The most famous cargo cult in the South Pacific, the John Frum movement reportedly first emerged on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu around the 1930s — and it still exists today.
Image Source Limited/Alamy Stock PhotoA leader of the John Frum movement poses in front of an American flag.
John Frum is not a real-life figure in history — at least not a confirmed one. Instead, he is the primary spiritual figure behind a prominent cargo cult in the South Pacific, particularly on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu.
The figure is described as a white American man, often depicted as a World War II-era soldier, who will bring wealth and prosperity to Pacific Islanders. Interestingly, John Frum is often seen as a representation of a resistance to Western colonialism in the South Pacific. He is also revered as a figure who will bring Western goods as a reward to those who resist colonizers.
When asked about these seemingly contradictory beliefs, one devoted cargo cult member in Vanuatu simply responded, “John is a spirit. He knows everything. He’s even more powerful than Jesus.”
The John Frum movement hit its peak in the mid-20th century in Vanuatu, during and immediately after World War II. Part of a larger movement of cargo cults, a combination of anti-colonialist sentiment and worship of Western goods, the John Frum movement is the best-documented and longest-lasting sect of its kind. And incredibly, it’s still recognized today.
The John Frum Movement’s Origins In Vanuatu
Wikimedia CommonsFlags are raised on the island of Tanna in honor of John Frum.
The origins of the John Frum movement are a bit murky. It’s believed that the cargo cult first formed during the 1930s in the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu, which includes over 80 islands once known as the New Hebrides.
According to local legend, the story of John Frum came from a group of village elders holding a spiritual ceremony on the island of Tanna. During the meeting, the elders consumed kava, a traditional drink known to possess slightly intoxicating, euphoria-producing, and relaxing properties.
Consuming kava was, and still is, a common ritualistic practice for many cultures in the South Pacific. In Vanuatu, it played a significant role in the Indigenous people’s traditional way of life. Kava’s sedative, slightly hypnotic effects play a major role in kastom, or the customary practices of the native people. Living a life of kastom meant embracing an Indigenous lifestyle and aiming for peace and unity with surrounding tribes.
During the ceremony, the elders said that they saw a white man (later clarified as a white American man) walk out from the surrounding darkness. The man encouraged the elders to tell the people of Tanna to return to their traditional way of life, and that Western colonial influence had put them in danger of losing their treasured customs and traditions.
Stories of the experience spread, with people dubbing the mysterious white ally as John Frum. Though it’s likely that this all began because of an apparition, John Frum’s message clearly resonated with the people of the island, who were already feeling and witnessing the impacts of colonialism, especially due to the presence of European missionaries.
Thierry Falise/LightRocket/Getty ImagesYoung followers of the John Frum cargo cult performing traditional Melanesian dances.
According to an essay by Jean Guiart, titled John Frum Movement in Tanna, the movement had picked up steam by the early 1940s. Guiart wrote how the Christian villages set up by missionaries had been abandoned, and that believers in John Frum had returned to their own lands.
The essay recorded other acts of colonial resistance, such as the people wanting to get rid of Western money, with some throwing it into the sea. But overall, Guiart reported that the figure known as John Frum was not attacking the missionaries or their established settlements.
“He was content to promote the dancing and kava drinking, to encourage communal work in the gardens, to denounce the idle, and to give advice on matters concerning collective action,” Guiart wrote.
There is little evidence to support that John Frum ever actually existed, however, the message of colonial resistance and a return to kastom inspired the Indigenous islanders to follow the figure’s instructions.
Belief In This Cargo Cult Is Part Of A Larger Phenomenon In The South Pacific
Wikimedia CommonsThe John Frum movement is just one example of the cargo cult phenomenon among Pacific Islanders.
John Frum is often cited as the most famous example of a cargo cult, or a phenomenon in a remote society where people form religious movements or rituals around the hope that cargo planes and ships will come and deliver desirable goods and other resources to the people.
Many of these developed during World War II, when American troops actually visited the islands and brought Western goods to the local people, often as a reward for guiding and hosting them. Though the U.S. soldiers were mainly in Melanesia to keep an eye on the islands amidst ongoing Japanese expansionism, many locals interpreted their presence as supernatural.
After all, the troops used advanced ships and planes to deliver cargo to the locals, and they were generous with their gifts, which included food, clothes, and weapons. Once World War II ended and the cargo stopped coming, some in the South Pacific began to pray for the cargo planes to return.
Many members of these cargo cults became convinced that a supernatural force would be responsible for the cargo’s return to the islands. However, some cargo cults, like the John Frum movement, had actually started developing even before the war. To believers in John Frum, the U.S. military’s presence in the region and their generous delivery of cargo seemed to confirm that he was real and that he had more rewards coming their way.
While many scholars think John Frum was merely an apparition for the islanders, an effect of consuming too much kava, others have suggested that the locals might have met a real U.S. soldier who introduced himself as “John from America.” Yet others say that the islanders simply wanted to believe that at least one white ally would help them fight colonialism.
In any case, a small group of islanders still believes in John Frum today.
Tanna Still Observes An Annual John Frum Day
incamerastock/Alamy Stock PhotoMen on Tanna Island marching on John Frum Day, which is celebrated each year on February 15th.
The John Frum movement has evolved over the years, but has stuck to its primary principles of simultaneously embracing Indigenous traditions and fervently hoping for the return of seemingly endless Western goods.
After American troops left the South Pacific at the end of World War II, some islanders created rituals to convince them to return, dressing up like U.S. troops and building mock air control towers, radio devices, and full replica airplanes. Meanwhile, others simply prayed to the legendary soldier John Frum, incorporating their native dances and other traditions in their prayers.
As time has gone on, however, the popularity of cargo cults has dropped significantly. In the 1990s, the John Frum movement counted some 5,000 followers, but by 2022, there were only about 500 left. This is partly due to John Frum’s apparent failure to return since World War II, but also partly due to the rise of Christianity and the ongoing industrialization in the area.
Still, the John Frum movement continues to live on today through the celebration of John Frum Day on the island of Tanna every February 15th. During the celebration, men dress like American soldiers, paint “USA” on their chests, and march while using bamboo sticks as mock rifles.
“John promised he’ll bring planeloads and shiploads of cargo to us from America if we pray to him,” a village elder told a Smithsonian Magazine reporter back in 2006. “Radios, TVs, trucks, boats, watches, iceboxes, medicine, Coca-Cola and many other wonderful things.”
People come together to cheer on the celebration and wave the American flag, despite being far from the U.S. While the John Frum movement is unlikely to rise in popularity again, the yearly tradition endures.
After reading about the John Frum movement, discover the story of James Cook, the British navigator who opened the Pacific to the West. Then, learn about what life was really like inside nine famous cults.