Editing Cargo cult (section)

=== Pacific cults of World War II ===
[[File:John Frum flag raising.jpg|thumb|Members of the John Frum cult at a ceremonial flag-raising.]]
The most widely known period of cargo cult activity occurred among the [[Melanesians|Melanesian islanders]] in the years during and after [[World War II]]. A small population of indigenous peoples observed, often directly in front of their dwellings, the largest war ever fought by technologically advanced nations. [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]] forces used their foreknowledge of local cargo cult beliefs, intentionally misrepresenting themselves as the ancestors of the Melanesians and distributing goods freely in order to acquire compliance and labor.<ref name="PIM1946-11"/> Later the [[Allies of World War II|Allied forces]] arrived in the islands and did this as well.<ref name="White-1965"/>{{rp|133|quote=When the Americans expelled the Japanese from Biak and Hollandia in 1944, they were in turn hailed as the true deliverers and precursors of Mansren. Cult followers still firmly believed that the mountains of food, clothing and miraculous equipment that the Americans brought was merely a first installment of the great Cargo to come. When the Americans went, the true believers would inherit all this vast wealth.}}<!-- Better source still needed. This source supports that the belief in Japanese as bringers of cargo was swapped out for Americans, however it does not support that the Americans invited this belief deliberately. -->

The vast amounts of military equipment and supplies that both sides [[airdrop]]ped (or airlifted to airstrips) to troops on these islands meant drastic changes to the lifestyle of the islanders, many of whom had never seen outsiders before.<ref name="White-1965"/>{{rp|134}} Manufactured clothing, medicine, canned food, tents, weapons and other goods arrived in vast quantities for the soldiers, who often shared some of it with the islanders who were their guides and hosts. This was true of the Japanese Army as well, at least initially before relations deteriorated in most regions.

In the late 1930s, the [[John Frum]] movement emerged on [[Tanna (island)|Tanna]] in Vanuatu. This tradition urged islanders to resume dancing and [[kava]] drinking (which had been suppressed by missionaries) and to maintain historic traditions. The movement predicted American assistance, which as foretold arrived in 1942. The movement's rituals were influenced by Christianity, and also included similar elements to other cargo cults like "marching and drilling, flags and poles, and flowers".''<ref name="Lindstrom-20182" />'' The John Frum movement has come to be described as the "archetypal" cargo cult.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lindstrom |first=Lamont |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv9zcktq |title=Cargo Cult: Strange Stories of Desire from Melanesia and Beyond |date=2019-03-31 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=978-0-8248-7895-5 |doi=10.2307/j.ctv9zcktq.10|jstor=j.ctv9zcktq }}</ref>