John Frum Movement

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The ceremonial flags of the John Frum movement

The John Frum Movement is a religious movement on the Pacific island of Tanna , which is part of the island state of Vanuatu . It is one of the cargo cults that are particularly widespread in the South Pacific .

Historical background

The John Frum movement emerged around 1940 as a counter-movement to Christian proselytizing activities. It received a boost from the stationing of American soldiers who were viewed as emissaries of John Frum. The government tried to suppress the cult; In 1952 supporters of the movement were arrested. In 1957 it was formally constituted as a religious community.

According to John Frum followers, the Yasur volcano is the origin of the world. The Son of God lives under its crater. This is John Frum and comes from America. It is said that John Frum appeared to some islanders in the 1930s; he had expressed the following dogmas to them: “Keep your customs. Do not listen to Christian missionaries and live off your gardens and animals. "

The belief in John Frum is one of the so-called cargo cults in Melanesia (South Pacific), which probably go back to encounters between the islanders and Europeans and Americans during and after the Second World War. The landing of unknown ships, inexplicable to the residents, was considered the work of gods. That is why the expectation of salvation is usually also linked to the hope for material luxury goods. The roots of the cult lie in the widespread practice in Melanesia of venerating important ancestors. In its concrete form, it helps its followers to better cope with changes in their previous way of life and encounters with foreigners.

Religious practice

John Frum Cross on Tanna

The John Frum movement consists of a steady community of followers (approx. 20% of the local population) and shows strong parallels to Christianity . This is expressed, among other things, in the veneration of a red cross in a church building based on Christian models. There are also messianic ideas about "John Frum", who will one day emerge from a crater and lead his followers into a happy future. His holiday, John Frum Day , is celebrated every year on February 15th .

The cult has around 1000 followers on the island in southern Vanuatu.

Derived from the John Frum movement , the Prince Philip movement developed in the south of Tanna , which prince Philip , the prince consort of the British Queen Elizabeth II , worships as a deity.

literature

  • Jean Guiart: Culture contact and the John Frum movement on Tanna, New Hebrides . In: Southwestern Journal of Anthropology , Volume 12. 1956, pp. 105-116
  • Christian Kracht , Ingo Niermann : The Spirit of America. The Cargo Cult and the Return of John Frum in Tanna, Vanuatu . In: New Wave . Kiepenheuer & Witsch , Cologne 2006
  • Lamont Lindstrom: Big Men as Ancestors. Inspiration and Copyrights on Tanna (Vanuatu) . In: Ethnology , Vol. 29. 1990, pp. 313-326
  • Marc Tabani: Une pirogue pour le Paradis. Le culte de John Frum à Tanna. Éditions de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, Paris, 2008.
  • Marc Tabani: Dreams of Unity, traditions of division: John Frum, kastom and inter-manipulation strategies on Tanna (Vanuatu). In: Paideuma , Vol. 55 (2009), pp. 27-47.

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