What is Cargo cult?
[[Image:JohnFrumCrossTanna1967.jpg|thumb|250px|Ceremonial cross of [[John Frum]] cargo cult, Tanna island, New Hebrides (now Vanuatu), 1967]] '''Cargo cult''' is a name given to several [[religion]]s. There are many cargo cults in [[Melanesia]] and [[New Guinea]]. These religions started when [[tribe|tribal societies]] saw Western things like [[radio]]s. These things are called ''[[cargo]]''. The tribespeople did not know how the things they saw worked, or how they were made. The tribespeople copied the things they saw the Westerners do. They did this because they hoped gods would send them more cargo. Also sometimes, for example on the island of [[Tanna (island)|Tanna]] in [[Vanuatu]], cult members worshipped Americans who brought the cargo.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6370991.stm|title=''Cargo cult lives on in South Pacific'', Phil Mercer, BBC News, 17 February 2007}}</ref> During the age of [[colonialism]], the people came in contact with many societies who had less technology than they did. The first cargo cults were seen in [[New Guinea]], and other countries of [[Micronesia]], [[Melanesia]] and the West [[Pacific Ocean]]. The people who are part of the cargo cults think that the cargo was created by their [[deity|deities]] and [[ancestor]]s. They think that the cargo was made for the members of the cargo cult, but the foreigners have it instead. For this reason, the efforts and [[ritual]]s of cargo cults are so that the foreigners get less of these goods and the cult members more of them. ==Related pages== *[[Vailala Madness]] - a cargo cult active between 1919 and 1922, possibly the first known cargo cult. *[[Ghost Dance]] - a similar thing that happened when [[Native American|Native Americans]] saw European settlers. ==References== {{reflist}} ==Other websites== * [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)] {{Webarchiv