Johnson cult
Encyclopedia
The so-called "Johnson cult", formerly misidentified as a cargo cult
, was initiated on New Hanover Island
in Papua New Guinea
in 1964. Although labeled as a cargo cult, it is characterized more as a political theater.
and British
territories when it was first colonized in the 1870s. Germany ruled northern New Guinea
, while southern New Guinea and Papua
was ruled by Britain. Soon after the Australia
n government took power, World War II
broke out, and the islands were temporarily occupied by Japan
. After the Japanese surrender, Australia assumed authority again. Pressured by the United Nations
, they prepared for the territories' independence.
The so-called "Johnson cult" started when the Lavongai people of New Hanover voted for the American
President Lyndon B. Johnson
in the first election of Papua and New Guinea (still separate territories) in February 1964. Although the Australian authorities explained that they could not vote for President Johnson, the Lavongais refused to change their vote. They claimed they wanted the American President to represent them in their House of Assembly, because they wanted the Americans to rule over them instead of the Australians. Outsiders saw the Johnson cult as a cargo cult brought on by isolation, lack of education, poor economic development, and overall lack of understanding of the modern world. Dorothy Billings, who conducted anthropological research among the alleged "cultists", revealed that the Lavongai had, by voting for Johnson, consciously engaged in a theatrical act of shaming, seeking to draw attention to what they saw as poor colonial administration by the Australian authorities. They had never intended for Johnson to become their representative.
and tradition
.
The cult reflected the aesthetic
truth
, an idea that was pleasing to them. The way the cult was performed is just as important as what it has done. To the cultists, a world ruled by their idealized view of America was more pleasing than a world ruled by the Australians. The cult replicated the authentic traditions of Lavongai culture. It was an expression obscure to outsiders, for they did not understand what the actions symbolized. One would be the preference of people to publicly announce their likes and dislikes. The people were quite individualistic in this way, whereas society usually requires conformation. Thus, the Australians telling them to do this and that was a personal humiliation on the Lavongai’s side. Another aspect would be the act of shaming someone through sarcastic gift givings. Publicly giving food, which is an act of showing respect, to someone who has been stingy made the receiver feel ashamed. It was thus an act of humiliation and mockery. Conforming to the Australian-setup election but voting for the President of America humiliated the Australians in a way that the Australians could not logically defeat. Lastly, dramatic communication was common in daily life. People liked to tell jokes, acting it out dramatically often in a public sphere. The Johnson cult itself was a dramatic joke, which spread throughout the island and was reenacted by others as a joke as well.
These symbolic aspects of the cult were generated through the Lavongai culture and the people’s opposition towards the Australian government, creating a political theater called Johnson cult. Thus, the Johnson cult can only be understood in relation to the culture. This resulted in the miscommunication between the cultists and the non-cultists outside New Hanover island, who could only make sense of the cult as a ‘crazy’ cargo cult.
Cargo cult
A cargo cult is a religious practice that has appeared in many traditional pre-industrial tribal societies in the wake of interaction with technologically advanced cultures. The cults focus on obtaining the material wealth of the advanced culture through magic and religious rituals and practices...
, was initiated on New Hanover Island
New Hanover Island
New Hanover Island, , also called Lavongai, is a large volcanic island in New Ireland Province, part of the Bismarck Archipelago of the New Guinea Islands region of Papua New Guinea, at...
in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
in 1964. Although labeled as a cargo cult, it is characterized more as a political theater.
History
Papua New Guinea was divided into GermanGerman Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
and British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
territories when it was first colonized in the 1870s. Germany ruled northern New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, while southern New Guinea and Papua
Papua (Australian territory)
The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1949. It became a British Protectorate in the year 1884, and four years later it was formally annexed as British New Guinea...
was ruled by Britain. Soon after the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n government took power, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
broke out, and the islands were temporarily occupied by Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. After the Japanese surrender, Australia assumed authority again. Pressured by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, they prepared for the territories' independence.
The so-called "Johnson cult" started when the Lavongai people of New Hanover voted for the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
in the first election of Papua and New Guinea (still separate territories) in February 1964. Although the Australian authorities explained that they could not vote for President Johnson, the Lavongais refused to change their vote. They claimed they wanted the American President to represent them in their House of Assembly, because they wanted the Americans to rule over them instead of the Australians. Outsiders saw the Johnson cult as a cargo cult brought on by isolation, lack of education, poor economic development, and overall lack of understanding of the modern world. Dorothy Billings, who conducted anthropological research among the alleged "cultists", revealed that the Lavongai had, by voting for Johnson, consciously engaged in a theatrical act of shaming, seeking to draw attention to what they saw as poor colonial administration by the Australian authorities. They had never intended for Johnson to become their representative.
What Billings discovered was an elaborate soap opera, a piece of political theatre and a game of high stakes. She found New Hanover to have a rich history of using play-acting and bluffing as a negotiation ploy that could be used in order to embarrass a foe. [...] In 1964, the New Hanoverans were fed up with their Australian administrators. Angry with these unpopular rulers, their real purpose was to embarrass them into giving them more aid, as development of their tiny island had been neglected for years. According to Billings, the Australian authorities responsible for overseeing the island had taken the 'cult' story at face value and were clueless as to what was motivating the islanders' 'strange' fixation on Lyndon Johnson. It was a cultural misunderstanding. [...] Ironically, the political gamesmanship of these so-called primitive, irrational islanders was so complex, subtle and unfamiliar that it went over the heads of both the Australian administrators and the world media.
Symbolic aspect
The cultists did not really expect Johnson to come; what they really wanted was the knowledge of the Americans, wishing to live happily and wealthy like them. New Hanover had been neglected by its past colonial governments. They believed that while the Australians and their predecessors had used the island’s resources and the collected taxes, they had not adequately dealt with the needs of the people. America, on the other hand, had provided the islanders with food, clothing and other goods during World War II, when some of the islanders worked for them on other islands. Moreover, the army treated all the people of different races equally. Empty promises of European governments generated opposition towards their authorities. The cult is a dramatic expression of this opposition against the Australian authority, based on the Lavongai cultureCulture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
and tradition
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
.
The cult reflected the aesthetic
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
truth
Truth
Truth has a variety of meanings, such as the state of being in accord with fact or reality. It can also mean having fidelity to an original or to a standard or ideal. In a common usage, it also means constancy or sincerity in action or character...
, an idea that was pleasing to them. The way the cult was performed is just as important as what it has done. To the cultists, a world ruled by their idealized view of America was more pleasing than a world ruled by the Australians. The cult replicated the authentic traditions of Lavongai culture. It was an expression obscure to outsiders, for they did not understand what the actions symbolized. One would be the preference of people to publicly announce their likes and dislikes. The people were quite individualistic in this way, whereas society usually requires conformation. Thus, the Australians telling them to do this and that was a personal humiliation on the Lavongai’s side. Another aspect would be the act of shaming someone through sarcastic gift givings. Publicly giving food, which is an act of showing respect, to someone who has been stingy made the receiver feel ashamed. It was thus an act of humiliation and mockery. Conforming to the Australian-setup election but voting for the President of America humiliated the Australians in a way that the Australians could not logically defeat. Lastly, dramatic communication was common in daily life. People liked to tell jokes, acting it out dramatically often in a public sphere. The Johnson cult itself was a dramatic joke, which spread throughout the island and was reenacted by others as a joke as well.
These symbolic aspects of the cult were generated through the Lavongai culture and the people’s opposition towards the Australian government, creating a political theater called Johnson cult. Thus, the Johnson cult can only be understood in relation to the culture. This resulted in the miscommunication between the cultists and the non-cultists outside New Hanover island, who could only make sense of the cult as a ‘crazy’ cargo cult.
Sources and further reading
- Billings, Dorothy K. Cargo Cult as Theater. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2002.
- Bartholomew, Robert and Billings, Dorothy. "The Johnson Cult," Fortean Times. January 2005, FT Number 192 (online)