Posted by Tali Urulu III, Editor-in-Chief of the Seiber Islands Historical Journal on July 16, 2000 at 15:29:54:
In Reply to: Info on the John Frum Movement posted by Bill Cosson on July 11, 2000 at 23:53:15:
Thank you, Bill, for the information on the John Frum movement. I have not personally studied this subject in any depth, but did find these three internet sites related to the John Frum “cargo cult”.
http://fotw.digibel.be/flags/vu_jfrum.html
http://www.altnews.com.au/cargocult/jonfrum/
http://wings.buffalo.edu/anthropology/anthroglobe/reprints/modcults119.htm
Aside from what Bill mentioned, I could find no information on the internet about cargo cults either in the Marivellas or the Seiber Islands. I did consult briefly by telephone with Dr Mata'he Kierkegaard, Professor of Religion at Tarafu University. He indicated that there have been reports of cargo cults on some of the Marivellas, but none in the Seiber Islands. He promised to dig up some monographs on the subject for me.
Note: In researching the life of Quinton McHale, I was "reliably" informed that in 1942 McHale and my grandfather (Tali Urulu I) “conned” Captain Wallace B. Binghamton into thinking that a cargo cult existed on Laha (one of the Four Horsemen south of Taratupa) and that in 1947 McHale and my grandfather repeated their “performance” for a group of American anthropologists. (My "reliable" source, however, remains unwilling to provide me with the additional data I need to confirm these reports. She claims that she is concerned with further tarnishing the reputation of the anthroplogists involved.)
I look forward to hearing from someone in the Marivellas who may have some additional information on cargo cults there.