Editing Cargo cult (section)

== Causes, beliefs, and practices ==
{{Anthropology of religion}}
Characteristic elements of most cargo cults include the synthesis of indigenous and foreign elements in the belief system, the expectation of help from ancestors, the presence of charismatic leaders, and strong belief in the appearance of an abundance of goods.<ref name="Otto-2009"/>{{rp|90}}

The indigenous societies of [[Melanesia]] were typically characterized by a "[[Big man (anthropology)|big man]]" political system in which individuals gained prestige through gift exchanges. The more wealth a man could distribute, the more people who were in his debt, and the greater his renown.<ref name="Schwartz-p174"/><ref name="harris"/>{{rp|133-8}} Faced, through colonialism, with foreigners with a seemingly unending supply of goods for exchange, indigenous Melanesians experienced "value dominance". That is, they were dominated by others in terms of their own (not the foreign) value system.<ref name="Schwartz-p174">{{cite book |last=Schwartz |first=Theodore |editor-last=DeVos |editor-first=George A. |title=Responses to Change: Society, Culture, and Personality |year=1976 |chapter=The Cargo Cult: A Melanesian Type-Response to Change |publisher=Van Nostrand |location=New York |isbn=978-0442220945 |page=164,174}}</ref> Many Melanesians found the concept of money incomprehensible, and many cargo cult movements ordered followers to abandon colonial money by either dumping it into the sea or spending it rapidly, with the prophets promising that it would be replaced by new money and they would be freed from their debts.<ref name="Lindstrom-20182" />

Many cargo cults existed in opposition to colonial rule, often linked to burdens placed on villagers by colonial authorities, such as [[head tax]]es.<ref name="Worsley-1957" />{{Page needed|date=September 2024|reason=Possible synth}} Many cargo cult movements sought to revive ancestral traditions (often in the face of their suppression by missionaries or colonial authorities) such as [[kava]] drinking, and/or adopt new rituals such as [[Ecstatic dance|ecstatic dancing]] or actions imitative of colonial practices, like flag-raising and marching.<ref name="Lindstrom-20182" /> Cargo cults often served to unite previously opposing groups.<ref name="Lindstrom-20182" /><ref name="Worsley-1957" />{{rp|228}} In some movements, the leaders engaged in authoritarian behaviour in order to uphold the new social order, with a particular focus on the issues of sorcery and sexual activity. In some movements sexual morality was relaxed, ignoring the pre-existing customs regarding [[exogamy]] and [[incest]], while in other movements, strict [[celibacy]] policies were implemented.<ref name="Lindstrom-20182" />

Since the modern manufacturing process was largely unknown to them, members, leaders, and [[prophet]]s of the cults often maintained that the manufactured goods of the non-native culture had been created by spiritual means, such as through their deities and ancestors, or that an ancestor had learned how to manufacture the goods.<ref name="Lindstrom-20182" /> These leaders claimed that the goods were intended for the local indigenous people, but the foreigners had unfairly gained control of these objects through malice or mistake.<ref name="harris">Harris, Marvin. ''Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches: The Riddles of Culture''. New York: Random House, 1974, pg. 133-152</ref> Thus, a characteristic feature of cargo cults was the belief that spiritual agents would, at some future time, give much valuable cargo and desirable manufactured products to the cult members.<ref name="harris" /> The goods promised by prophets and the means by which they would arrive both changed with the times, across eras of Western colonization. The earliest known cults foretold their ancestors with the goods would arrive on a canoe, then by sail, then by steamship, and the goods could be matches, steel, or [[calico]] fabric. After [[Pacific Islands home front during World War II|World War II]], the goods could be shoes, canned meat, knives, rifles, or ammunition, and they would arrive by armored [[Landing Ship, Tank|ship]] or [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator|plane]].<ref name="harris" /><!-- the cited source on page 134 mentions these two specifically, the LST and the Liberator bomber -->