Cargo Cult
Cargo cults sprang up in the islands of the South Pacific during World War II. The US military established bases on the islands and the islanders were fascinated by the cargo planes bringing supplies to the troops. The technology became mixed up with their own spiritual beliefs which in turn were somehow combined with snippets of the Christian teachings from the missionaries. As a result they believed that the cargo planes came from Paradise. As only their ancestors lived in Paradise the cargo must be intended for them, but somehow the Americans managed to coax the planes down using magic rituals, such as talking into radios, building landing strips, praying, marching etc. They reasoned that if only they could learn these rituals, then they too could get the cargo. There are some great videos on YouTube discussing cargo cults including the Cargo Cult at Port Moresby.
The white man knows the way
To steal our ancestor’s treasure
They've learnt the secret rites
They're lazy pirating impostors
They can coax the big birds from the sky
Those big birds with their cargo
They can even fly!
They fill our hearts with wonder
Chorus
Our eyes search the sky
We are waiting for our cargo
Maybe it will come tomorrow
Our eyes search the sky
So we learn the white man’s ways
The missionaries want to teach us
They give us bibles and we pray
That one day the cargo will reach us
We watch their soldiers march
We hear their thunder roar
The big birds circle overhead
Flying down once more
chorus
They say the cargo’s made by them
But we know they’re telling lies
We’ve never seen them make a thing
Their words we now despise
They shuffle paper on their tables
They just sit around all day
Talking into boxes full of wires
As their missionaries pray
chorus
Now the white man have left
And we are on our own
The cargo is ours for the taking
If only we can get it down
Our bamboo plane is on the landing strip
Our lanterns light the way
We march with sticks on our shoulders
Whilst our holy brothers pray …. to Jesus
chorus