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Research on Jon Frum Cargo Cult, Tanna, Vanuatu |
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Ken Nehrbass, 2006/12/28 17:57 |
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Nocolas van der Leek's research on the Jon Frum Cargo Cult is very good. Only a few small comments: The locals not only spent all their cash in 1941, but deliberately threw it into the sea-- not as much because they believed that a new currency would come, but because they were hostile toward the Brittish government on the island, and understood that by destroying their cash, they could ruin the local economy. Second, I think the detail about Jon Frum bringing coins with coconuts on them is an accretion-- I doubt that that's a prophesy that can be traced back to the 40's. Many Jon Frum "prophesies," never having been written down in the first place, are post-facto. The 100vt coin has coconuts on it, and I suspect (never having heard this anecdote before) that it's an accretion since the minting of the 100vt coins (post-Independence).
Oh, one other thing, Prince Philip did not visit Tanna-- just Efate (Port Vila). But Tannese went to Vila to perform a dance for him, and took the strange prophesies back with them that he's the Son of God, will some day return to give away cargo, etc.
Ken Nehrbass, SIL linguist stationed on Tanna |
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