The Rituals of Modern Cargo Cults

When isolated societies witnessed Western technology arrive by air, they built fake runways and bamboo planes to summon cargo. They believed these goods were gifts from ancestors diverted by greedy colonial soldiers.

During the 20th century, indigenous groups in Melanesia observed military forces receiving massive supplies from the sky. To get their share, people practiced elaborate rituals like building wooden radio towers and marching in formation to lure airplanes back. These movements were not just superstition but a desperate, logical response to radical colonial disruption. Today, researchers avoid the label because it overlooks the profound political resistance woven into these spiritual traditions.