In the beginning there was the volcano god and the ancestors. Then the coconut company and the missionaries brought jobs, money, a trading post and new gods. Later more people came, white ones and dark ones both, and they had great material wealth. They had the cargo. They practiced strange rituals, wore strange uniforms, and they called down cargo made by the ancestors, in America. In time they left, but they left their ways behind, and their gods: Uncle Sam, Santa Clause, and John Frum. John Frum, who is the baptist of the missionaries' Jesus, the god of the volcano, and the King of America. Some year, on February 15 John Frum will return from America and bring the people great cargo. So throw out the company's money, and take what you want from the trading post, today's the day.

John Frum, you're cleared for landing.

The John Frum cargo cult, and John Frum Day are real. My interpretation of them may not be entirely so. The fake air control tower is a feature of other cargo cults. The Wooden headset, and microphone made from a tin can and a stick of bamboo are pure fabrication. The small army on parade carrying sticks with red paint on the tips is allegedly a feature of the festivities enjoyed by the cult on the 15th. The sky, empty of cargo plains, is also accurate to the events on this day.