HOBO GOD in a Coat!

John Frum (or Jon Frum, or John From) is a folk figure associated with cargo cults on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu.

"The island’s John Frum movement is a classic example of what anthropologists have called a “cargo cult”—many of which sprang up in villages in the South Pacific during World War II, when hundreds of thousands of American troops poured into the islands from the skies and seas. As anthropologist Kirk Huffman, who spent 17 years in Vanuatu, explains: “You get cargo cults when the outside world, with all its material wealth, suddenly descends on remote, indigenous tribes.” The locals don’t know where the foreigners’ endless supplies come from and so suspect they were summoned by magic, sent from the spirit world. To entice the Americans back after the war, islanders throughout the region constructed piers and carved airstrips from their fields. They prayed for ships and planes to once again come out of nowhere, bearing all kinds of treasures: jeeps and washing machines, radios and motorcycles, canned meat and candy."-http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/john.html#ixzz12dugd9dF
Sometimes depicted as a American WW2 service man, a native named Manehivi in a snazzy coat or a manifestation of Keraperamun, the legendry fiqure promises wealth and independence for the Melanesians.



"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 further inland to participate in traditional feasts, dances and rituals. European colonial authorities sought to suppress the movement, arresting Frum, humiliating him publicly, imprisoning him, and ultimately exiling him, along with other leaders of the cult, to another island in the archipelago.^[5][6][7]"-Wikipedia


The Cult still holds today holding yearly parades and celebrations, building monuments and praying for "CARGO"
"Every year on February 15th, natives of Tanna Island in the Republic of Vanuatu hold a grand celebration in honor of an imaginary man named John Frum. Villagers clothe themselves in homemade US Army britches, paint “USA” on their bare chests and backs, and run a replica of Old Glory up the flagpole alongside the Marine Corps Emblem and the state flag of Georgia. Barefoot soldiers then march in perfect step in the shadow of Yasur, the island’s active volcano, with red-tipped bamboo “rifles” slung over their shoulders. February 15th is known as John Frum day on Tanna Island, and these activities are the islanders’ holiest religious service."-damninteresting

Real or Imaginative the John Frum Character makes one awesome god running around pissing off the government,changing skin colors and rocking an overcoat (and you know he didn't have dress shirt on!). Good thing i gave one of my last cigarette to him at the corner store, today could be the day!

• Waiting-for-John-Frum

• Mircea Eliade "From Primitives to Zen":