View source for John Frum

{{short description|Figure associated with cargo cults on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu}}
[[File:John Frum gathering area.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A John Frum gathering area]]
{{Anthropology of religion}}

'''John Frum''' (also called '''Jon Frum''',<ref>{{cite web|title=Jon Frum|url=http://www.jonfrumartfoundation.com/p/home.html|website=jonfrumartfoundation.com|access-date=23 June 2017|archive-date=21 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221220511/http://www.jonfrumartfoundation.com/p/home.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> '''John Brum''',<ref name= Guiart/> and '''John Prum'''<ref>{{cite web |title=The Fantastic Invasion |year=1991 |author=BBC |url=https://m.dailykos.com/stories/2016/11/19/1601709/-The-Fantastic-Invasion-John-Frum-and-The-United-States-of-America |time=34:25 |access-date=25 July 2020}}</ref>) is a figure associated with [[cargo cult]]s on the island of [[Tanna (island)|Tanna]] in [[Vanuatu]] (formerly the [[New Hebrides]]). He is often depicted as an [[United States|American]] [[World War II]] serviceman who will bring wealth and prosperity to the people if they follow him. In a 1960 [[BBC]] documentary, British broadcaster [[David Attenborough]] asked the locals what Frum looked like and was told {{"'}}E look like you. 'E got white face. 'E tall man. 'E live 'long South America."<ref>{{cite book | last=Attenborough |first=David | title=People of Paradise | publisher=Harper & Brothers |location=New York |year=1960 |author-link = David Attenborough}}</ref>

In the 1990s, there were still reportedly over 5,000 members of the John Frum movement. However, Belief in John Frum is in decline; as of 2022, there are fewer than 500 practitioners. Currently, only the village of Lamakara is faithful to the John Frum faith on the island of Tanna. The rest of the island has been mostly converted by Christian missionaries based in [[Sulphur Bay]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Waiting for John Frum: Cargo Cult of the South Pacific {{!}} When God is An American Soldier Documentary | date=3 May 2021 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVD8eLvig_I |language=en |access-date=2023-02-07}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Sourced from independent documentary firm that does not seem to publish sources.|date=February 2023}}

==History==
[[File:JohnFrumCrossTanna1967.jpg|thumb|250px|right|A ceremonial cross of the John Frum [[cargo cult]], [[Tanna (island)|Tanna]], [[New Hebrides]] (now [[Vanuatu]]), 1967]]
[[File:John Frum flag raising.jpg|thumb|250px|right|A John Frum cargo cult ceremonial flag-raising]]

The religion centering on John Frum arose no later than the late 1930s, when [[Vanuatu]] was known as the [[New Hebrides]]. The religion may have originated as early as the 1910s, according to a claim in 1949.<ref name= Guiart>{{cite journal|url=http://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_5/b_fdi_16-17/22920.pdf|author=Guiart, Jean|date=March 1952|title=John Frum Movement in Tanna|journal=Oceania|volume=22|issue=3|pages=165–177|doi=10.1002/j.1834-4461.1952.tb00558.x|access-date=2020-03-07}}</ref> The movement was influenced by existing religious practice in the [[Sulphur Bay]] area of [[Tanna (island)|Tanna]], particularly the worship of Keraperamun, a god associated with [[Mount Tukosmera]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Worsley |first=Peter |date=1957 |title=The Trumpet Shall Sound: A Study of 'Cargo' Cults in Melanesia |url= |location=London |publisher=MacGibbon & Kee |page=154}}</ref>

In one analysis of the cult, the figure was first known as John Broom, who was believed by followers to one day return from a distant land to sweep away the White colonials and return riches to the islands.<ref name="G2021-11">{{cite web|author=Lord, Christopher. Photography: Jon Tonks|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/27/western-men-who-dream-of-being-south-pacific-kings-vanuatu-prophesy|title='There was a prophecy I would come': the western men who think they are South Pacific kings |date=28 November 2021|access-date=28 November 2021|work=The Guardian}}</ref> In some versions of the story, a native man named Manehivi, using the alias "John Frum", began appearing among the native people of Tanna dressed in a Western-style coat, assuring the people he would bring them houses, clothes, food, and transport.<ref name= Guiart/><ref>Worsley, ''The Trumpet Shall Sound'', pp. 153–9.</ref>

Others contend that John Frum was a [[Vision (spirituality)|spirit vision]] induced by [[kava]], a plant with mild psychoactive properties.<ref>Tabani, Marc, Une pirogue pour le Paradis : le culte de John Frum à Tanna (Vanuatu). Paris : Editions de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, 2008.</ref> Said to be a manifestation of Keraperamun, this John Frum promised the dawn of a new age in which all White people, including missionaries, would depart the New Hebrides, leaving behind their goods and property for the native [[Melanesia]]ns. For this to happen, however, the people of Tanna had to reject all aspects of European society including [[money]], Western education, [[Christianity]] and work on [[copra]] plantations, and they had to return to traditional ''[[kastom]]'' (the [[Bislama]] language word for [[Custom (law)|''customs'']]).

In 1941, followers of John Frum rid themselves of their money in a frenzy of spending, left the missionary churches, schools, villages and [[plantations]], and moved inland to participate in traditional feasts, dances and rituals. Most followers had come from the Presbyterian church.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X9TnAAAAIAAJ&q=%22john+frum%22+%22presbyterian%22 | title=Melanesia and Its Churches: Past and Present | isbn=9789980650078 | last1=Zocca | first1=Franco | year=2007 | publisher=Melanesian Institute }}</ref> European colonial authorities sought to suppress the movement, at one point arresting a Tannese man calling himself John Frum, humiliating him publicly, imprisoning and ultimately exiling him along with other leaders of the cult to another island in the [[archipelago]].<ref>Geoffrey Hurd et al., ''Human Societies: An Introduction to Sociology'' (Boston: Routledge, 1986) p. 74.</ref><ref>[[Peter Worsley]], ''From Primitives to Zen'', [[Mircea Eliade]] ed. (New York: Harper & Row, 1977) p. 415.</ref><ref>Lamont Lindstrom in ''Cargo Cults and Millenarian Movements: Transoceanic Comparisons of New Religious Movements'' G.&nbsp;W. Trompf ed. (New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 1990) p. 244</ref>

Despite this effort, the movement gained popularity in the early 1940s after 50,000 American troops were stationed in Vanuatu during [[World War II]], bringing with them an enormous amount of supplies (or "cargo").<ref name=westoc>[http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/westoc/jonfrum.html Western Oceanian Religions: Jon Frum Movement] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031016150752/http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/westoc/jonfrum.html |date=2003-10-16 }} University of Cumbria</ref> During the war, approximately 10,000 [[Ni-Vanuatu]] men served in the [[Vanuatu Labor Corps]], a [[labor battalion]] of the [[United States Armed Forces]]. They provided [[Military logistics|logistical support]] to the Allied war effort during the [[Guadalcanal Campaign]]. The mass participation of Ni-Vanuatu men in the Labor Corps had a significant effect on the John Frum movement, giving it the characteristics of a cargo cult.{{sfn|Lindstrom|1991|pp=49–53}}

After the war and the departure of the Americans, followers of John Frum built [[Symbolic anthropology|symbolic]] landing strips to encourage American airplanes to land and bring them "cargo". Versions of the cult emphasizing the American connection interpret "John Frum" as a corruption of  "John from (America)" (although it could mean "John from" anywhere not of Vanuatan origin).

In 1957, a leader of the John Frum movement, Nakomaha, created the "Tanna Army", a [[Nonviolence|non-violent]] ritualistic society that organised military-style parades of men with faces painted in ritual colours and wearing white T-shirts with the letters "T-A USA" (Tanna Army USA). This parade takes place every year on February 15, the date on which followers believe John Frum will return, and which is observed as "John Frum Day" in Vanuatu.

In the late 1970s, John Frum followers opposed the imminent creation of an independent united nation of Vanuatu. They objected to a [[Central government|centralised government]] they feared would favor Western [[modernity]] and Christianity that would be detrimental to local customs. The John Frum movement has its own [[political party]], [[Nagriamel]], led by Song Keaspai. The party celebrated its 50th anniversary on February 15, 2007. Chief Isaak Wan Nikiau, its leader, was quoted by the [[BBC]] from years past as saying that John Frum was "our God, our Jesus" and would eventually return.<ref name="BBC 50th anniv">{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6363843.stm|title=Vanuatu cargo cult marks 50 years|date=2007-02-15|access-date=2007-02-15|publisher=BBC News}}</ref>

In December 2011, the president of the John Frum movement (and jointly of Nagriamel) was [[Thitam Goiset]], a woman of Vietnamese origin and sister of businessman [[Dinh Van Than]], despite the leadership of these movements having been "previously [...] held by high ranking male chiefs".<ref>[http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=64837 "Vanuatu appoints ambassador to Russia"], Radio New Zealand International, 5 December 2011</ref> In 2013, Thitam Goiset was removed from her role as Vanuatu's ambassador to Russia amid evidence of corrupt activities.<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-27/an-vanuatu-ambassador-terminated/4596830  "Vanuatu's ambassador to Russia sacked"], ABC News Australia, 23 April 2013.</ref><ref>[http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/201988/vanuatu-anti-corruption-lobby-russia-ambassador-a-business-deal  "Vanuatu anti-corruption lobby: Russia ambassador a business deal"], [[Radio New Zealand]], 16 January 2012.</ref>

Followers of the movement continue to celebrate John Frum Day each year in February. Europeans who have made claims of being the leader mentioned in the prophecy—such as Claude-Philippe Berger ({{tooltip|d.|date of death}} July 2021), who styled himself the "traditional king of [[Tanna (island)|Tanna]]"—have gained status in Vanuatuan communities by promising to bring development and investment to the communities.<ref name="G2021-11"/>

==See also==
* [[Melanesian mythology]]
* [[Prince Philip movement]]
* [[Turaga nation]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

== Bibliography ==

* {{cite journal|last=Lindstrom|first=Lamont|title=Remembering the Pacific War|journal=Occasional Papers of the Center for Pacific Islands Studies|date=1991|publisher=Center for Pacific Studies|pages=47–59|issn=0897-8905}}{{dead link|date=November 2020}}
* Joël Bonnemaison, « Tanna : les hommes lieux (livre 2) » dans Les fondements d'une identité : territoire, histoire et société dans l'archipel de Vanuatu (Mélanésie) : essai de géographie culturelle, ORSTOM Paris, 1988, [lire en ligne [archive]]
* Tabani, Marc. 2008. Une pirogue pour le Paradis : le culte de John Frum à Tanna (Vanuatu) [archive], Paris : Éditions de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, 2008.
* Tabani, Marc. 2010. Le culte de John Frum et la tragédie du nouveau millénaire à Tanna (Vanuatu) [archive]. In Douaire-Marsaudon F. et Weichart G. (eds.), Pacific Religiosities. Marseille : Pacific-Credo Publications, 145–172.
* Tabani Marc, Marcellin Abong. 2013. Kago, Kastom, Kalja: the study of indigenous movements in Melanesia today [archive], Marseille, Pacific Credo Publications.

==Filmography==
* ''[[God Is American]]'', feature documentary (2007, 52 min), by Richard Martin-Jordan, on Frum's cult at Tanna
* ''The Fantastic Invasion'', documentary (1991, 59min) by [[Nigel Randell Evans]] for the BBC
* ''[[Into the Inferno (film)|Into the Inferno]]'', feature documentary (2016, 107 min), by Werner Herzog, on Tanna's active volcano

==Further reading==
* Attenborough, D. (1960) ''Quest in Paradise''. Lutterworth Press (reprinted 1963 Pan Books Ltd.)
*{{cite book | author=Rice, Edward | title=John Frum He Come: Cargo Cults & Cargo Messiahs in the South Pacific | location=Garden City | publisher=Dorrance & Co | year=1974 | isbn=0-385-00523-7 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/johnfrumhecomepo00rice }}
* Huffer, Elise, ''[[Big man (political science)|Grands Hommes]] et [[Pacific Islands|Petites Îles]]: La Politique Extérieure de [[Fiji|Fidji]], de [[Tonga]] et du [[Vanuatu]]'', Paris: Orstom, 1993, {{ISBN|2-7099-1125-6}}
* Jarvie, I. C. (1964). ''The Revolution in Anthropology''. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul (reprinted 1967) pp.&nbsp;61–63. 
* Lindstrom, L. (1990.) "Big Men as Ancestors: Inspirations and Copyrights on Tanna (Vanuatu)". Ethnology, vol xxix no. 4. October.
* Theroux, P (1992). ''The Happy Isles of Oceania''. Penguin Books {{ISBN|0-14-015976-2}}
* Tonks, Jon and Christopher Lord (2021) ''The Men Who Would Be King''. Dewi Lewis {{ISBN|9781911306436}}
* Nat. Geographic: May 1974. "Tanna (Island, New Hebrides, South Pacific Ocean) Awaits the Coming of John Frum (cargo cults of [[Melanesia]] since about 1940)".
* {{Cite journal
  | last = Raffaele
  | first = Paul
  | title = In John They Trust
  | journal = Smithsonian
  | date = February 2006
  | url = http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/john.html
  | access-date = Nov 26, 2009
  | archive-date = February 23, 2009
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090223065139/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/john.html
  | url-status = dead
  }}

==External links==
{{Commons category|John Frum}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20031016150752/http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/westoc/jonfrum.html Jon Frum Movement]
*[https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/in-john-they-trust-109294882/ "In John They Trust"] article in ''[[Smithsonian Magazine]]''
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP4om0OpsFc Evening spent with the John Frum movement on Tanna Island in Vanuatu, April 2013] (video)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frum, John}}
[[Category:1940s in the New Hebrides]]
[[Category:Cargo cults]]
[[Category:Fictional World War II veterans]]
[[Category:Legendary American people]]
[[Category:Messianism]]
[[Category:New religious movement deities]]
[[Category:Religion in Vanuatu]]
[[Category:Vanuatu deities]]