nPostednon July 30, 2013
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nIndependencenfrom France AND Britain?
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nButnmany of the settlers who came to the islands from the 1600s to then1800s were British, and even more of the settlers were French—andneach group of European settlers wanted their home countries tonprovide a government to protect their interests against thenMelanesian peoples who had lived on the islands for thousands ofnyears.
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nDuringnthe colonization and the joint rule by France and Britain, Vanuatunwas called the New Hebrides (in French, Nouvelles-Hebrides) after thenHebrides Islands of Scotland. It sounds as if the joint rule was anbit inefficient. If I’ve understood what I read correctly, there werentwo of everything, so if the bureaucratic mess of (say) the Britishnimmigration office got you down, you could turn around and try thenFrench one. There were two court systems and two prison systems, too,nand people could choose which courts to use and which prison systemsnto submit to. I read that the British prisons were more strict butnalso more humane, but the food in the French prisons was better.
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n(Well,nof course!)
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nThenBritish helped Vanuatu gain its independence on this date inn1980—after the brief “Coconut War”—although France draggednits feet all the way through the independence process.
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| Melanesian kids |
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nAnCargo Cult…
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nHavenyou ever heard about the Melanesian religions known as “cargoncults”? Vanuatu has a famous cargo cult revolving around John Frum.nIt is possible that this religion (and, now, also a John Frumnpolitical party) was inspired by an American G.I. named John Frum—ornany John at all (“John Frum” could have evolved from the phrasen“John from America”). It’s of course possible that Frum is annentirely fictional character, someone who never existed but who wasncreated in bits and pieces from reports of people’s visions andndreams. No matter what, Frum was supposed to be a god who appeared tonthe Melanesians and promised that all the white people would leaventhe islands and the Melanesians would enjoy a new age ofnprosperity….but only if the Melanesians first cut themselves offnfrom every aspect of European society and took up traditional ways.
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nBecausenof Frum’s supposed message, his followers gave away all their moneynand Western-style possessions, and they left their schools andnchurches and plantations. They moved to the island interior and begannto participate in traditional feasts, dances, and rituals. n
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nThencult got its start shortly before the start of World War II, andnduring the war its popularity increased. After all, the AmericannG.I.s who came by plane during the war brought with them a lot ofncargo, both supplies and equipment.
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| This grass airplane was built to show what the symbolic landing strip was… |
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nWhennWWII was over, the airfields abandoned, and the equipment removed,nmany believers in John Frum began to build symbolic landing strips innan apparent effort to lure American airplanes back, and more cargo. n
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nAnleader of the John Frum religion, named Nakomaha, created what hencalled the “Tanna Army,” a non-violent ritualized army thatnparticipated in parades. Every year on February 15—the date thatnJohn Frum is supposed to come back, some unspecified year—the Armynholds a parade, and they march with chests painted with “USA” (or shirts that read “Tanna Army USA”).
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nInfound the accounts of this religion—which is now, somehow, anpolitical party in Vanuatu—sort of confusing. Do Frum followersnpretty much worship Western goods (cargo), and yearn for more? Or donthey avoid or give away all Western goods?
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nTonlearn more about Vanuatu, check out this earlier post.
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nAlsonon this date:
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nPaperback Book Day n
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest pages on Julynholidays, historicalnanniversaries in July,nand Julynbirthdays.
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest pages on Augustnholidays, historicalnanniversaries in August,nand Augustnbirthdays.
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