Mansren-Koreri Movement

The Mansren Koreri movement (also known as the Mansren cult ) was the first cargo cult in Melanesia . This movement sparked a long tradition of several religious and political ambitious, millenarian events. The believers lived in anticipation of the return of the ancestors who would bring western goods. Symbolic substitute acts of return supported this expectation. The scenes of this cult were the Schouten Islands ( Biak , Numfor ) in the Cenderawasih Bay . Today the archipelago belongs to the province of Papua , Western New Guinea .

The Mansren-Koreri movement was also the longest cargo movement, because it occurred between 1857 and 1901. The cult lasted - under various leaders such as Korano Baibo and others. a. - in various forms for about 44 years. During this time, prophets proclaimed the arrival of the cult idol Mansren, who created the world and then disappeared into the "West". The longed-for cargo goods would come from this direction. The Mansren cult assumed a character that the colonialists who dominated the region perceived as a threat to their own claim to power, as there were victims among them.

The Mansren myth

The Mansren-Koreri movement was initially based on the "Myth of Mansren", which followed traditional origin and creation myths:
The myth tells: An old, ugly man who occasionally prepares palm wine and lives alone on a lonely island will one day robbed. The put wine thief named Morgenstern (Venus) begs himself free by promising the old man to grant three wishes. The old man's desires are, first, beauty and youth. He also wants a magic wood that will make all the pictures drawn in the sand come true, and thirdly, he wants a fruit that, when thrown at a woman, will make her pregnant. Soon a young girl gives birth to a son who reveals the old man to be a father, whereupon the unequal couple is expelled from the village. He calls his son Konor . The journey away succeeds thanks to a canoe created through the magic wood. On the way, the old man creates the individual islands of Melanesia as a playground for his son. He delights his wife by shedding his old skin in order to conquer her heart as a radiantly beautiful girl. This calls him Mansren (Manseren Mangundi). In order to offer his wife company, he creates people and gives them law and order for a prosperous coexistence. He himself presides over society as a long-time ruler. One day, however, happiness ends as different peoples rise up against Mansren. He therefore leaves his realm and goes to a distant land in the west, where the Melanesians traditionally lie. The whites who came from there - pale as the dead - must have been blessed according to the people of Mansren. Before Mansren would return one day himself, his messenger would appear, his son Konor. In the Golden Age of Koreri, there would be unity, abundance, peace and harmony.

The cult as the Mansren-Koreri movement can be understood as the return of the mythical figure Mansren in the golden age of the salvation kingdom ( Koreri ). The mythical term Koreri is derived from "rér", which means: "change skin", and refers to the change of skin of the dead when entering the realm of the dead or, according to another interpretation, to reaching a static state, free from all problems such as Illness, misery, hardship or death.

Koreri myth

In the Vogelkopf area and on neighboring eastern islands - long before the time of colonialism - there were movements with the aim of producing koreri . Historically, Koreri goes back to the knowledge of an old man who extolled happiness. For this purpose, Manarmakeri's commandments had to be observed. These consisted in the fact that all agricultural gifts would have to be given up. The fields were to be devastated and cattle, such as pigs, killed. Deprived of all livelihoods, the population would provide unconditional evidence that Koreri's imminent arrival was imminent and that conditions similar to a land of milk and honey were imminent. The movements mostly began with the appearance of a man who claimed to be Konor, son of Mansren (Manseren Mangundi). The alleged Konor claimed that in a dream he had acquired knowledge that prepared him as a prophet for the return of the Savior. He relied on the belief in Mansren, whose return - although indefinite in time - was expected anyway. He had to dispel the initial skepticism of the people, since Konor pretenders were not immediately believed, and presented himself to the necessary deputation to investigate the matter. If it was accepted, nightly singing festivals were arranged. The following day the fields were destroyed.

Konor proclaims the cargo cult

The first cargo cult began in 1857. A man called himself Konor appeared. Although the first prophets had little influence, more Konors appeared in 1867 and 1883. In 1886 the arrival of ships with the desired goods (cargo) was announced. The first anti-white tendencies influenced the Mansren faith, which is why attacks on a factory and the murder of a white colonial official and mutinies at sea followed.

The phases of movement

The first arrests from 1900 onwards let the Mansren-Koreri movement expire in 1901. The second phase of the Mansren-Koreri movements began in Numfor under the leadership of Mangginomi . It covered the period between 1909 and 1917. A third phase was between 1928 and 1937.

literature

Kenelm Burridge : New Heaven, New Earth. A Study of Millenarian Activities. Oxford 1969
Adolphus Peter Elkin : Social anthropology in Melanesia: a review of research. Oxford University Press, London 1953
Peter Worsley : The trumpet will sound. Cargo cults in Melanesia. Frankfurt am Main 1973
Friedrich Steinbauer : Melanesian cargo cults. New religious salvation movements in the South Seas. Delp, Munich 1971
Holger Jebens, Kago and Kastom: On the relationship between cultural perception of others and of self in West New Britain (Papua New Guinea) , 2007