John Frum Movement – 65th Anniversary

Ever since studying social anthropology I've been interested in the John Frum movement, a cargo cult of Melanesia, specific to on Tanna, an Island of Vanuatu. I've been to Vanuatu and wanted to visit the Island Tanna to look if I was able to find some hints at this movement and to look at Yasur volcano of course as during the 1990ies it still was possible to watch eruptions [1]. But air traffic constraints didn't allow for this side trip.

The John Frum movement has around 1,000 followers on Tanna [2]. They venerate a red cross and their church buildings resemble Christian churches. John Frum is a messianic figure, who is said to emerge from a crater, bring cargo and and lead his followers into a happy future. The formal constitution of a religious movement dates back to 1957 [3]; and therefore the 15th of February is celebrated with a parade.

The followers believe that the already mentioned Yasur volcano is the origin of the world and beneath it dwells John Frum, the Son of God. He comes from America. In the late 1930ies to 1940ies there had been lots of Americans in the region and the local people saw appearance of material goods (Cargo) out of the air or by ship. 

Boats not meant to carry much cargo

Who was John Frum? Maybe it has been a serviceman by the name of John Broom or John from (America); the Wikipedia article lists some possible origins for the name of the movement [3]. After the 2nd World War “followers of John Frum built symbolic landing strips to encourage American airplanes to land and bring them 'cargo'”. There are more cargo cults in Melanesia, but the John Frum movement is best konwn.

"Others contend that John Frum was a kava-induced spirit vision." [6]

“'Karaperamun I' is the god of Mount Tukosmeru, the highest peak of Tanna” [4].  The phonetic proximity of Karaperamun and Kapernaum might have had an influence (just a hypothesis). Guiart also mentions that “John Frum could not be seen by whites or by women”. The red cross plays a role, but also the inversed flag (a white cross on red ground), so at the flag-raising one can see Stars and Stripes as well as the Swiss flag.

A humble church, not unlike found elsewhere in the world like in Germany,
as I already have given examples of. [7]

John Frum Day is celebrated today at Sulphur Bay and Lamakara on Tanna Island [5]. I wished I could be there.

Happy John Frum Day!


Links an Annotations:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Yasur
[2] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/John-Frum-Bewegung
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Frum
[4] Jean Guiart: John Frum Movement in Tanna. In: Oceania. 22 (3): 165–177 (1952). https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_5/b_fdi_16-17/22920.pdf  
[5] https://www.vanuatu.travel/en/provinces/tafea-province/tanna/events/event/8-john-frum
[6] As cited in the Wikipedia article [3]: Tabani, Marc, Une pirogue pour le Paradis : le culte de John Frum à Tanna (Vanuatu). Paris : Editions de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, 2008.
[7] Here's an example from Germany: https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/2020/12/ruheforst-hummel-with-english-version.html and another one: https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/2017/05/another-funeral-forest-trostwald.html

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