Vanuatu cargo cult marks 50 years

[Orangutan]

The tread title says it all.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6363843.stm

(Oh yeah, I put Semicentennial in the tags.) ;)

[Silly Green Monkey]

John Frum was probably from the future, trying to save the islanders from Chistianization of their culture, which would have left them barren and three-headed.

[Meadmaker]

Praise Frum, god who all blessings bestow.

[sackett]

The Frum religion on Tanna is getting to be the last of the pure-quill cargo cults. What would account for its longevity? Man, we should get that sect under a microscope and STUDY it!

[Myriad]

Well, for one thing, it looks as though we could improve its prospects for longevity by sending 'em some cargo.

Respectfully,
Myriad

[Yahzi]

A Christian youth worker told me how he thought the cult was childish. "It's like a baby playing games," he insisted. "Those people are holding on to a dream that will never come true," he said.
Oh God. The irony. It's like a gigantic sling blade of glowing hot steel cutting my entire head in two.

The irony.

[Tanja]

Oh God. The irony. It's like a gigantic sling blade of glowing hot steel cutting my entire head in two.

The irony.

I was just about to start a thread about this BBC article, in order to quote that particular paragraph...it caught my eye as well.

[Rrose Selavy]

Me too.

[Diamond]

Should we send some aircraft to just swoop over the airfield in order to p!ss them off?

[Tanja]

Now if I could only remember a similar quote by a priest or bishop about Harry Potter...something like "those reading it need to remember it depicts imaginary events"...

[Brown]

JOHN FRUM

JREF FORUM

Coincidence???

[kmortis]

JOHN FRUM

JREF FORUM

Coincidence???

Nope.

[c4ts]

Mighty Frum is pleased. When he returns, there will be c rations for all who chose to follow him.

[Beerina]

JOHN FRUM

JREF FORUM

Coincidence???

Vger seeks the Creator.

[sackett]

Fun & games and all that, but:

Here we can trace the development of an honest-to-pete god. If my deep researches in wiki and other online sources are correct, John Frum (= "broom," i.e., the instrument that would sweep w'ite pella away) started out as a mortal man, a disgruntled colonial who preached apocolypse and an end to British rule back in the 1930s. The Brits didn't martyr him, but they flogged him and tied him to a tree for a day -- cruel enough punishment, seems to me.

I'm old enough to remember reading accounts by people who knew J. Frum; they even recalled that he wore a digger hat and continued to travel around spreading his cult in defiance of the British. In time he morphed into a fabulous figure who lived in a volcano. Now it seems that he's "God and Jesus" to his believers, a supernatural figure with untold powers -- in one word, a god. Damn right I want this phenomenon studied.

My very first post in this forum was a little essay I wrote on the lessons the religious can learn by examining cargo cults. I suppose it was lost in the Great Meltdown, but I could still post it. And I will if you don't show some respect!

[Orangutan]

Hmm, We could study it........., or as another poster suggested mess with it's head.

If we can raise 10k for the forums surly we can raise a few K to drop some cargo off to these guys. What should we drop off though? Rubber Chickens? Comedy under-sized cowboy hats? Crates of Dry Ice?
What think the more twisted minds than mine? I'm looking at you MDC. ;)

[slingblade]

Oh God. The irony. It's like a gigantic sling blade of glowing hot steel cutting my entire head in two.


Ooooh, I never did! Bloody lie! (:))

[strathmeyer]

Damn Interesting also did a good story on this, with pictures and a map:

http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=788