Lying in the shadow of the live volcano, Mt Yasur, in Sulphur Bay, on the remote tropical island of Tanna, Vanuatu, is the home of the ‘Jon Frum’ movement. This is one of the only remaining ‘cargo’ cults left in the world.
It was formed when ‘John from America’, supposedly an American medic, literally dropped in on this ancient culture, in a plane, distributing medicine and gifts to the local people. It was just before the time when American troops, stationed in Efate and Santo, were assigned to protect the South Pacific islands against a Second World War Japanese invasion.
The cult urged the local people to turn away from the aggressive teaching of the Christian missionaries and to put their faith in their own customs. The arrival of the white man had introduced many new diseases to the local people, causing the population of some of the Vanuatu islands to be almost wiped out. A further decimation of the population occurred through ‘black-birding’ when thousands of Vanuatu males were conned to go to work in sugar plantations in Queensland, Australia.
Though the true source of Jon Frum is rather blurred, each Friday, outlying villagers walk to Sulphur Bay to honour Jon Frum. The men sing and play guitars while the women dance around them in the light of kerosene lamps. They call to the cowboy spirits, Cowboy Billy, Cowboy Jimmy and Cowboy Steven. These will help them communicate with Jonn Frum. Following a deep rumble, Mt Yasur in the background, lights up the night sky with spurts of glowing lava.
Many of the followers of Jon Frum believe he lives in the volcano. Accompanied by 5,000 troops he will bring sack loads of gifts and liberate Tanna to a glorious new age. At one point the villagers cleared enough bush to make an airstrip and erected a bamboo control tower, hoping to encourage Jon Frum to return in his plane.
For fifty years the Jon Frum followers have paraded on the February 15th, under the leadership of Chief Isaac Wan, in home-made US uniforms, beneath the Stars and Stripes flag. Playing the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ on bamboo flutes and carrying bamboo weapons, they hope to entice another deliver of ‘cargo’.
In 1957 the American warship, the Yankee, visited Tanna. The commander, at the request of local authorities, tried to explain to the villagers there was no such person as Jon Frum in the US. The local villagers dismissed the commander as being ‘a false American’.
David Attenborough, brother of filmmaker Richard Attenborough, one of the first foreigners to find the Jon Frum movement in the 1960’s, asked the people of Tanna, ‘Why wait for someone who never comes?’ One of the islanders is reported to have replied, adding, “You have been waiting for 2,000 years for Jesus Christ.”
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Tags: blue moon, blue moon opportunity, cargo cult, jon frum cult, South Pacific, travel adventure, travel adventure destination south pacific, tropical islands, Vanuatu
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November 29th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
[...] Tropical Islands Waiting For Their American Messiah … literally dropped in on this ancient culture, in a plane, distributing medicine and gifts to the local people. It was just before the time when American troops, stationed in Efate and Santo, were assigned to protect the South Pacific islands against a Second World War Japanese invasion. The cult urged … [...]