26/05/2026
Craziest religion ever.
John Frum is a legendary figure at the center of one of the most famous cargo cults in the Pacific, which appeared on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu during the 40s. He is often described as an American Marine, or a spirit linked to one, who will one day return bringing lots of gifts.
The belief started during World War II, when U.S. troops arrived in the region with huge amounts of goods such as canned food, medicine, clothes, and technology that felt almost unreal to local communities. When the soldiers left, some islanders began building symbolic airstrips, making mock radios, and copying military drills in the hope that it would bring them back.
Followers believe that when John Frum returns, he will bring goods like canned food, rice, sugar, chocolate, soft drinks, beer, ci******es, modern clothes, shoes, watches, sunglasses, radios, televisions, generators, phones, cars, tools, weapons, medicine, toys, flashlights, batteries, and even everyday items like pots, cutlery, and mysterious boxes filled with random stuff.
This is not the only case. On the same island, the Prince Philip Movement developed, where Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was seen as a divine or ancestral figure. In this case, a member of the British aristocracy became part of a local belief system, blending traditional ideas with outside influences.