What are cargo cults, the beliefs of indigenous peoples and what does Prince Philip have to do with it

THE cargo cults they are a form of religious belief which developed between several indigenous populations of the Pacific islands, such as New Guinea, Micronesia and Melanesiafollowing the contact with Western colonizers. These cults were based (and partly still are based) on the belief in the arrival of transport ships or aircraft (in English “cargo”) loaded with goods and products intended for the indigenous people. These cults have increased over the years Second World War and have also begun to directly concern some Western personalitiesreal (like the Prince Philipdeceased consort of Queen Elizabeth II of England) or generics (the soldier John Frum). Let’s delve deeper into the origins of these cults and some specific religious forms.

The origins of cargo cults

The term “cargo” refers primarily to the material goods—food, clothing, tools, weapons, and advanced technologies—that colonizers brought with them or threw from planes and ships passing near Pacific islands. These objects, foreign to local indigenous cultures (which often had never had contact with the outside world), were interpreted as divine manifestations. In fact, indigenous peoples were also influenced by observing air and naval combat in the Pacific. In fact, it was precisely during the Second World War, in which several vehicles crashed near the islands or dropped their goods, that the illusion was born among the local populations that these goods came directly from the sky or the sea by divine will.

With the end of the world conflict and the abandonment of military bases, the influx of these goods stopped, causing further disruption to the daily lives of Pacific communities. And it is precisely in this phase, of absence of divine gifts, that they emerged narratives and beliefs that gave rise to cargo cultsreflecting the attempt of indigenous peoples to give meaning to their new realityin the hope that one day the “cargos” would return to bring them gifts.

The characteristics of cargo cults

Cargo cults are characterized by the elaboration of rites and ceremonies with the aim of returning or multiplying the “cargo”, or the goods. The indigenous populations therefore used to build landing strips waiting for new American planes, made radios with bamboo and staged military marches and parades, imitations of behaviors observed in the colonizers. These rites symbolized the idea that, through the accurate reproduction of Western actionsthe ships and planes carrying the cargo could be recalled again.

They often found themselves leading cults charismatic figures, religious or prophetic leaders who claimed to be in contact with spirits or ancestors capable of returning the cargo. These leaders claimed to be the interpreters of the colonial world. The cargo cult was therefore not just an attempt to obtain material goods, but a reinterpretation of Western and colonial power and its destabilizing presence for a population far from technological modernity.

The cult of John Frum on the island of Tanna

One of the best known examples of cargo cult is that of John Fruma mythical figure venerated onTanna islandbelonging to the Vanuatu archipelago. The cult emerged in the 1940s, during World War II, when American soldiers arrived on the Pacific islands bringing with them an abundance of supplies.

According to legend, John Frum was a messenger who would bring wealth and prosperity back to the islandtaking the cargo with them. His figure became central to the population of Tanna, who continued to celebrate rituals in his name even after the end of the war. Parties, parades and the imitation of American armies they became part of the cult’s celebrations, in an attempt to recall material goods to the island.

Similar cults also emerged in other parts of the Pacific, such as Papua New Guinea and Fiji, where local communities developed stories and beliefs around the colonizers and their goods, in a context of rapid social and economic transformation.

The Prince Philip movement

Another emblematic example of cargo cults is represented by movement of Prince Philipalso known as the cult of Philipa religious phenomenon also born on the island of Tanna in the 1950s. The legend widespread on the island says that the son generated by the spirit of the local mountains left for the West and married a woman of great power. That son is therefore considered to have been Prince Philip, the husband of Elizabeth II, Queen of England.

The members of the movement venerated and partly still venerate (despite his death) Prince Philip, considering him a divine figure and a messenger of prosperity. Their devotion is based on the belief that Philip will one day return to Tanna to bring abundance and material resources. For these reasons, religious rites and celebrations are organized in his honor in which his photos are exhibited in view of his return.

How to interpret cargo cults?

One way to interpret cargo cults is to reflect on the extent to which colonialism introduced profound economic and social imbalances to the Pacific Islands. Indigenous populations, who until then lived on local economies based on subsistence, suddenly found themselves exposed to a global system that brought previously unknown and/or inaccessible material goods.

The sudden arrival of colonizers with advanced technologies and abundant material goods, in contrast with the limited resources of the local populations, generated not only amazement, but also a deep sense of bewilderment. Faced with such evident inequalities, indigenous peoples reinterpreted the situation through their religious and symbolic categories.

These cults, therefore, were not just the fruit of a cultural misunderstanding, but a symbolic resistance strategy. Transforming the colonizers into divine figures and their possessions into supernatural gifts meant, in a certain sense, regaining control and restoring a sense of balance to their communities. Ritual practices allowed indigenous peoples to face the transformations imposed by colonialism, trying to rework and understand a seemingly unattainable external power. The cargo cults would therefore be one cultural and psychological response to the trauma of colonialism.

Contemporary evolution of cargo cults

Today, many cargo cults have disappeared or transformed over time. However, the cult of John Frum is still alive in the Vanuatu archipelago, where celebrations in his honor take place every year, although in more symbolic forms and less linked to the lure of the cargo ship.

Globalization and the greater diffusion of information have indeed reduced the aura of mystery around Western material goodsmaking the processes that produced them more understandable. Despite that, the colonial legacy an open wound remains, and in some cases faith in cargo cults persists as a way to cope with the memory of a past marked by inequalities and injustices.