], [[tent]]s, [[weapon]]s and other useful goods arrived in vast quantities to equip soldiers — and also the islanders who were their guides and hosts. With the end of the war the airbases were abandoned, and 'cargo' was no longer dropped.
Discussions of cargo cults usually begin with a series of movements that occurred in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century.  The earliest recorded cargo cult was the [[Tuka Movement]] that began in [[Fiji]] in 1885. Cargo cults occurred periodically in many parts of the island of New Guinea, including the [[Taro Cult]] in Northern [[Papua New Guinea]], and the [[Vailala Madness]] that arose in 1919 and was documented by [[F.E. Williams]], one of the first anthropologists to conduct fieldwork in Papua New Guinea. Less dramatic cargo cults have appeared in [[western New Guinea]] as well, including the [[Asmat]] and [[Dani]] areas.


The classic period of cargo cult activity, however, was in the years during and after World War II.  The vast amounts of [[Matériel|war matériel]] that were [[airdrop]]ped into these islands during the [[Pacific War|Pacific campaign]] against the [[Empire of Japan]] necessarily meant drastic changes to the lifestyle of the islanders, many of whom had never seen Westerners or Japanese before. Manufactured [[clothing]], [[medicine]], [[canned food]], [[tent]]s, [[weapon]]s and other useful goods arrived in vast quantities to equip soldiers — and also the islanders who were their guides and hosts.  With the end of the war the airbases were abandoned, and "cargo" was no longer being dropped.
In attempts to get cargo to fall by [[parachute]] or land in planes or [[ship]]s again, islanders imitated the same practices they had seen the [[soldier]]s, [[sailor]]s and airmen use. They carved [[headphone]]s from [[wood]], and wore them while sitting in fabricated [[control tower]]s. They waved the landing signals while standing on the [[runway]]s. They lit signal fires and torches to light up runways and [[lighthouse]]s. The cultists thought that the foreigners had some special connection to their own ancestors, who were the only beings powerful enough to produce such riches.


In attempts to get cargo to fall by parachute or land in planes or ships again, islanders imitated the same practices they had seen the [[soldier]]s, [[sailor]]s and airmen use. They carved [[headphone]]s from [[wood]], and wore them while sitting in fabricated control towers. They waved the landing signals while standing on the [[runway]]s.  They lit signal fires and torches to light up runways and lighthouses.  The cultists thought that the foreigners had some special connection to their own ancestors, who were the only beings powerful enough to produce such riches.
In a form of [[sympathetic magic]], many built life-size mock-ups of aeroplanes out of straw, and created new military style landing strips, hoping to attract more aeroplanes. Ultimately, though these practices did not bring about the return of the god-like aeroplanes that brought such marvellous cargo during the war, they did have the effect of eradicating the religious practices that had existed prior to the war.


In a form of [[sympathetic magic]], many built life-size mockups of airplanes out of straw, and created new military style landing strips, hoping to attract more airplanes.  Ultimately, though these practices did not bring about the return of the god-like airplanes that brought such marvelous cargo during the war, they did have the effect of eradicating the religious practices that had existed prior to the war.
==The John Frum cult==
Over the last seventy-five years most cargo cults have petered out. Yet, the [[John Frum]] cult is still active on the island of [[Tanna (island)|Tanna]], [[Vanuatu]].  


Over the last seventy-five years most cargo cults have petered out. Yet, the [[John Frum]] cult is still active on the island of [[Tanna (island)|Tanna]], [[Vanuatu]].  And from time to time, the term "cargo cult" is invoked as an English language [[idiom]], to mean any group of people who imitate the superficial exterior of a process or system without having any understanding of the underlying substance.
==Other instances of cargo cults==
A similar cult, the [[dance of the spirits]], arose from contact between [[Native American people|Native Americans]] and the [[Anglo-American]] civilization in late nineteenth century. The [[Paiute]] prophet [[Wovoka]] preached that by [[dance|dancing]] in a certain fashion, the ancestors would come back on [[Rail transport|railways]] and a new earth would cover the [[white people]]. Some [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Amazonian Indians]] have carved wood mock-ups of [[compact cassette|cassette]] players (''gabarora'' from Portuguese ''gravadora'' or Spanish ''grabadora'') which they use to apparently make contact with spirits.


The term is perhaps best known because of a speech by physicist [[Richard Feynman]] at a [[Caltech]] commencement, wherein he referred to "[[cargo cult science]]", and which became a chapter in the book ''[[Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!]]''. In the speech, Feynman pointed out that cargo cultists create all the appearance of an airport right down to headsets with bamboo "antennas", yet the airplanes don't come. Feynman argued that some scientists often produce studies with all the trappings of real science, but which are nonetheless [[pseudoscience]] and unworthy of either respect or support.
==Other uses of the term 'cargo cult'==
From time to time, the term 'cargo cult' is invoked as an [[English language]] [[idiom]], to mean any group of people who imitate the superficial exterior of a process or system without having any understanding of the underlying substance.


==Other instances of cargo cults==
The term is perhaps best known because of a speech by physicist [[Richard Feynman]] at a [[Caltech]] commencement, wherein he referred to "[[cargo cult science]]", and which became a chapter in the book ''[[Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!]]''. In the speech, Feynman pointed out that cargo cultists create all the appearance of an airport right down to headsets with bamboo 'antennas', yet the aeroplanes don't come. Feynman argued that some scientists often produce studies with all the trappings of real science, but which are nonetheless [[pseudoscience]] and unworthy of either respect or support.
A similar cult, the [[dance of the spirits]], arose from contact between [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] and the [[Anglo-American]] civilization in late 19th century. The [[Paiute]] prophet [[Wovoka]] preached that by dancing in a certain fashion, the ancestors would come back on [[Rail transport|railways]] and a new earth would cover the white people. Some [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Amazonian Indians]] have carved wood mockups of [[compact cassette|cassette]] players (''gabarora'' from Portuguese ''gravadora'' or Spanish ''grabadora'') that they use to communicate with spirits.


Cargo cults have also been compared to the modern [[UFO religion]]s.
The cargo cult has been used as an analogy to describe certain phenomena in the developed world, particularly in the area of business. After any substantial commercial success - whether it is a new model of [[car]], a [[vacuum cleaner]], a [[toy]] or a [[motion picture]] - there typically arise imitators who produce superficial copies of the original, but with none of its substance.  


==Analogies in Western culture==
The term is also used in the world of [[computer programming]] as "[[cargo cult programming]]", which describes the ritual inclusion of code which may serve no purpose in the program, but is believed to be a workaround for some [[software bug]], or to be otherwise required for reasons unknown to the programmer.<ref>[http://catb.org/jargon/html/C/cargo-cult-programming.html].</ref>
The cargo cult has been used as an analogy to describe certain phenomena in the developed world, particularly in the area of [[business]]. After any substantial commercial success - whether it is a new model of [[car]], a [[vacuum cleaner]], a [[toy]] or a [[motion picture]] - there typically arise imitators who produce superficial copies of the original, but with none of the substance of the original.  


The term is also used in the world of [[computer programming]] as "[[cargo cult programming]]", which describes the ritual inclusion of code which may serve no purpose in the program, but is believed to be a workaround for some [[software bug]], or to be otherwise required for reasons unknown to the programmer  [http://catb.org/jargon/html/C/cargo-cult-programming.html].
The term [[cargo cult software engineering]] has been coined in the field of [[software engineering]] to describe a characteristic of unsuccessful software development organisations that slavishly imitate the working methods of more successful development organisations.<ref> [http://stevemcconnell.com/ieeesoftware/eic10.htm].</ref>


The term [[cargo cult software engineering]] has been coined in the field of [[software engineering]] to describe a characteristic of unsuccessful software development organisations that slavishly imitate the working methods of more successful development organisations [http://stevemcconnell.com/ieeesoftware/eic10.htm].
==Cargo cults in popular culture==
The 1980 movie ''[[The Gods Must Be Crazy]]'' tells the story of how a "gift from the gods" in the form of a [[Coca-Cola]] [[bottle]] carelessly discarded from a passing aeroplane comes to be rejected, thus presenting a south-western [[Africa]]n counter-example to cargo cults. The 1983 comedy movie ''[[Luggage of the Gods!]]'' explores similar themes.


Any new [[management fad]] is a possible subject for cargo cult like adoption by poor managers.
The 1985 sequel to ''[[Mad Max]]'' and ''[[The Road Warrior]]'', ''[[Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome]]'', had an element of cargo cultism. The secondary plot revolves around Max (played by [[Mel Gibson]]) ending up at a desert oasis of feral [[child]]ren who are convinced that Max is 'Captain Walker' and is there to take them to 'Tomorrow-morrow Land'. Once they have the pilot that they have dutifully been waiting for for years, they enact rituals they think will enable a crashed commercial airliner that is lying in a sand dune to fly again.


== Cargo cults in popular culture==
The 1997 novel ''[[Island of the Sequined Love Nun]]'' by [[Christopher]] Moore also prominantly features a cargo cult.
The 1980 movie ''[[The Gods Must Be Crazy]]'' tells the story of how a "gift from the gods" in the form of a Coca-Cola bottle carelessly discarded from a passing airplane comes to be rejected, thus presenting a southwest African counter-example to cargo cults.


The 1983 comedy movie ''[[Luggage of the Gods!]]'' explores similar themes.
==Footnotes==
<div class="references-2column">
<references/>
</div>


The 1985 sequel to ''[[Mad Max]]'' and ''[[The Road Warrior]]'', ''[[Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome]]'', had an element of cargo cultism. The secondary plot revolves around Max (played by Mel Gibson) ending up at a desert oasis of feral children who are convinced that Max is 'Captain Walker' and is there to take them to 'Tomorrow-morrow Land'. Once they have the pilot that they have dutifully been waiting for for years, they enact rituals they think will enable a crashed commercial airliner that is lying in a sand dune to fly again.
==Bibliography==
*Jebens, Holger (ed.). ''Cargo, Cult'', and ''Culture Critique''. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2004.
*Kaplan, Martha. ''Neither cargo nor cult : ritual politics and the colonial imagination in Fiji''. Durham : Duke University Press, 1995.
*Lawrence, Peter. ''Road belong cargo : a study of the Cargo Movement in the Southern Madang District, New Guinea''. Manchester University Press, 1964
*Lindstrom, Lamont. ''Cargo cult: strange stories of desire from Melanesia and beyond. Honolulu'' : University of Hawaii Press, 1993.
*Worsley, Peter. ''The trumpet shall sound : a study of "cargo" cults in Melanesia''. London : MacGibbon & Kee, 1957.
*Harris, Marvin. "Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches: The Riddles of Culture". New York : Random House, 1974.
*Inglis, Judy. "Cargo Cults: The Problem of Explanation". ''Oceania'' vol. xxvii no. 4, 1957.
*K, E. Read. "A Cargo Situation in the Markham Valley, New Guinea". ''Southwestern Journal of Anthropology'' vol. 14 no. 3, 1958.
*Trenkenschuh, F. 1974. ''Cargo Cult in Asmat: Examples and Prospects'", in: F. Trenkenschuh (ed.), An Asmat Sketchbook, vol. 2, Hastings, NE: Crosier Missions.


The 1997 novel "[[Island of the Sequined Love Nun]]" by Christopher Moore prominantly features a cargo cult.
==External links==
 
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6363843.stm Vanuatu cargo cult marks 50 years] - BBC News
==Sources and further reading==
*[http://enzo.gen.nz/jonfrum/index.htm Information on the Jon Frum Cargo Cult (still active)]
* Jebens, Holger (ed.). ''Cargo, Cult'', and ''Culture Critique''. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2004.
*[http://www.actualanalysis.com/cargo.htm Contemporary Cargo Cults by John FitzGerald]
* Kaplan, Martha. ''Neither cargo nor cult : ritual politics and the colonial imagination in Fiji''. Durham : Duke University Press, 1995.
*[http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/westoc/index.html Western Oceanian Religions]
* Lawrence, Peter. ''Road belong cargo : a study of the Cargo Movement in the Southern Madang District, New Guinea''. Manchester University Press, 1964
*'[http://www.smithsonianmagazine.com/issues/2006/february/john.htm In John They Trust]' - 2006 Smithsonian Magazine article
* Lindstrom, Lamont. ''Cargo cult: strange stories of desire from Melanesia and beyond. Honolulu'' : University of Hawaii Press, 1993.
*[http://www.berkshirepublishing.com/rvw/022/022smpl1.htm Cargo cults] - includes a bibliography
* Worsley, Peter. ''The trumpet shall sound : a study of "cargo" cults in Melanesia''. London : MacGibbon & Kee, 1957.
*[http://travel.ctomberg.com//SouthPacific2005/journal.php?day=22 Account of a Visit to a Jon Frum Village in 2005]
* Harris, Marvin. "Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches: The Riddles of Culture". New York : Random House, 1974.
*[http://www.afa.org/magazine/1991/0191cargo.asp The Cargo Cults] - ''Air Force Magazine'' 74(1), January 1991
* Inglis, Judy. "Cargo Cults: The Problem of Explanation". ''Oceania'' vol. xxvii no. 4, 1957.
* K, E. Read. "A Cargo Situation in the Markham Valley, New Guinea". ''Southwestern Journal of Anthropology'' vol. 14 no. 3, 1958.
* Trenkenschuh, F. 1974. ''Cargo Cult in Asmat: Examples and Prospects'", in: F. Trenkenschuh (ed.), An Asmat Sketchbook, vol. 2, Hastings, NE: Crosier Missions.


==See also==
==See also==
*[[Prince Philip Movement]]
* ''[[Dream Park]]'' - Cargo Cults were used as a backdrop to this science-fiction/murder mystery novel.
* ''[[Island of the Sequined Love Nun]]''
* [[Johnson cult]]
* ''[[John Frum]]''
* ''[[Mondo Cane]]''
* ''[[The Gods Must Be Crazy]]''
* [[Ghost Dance]]
* [[Magical thinking]]
* ''[[Guns, Germs, and Steel]]'' - the author, Jared Diamond, poses as the initiating question "Why did you [Europeans] wind up with all the cargo?", as asked by a Papua New Guinean (Yali, who was actually the 'cargo cult'-associated political leader prominent in ''Road Belong Cargo'')
* [[Culture war]]s
* [[Culture shock]]
==Notes==
<references/>
==External links==
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6363843.stm Vanuatu cargo cult marks 50 years (BBC News)]
* [http://enzo.gen.nz/jonfrum/index.htm Information on the Jon Frum Cargo Cult (still active)]
* [http://www.actualanalysis.com/cargo.htm Contemporary Cargo Cults by John FitzGerald]
* [http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/westoc/index.html Western Oceanian Religions]
* [http://www.smithsonianmagazine.com/issues/2006/february/john.htm] 2006 Smithsonian Magazine article entitled: "In John They Trust."
* [http://www.berkshirepublishing.com/rvw/022/022smpl1.htm Cargo cults] includes a bibliography
* [http://travel.ctomberg.com//SouthPacific2005/journal.php?day=22 Account of a Visit to a Jon Frum Village in 2005]
* [http://www.afa.org/magazine/1991/0191cargo.asp Air Force Magazine], January 1991, Vol. 74, No. 1. Summary from the guys who fly those Cargoes.


[[Category: Anthropology Workgroup]]
[[Category: Anthropology Workgroup]]

Revision as of 07:51, 17 July 2007

A cargo cult is a group of people who worship aspects of modern society or consider members of technologically-modern nations to be divinely favoured because their behaviour and standard of living are inexplicable, perhaps through being unaware of international trade. For example, because of the apparently supernatural appearance of cargo without evidence of agriculture or industry practised by such organisations as the U.S. Army during World War II, a few Pacific Ocean islanders assumed that the foreigners were favoured by spirits, and created their own bamboo effigies of airfields, tanks, and so on, as well as mimicking military marches, in the hope that good fortune would also be bestowed on them. The rapid rise of cargo cults is argued to be how mainstream ]]religions get started.[1]

Based on the above definition, cargo cult is also used in business and science to refer to a particular type of fallacy whereby ill-considered effort and ceremony takes place but goes unrewarded due to a flawed model of causation. For example, Maoism has been referred to as "cargo cult Leninism" and New Zealand's adoption of liberalism economic policies in the 1980s as "cargo cult capitalism". to be verified

Overview

An isolated society's first contact with the outside world can be a shock — often people will first assume that the newcomers are spiritual beings of some kind who possess divine powers. With time, however, it will inevitably become apparent that the outsiders are mortal and that their power comes from their equipment (or cargo). Cargo cults tend to appear among people that covet this 'magical' equipment, but are unable to obtain it easily through trade. Given their relative isolation, the cult participants generally have little knowledge of modern manufacturing and are liable to be sceptical of Western explanations. Instead, symbols they associate with Christianity and modern Western society tend to be incorporated into their rituals as magical artefacts. Across cultural differences and large geographic areas, there have been instances of the movements independently organising.

Famous examples of cargo cult activity include the setting up of mock airstrips, airports, offices and the attempted construction of Western goods, such as radios made of coconuts and straw. Believers may stage 'drills' and 'marches' with twigs for rifles and military-style insignia and 'USA" painted on their bodies to make them look like soldiers, treating the activities of Western military personnel as rituals to be performed for the purpose of attracting cargo. The cult members built these items and 'facilities' in the belief that the structures would attract cargo. This perception has reportedly been reinforced by the occasional success of an 'airport' to attract military transport aircraft full of cargo.

Today, many historians and anthropologists argue that the term 'cargo cult' is a misnomer that describes a variety of phenomena. However, the idea has captured the imagination of many people in developed nations, and the term continues to be used today. For this reason, and possibly many others, the cults have been labelled millenarian, in the sense that they hold that a utopian future is imminent or will come about if they perform certain rituals.

History

Discussions of cargo cults usually begin with a series of movements that occurred in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. The earliest recorded cargo cult was the Tuka Movement that began in Fiji in 1885. Cargo cults occurred periodically in many parts of the island of Papua New Guinea, including the Taro Cult in northern Papua New Guinea, and the Vailala Madness that arose in 1919 and was documented by F.E. Williams, one of the first anthropologists to conduct fieldwork in Papua New Guinea. Less dramatic cargo cults have appeared in western New Guinea as well, including the Asmat and Dani areas.

The classic period of cargo cult activity, however, was in the years during and after World War II. The vast amounts of war matériel that were airdropped into these islands during the Pacific campaign against the Empire of Japan necessarily meant drastic changes to the lifestyle of the islanders, many of whom had never seen Westerners or Japanese before. Manufactured clothing, medicine, canned food, tents, weapons and other useful goods arrived in vast quantities to equip soldiers — and also the islanders who were their guides and hosts. With the end of the war the airbases were abandoned, and 'cargo' was no longer dropped.

In attempts to get cargo to fall by parachute or land in planes or ships again, islanders imitated the same practices they had seen the soldiers, sailors and airmen use. They carved headphones from wood, and wore them while sitting in fabricated control towers. They waved the landing signals while standing on the runways. They lit signal fires and torches to light up runways and lighthouses. The cultists thought that the foreigners had some special connection to their own ancestors, who were the only beings powerful enough to produce such riches.

In a form of sympathetic magic, many built life-size mock-ups of aeroplanes out of straw, and created new military style landing strips, hoping to attract more aeroplanes. Ultimately, though these practices did not bring about the return of the god-like aeroplanes that brought such marvellous cargo during the war, they did have the effect of eradicating the religious practices that had existed prior to the war.

The John Frum cult

Over the last seventy-five years most cargo cults have petered out. Yet, the John Frum cult is still active on the island of Tanna, Vanuatu.

Other instances of cargo cults

A similar cult, the dance of the spirits, arose from contact between Native Americans and the Anglo-American civilization in late nineteenth century. The Paiute prophet Wovoka preached that by dancing in a certain fashion, the ancestors would come back on railways and a new earth would cover the white people. Some Amazonian Indians have carved wood mock-ups of cassette players (gabarora from Portuguese gravadora or Spanish grabadora) which they use to apparently make contact with spirits.

Other uses of the term 'cargo cult'

From time to time, the term 'cargo cult' is invoked as an English language idiom, to mean any group of people who imitate the superficial exterior of a process or system without having any understanding of the underlying substance.

The term is perhaps best known because of a speech by physicist Richard Feynman at a Caltech commencement, wherein he referred to "cargo cult science", and which became a chapter in the book Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!. In the speech, Feynman pointed out that cargo cultists create all the appearance of an airport right down to headsets with bamboo 'antennas', yet the aeroplanes don't come. Feynman argued that some scientists often produce studies with all the trappings of real science, but which are nonetheless pseudoscience and unworthy of either respect or support.

The cargo cult has been used as an analogy to describe certain phenomena in the developed world, particularly in the area of business. After any substantial commercial success - whether it is a new model of car, a vacuum cleaner, a toy or a motion picture - there typically arise imitators who produce superficial copies of the original, but with none of its substance.

The term is also used in the world of computer programming as "cargo cult programming", which describes the ritual inclusion of code which may serve no purpose in the program, but is believed to be a workaround for some software bug, or to be otherwise required for reasons unknown to the programmer.[2]

The term cargo cult software engineering has been coined in the field of software engineering to describe a characteristic of unsuccessful software development organisations that slavishly imitate the working methods of more successful development organisations.[3]

Cargo cults in popular culture

The 1980 movie The Gods Must Be Crazy tells the story of how a "gift from the gods" in the form of a Coca-Cola bottle carelessly discarded from a passing aeroplane comes to be rejected, thus presenting a south-western African counter-example to cargo cults. The 1983 comedy movie Luggage of the Gods! explores similar themes.

The 1985 sequel to Mad Max and The Road Warrior, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, had an element of cargo cultism. The secondary plot revolves around Max (played by Mel Gibson) ending up at a desert oasis of feral children who are convinced that Max is 'Captain Walker' and is there to take them to 'Tomorrow-morrow Land'. Once they have the pilot that they have dutifully been waiting for for years, they enact rituals they think will enable a crashed commercial airliner that is lying in a sand dune to fly again.

The 1997 novel Island of the Sequined Love Nun by Christopher Moore also prominantly features a cargo cult.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Dawkins (2007: 234-239).
  2. ↑ [1].
  3. ↑ [2].

Bibliography

  • Jebens, Holger (ed.). Cargo, Cult, and Culture Critique. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2004.
  • Kaplan, Martha. Neither cargo nor cult : ritual politics and the colonial imagination in Fiji. Durham : Duke University Press, 1995.
  • Lawrence, Peter. Road belong cargo : a study of the Cargo Movement in the Southern Madang District, New Guinea. Manchester University Press, 1964
  • Lindstrom, Lamont. Cargo cult: strange stories of desire from Melanesia and beyond. Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press, 1993.
  • Worsley, Peter. The trumpet shall sound : a study of "cargo" cults in Melanesia. London : MacGibbon & Kee, 1957.
  • Harris, Marvin. "Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches: The Riddles of Culture". New York : Random House, 1974.
  • Inglis, Judy. "Cargo Cults: The Problem of Explanation". Oceania vol. xxvii no. 4, 1957.
  • K, E. Read. "A Cargo Situation in the Markham Valley, New Guinea". Southwestern Journal of Anthropology vol. 14 no. 3, 1958.
  • Trenkenschuh, F. 1974. Cargo Cult in Asmat: Examples and Prospects'", in: F. Trenkenschuh (ed.), An Asmat Sketchbook, vol. 2, Hastings, NE: Crosier Missions.

External links

See also

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