“Jonfrum” Is New Hebridean
pp. 69-72 · Read in the full issue
“Cargo Cult”
Interesting History of this Native Movement On the Island of Tanna
IN the past 12 or 18 months we have had in the Pacific Islands Monthly several references to the “Jonfrum” native movement of Tanna, New Heb rides. The following is based on a trans lation by H. E. L. Friday of an article in a French publication by the Rev. Father Patrick O’Reilly of Tanna, and sets out what appears to be a clear and unbiassed account of the movement.
Jonfrum is obviously closely related to the many other native movements in other places that have come into being spontaneously after a certain amount of contact with Europeans. In New Guinea and Papua they are generally known as Cargo Cult; but similar manifestations have occurred in Africa and other native countries. .They may take slightly dif ferent forms but all are based on a funda mental envy of European goods—those highly exciting things like calico and electric torches and bicycles—even cars and aeroplanes and refrigerators—that come in European ships and go into Euro pean stores, and the like of which were unknown to the native in pre-European times. Knowing nothing of the countries from whence they come; of their origin or manufacture, sooner or later from among the natives will arise a “prophet” who will propound the theory that these goods are really treasure from benevolent ancestors, sent to the natives but inter cepted by the wily Europeans and diverted to their stores. The remedy is obvious: Get rid of the white men and the “cargo” will naturally keep coming to its rightful owners—that is, the natives.
This form of native madness is well known to anthropologists who have re corded outbreaks from most native countries at some time or other. The Jon frum movement, which appears to be the first of its kind in the New Hebrides, has been longer developing as it seems to have manifested itself only in 1940.
Since the war there have been out breaks of Cargo Cult in Papua and New Guinea and in the Solomons—although as far as the latter territory is concerned this movement should not be confused with the Marching Rule movement which was a direct result of Marxist doctrine peddled by misguided American troops during the war.
The various forms of cargo cult are a spontaneous native reaction to European domination —and by European we mean every section of that community—mis sionary, planter, trader and governmental official. As Father O’Reilly says at the conclusion of his article, the only cure for it is sane education.
As well as adding to our knowledge of this primitive psychological kink, the fol lowing article gives us an interesting glimpse of events in the New Hebrides in 1940-43 which hitherto have not been re corded.
The article will be published in two parts.
Part I
IN the latest issue of the Paris review, Le Monde Non-Chretien, to reach Sydney Father Patrick O’Reilly, writing from Tanna, New Hebrides, gives a categorical account of the anti-white, Jonfrum native movement on that Island.
A footnote draws attention to a similar movement on the isle of Santo where, since 1945, a native named Tieka (Jack) has preached the rejection of white ways,
including schooling, and a return to sexual promiscuity. (The Santo move ment was discussed in the December, 1948, issue of the Journal of the Polynesian Society by J. G, Miller under the heading, “Naked Cult in Central West Santo.”) Father O’Reilly traces the Tanna move ment back to 1940. He describes Tanna
as a fertile and well-watered isle whose Melanesian population (good cultivators, independent, difficult and unpopular with other islanders) has increased from 5,712 in 1941 to 6,620 in 1947. Tanna men are avaricious, and hoard most of the money they get from copra, in tin boxes which they bury. Their reputation as sorcerers and poisoners is well known, and they still remember the brutalities of former labour recruiters (from Fiji and Queens land, the writer says, by accident or de sign ignoring that most early recruitment from this isle was for New Caledonia).
Picture on Tanna in 1940, the British local Resident, a man of 65, small and jovial James M. Nicol, a man “of sur prising activity,” there since 1916, know ing the natives intimately and loved even by those whom he had at times given
brief terms of imprisonment. He has as his assistant Mr. Eady, trader, planter and government radio operator keeping touch with Vila. They are at Lenakel, on the East coast, but elsewhere are traders Wilkinson and Bannister with their wives, on good terms with the natives. There are also the missionaries—at Lenakel Dr.
Armstrong and his wife at the head of the long-established Presbyterian Mis sion; the Seventh Day Adventists, Mr. and Mrs. Miller, at Port Resolution; and, sometimes at Lowanatum and sometimes at Imaki, on the East coast, the Rev. Pere Martin, of the small Catholic Mission, established only since 1934. Besides schools, Dr. Armstrong has organised the hospital at Lenakel where he has the as sistance of his wife and sometimes Euro pean or Australian nurses.
It was in the early part of 1940 that a “one fellow something” rumour began to circulate. There were goings and comings at Green Point, and meetings from which whites and womenfolk were excluded. A mysterious little man with bleached hair, a high pitched voice and clad in a coat with shining buttons was prophesying that all was to be changed on Tanna—the isle would become flat: the mountains would fall and block the rivers.
Tanna would be joined with Erromanga and Aneityum. The whites would go. The natives would all get back their youth and there would be no more sickness.
They would have all their wants fulfilled, and there would be no need to work, so it was useless to cultivate their gardens, plant trees or rear pigs. Jonfrum would give them all the money they wanted. But to achieve this the missions, the Govern ment and their agents and the police would have to go; European money would have to be suppressed; all natives from other islands would be sent home; and a return be made t© ancient customs—kava drinking, dances and polygamy.
FOR almost a year Resident Nicol did not take the movement seriously, though reporting into the Vila authori ties. A rush on the Lenakel stores in April, 1940, did not alarm him. It was only in May, 1941, that he was forced to recognise the gravity of the movement.
Jonfrum then ordered his followers to bring all their money and buy all the goods they could, because presently their money would be no use, since there would be neither money nor stores to go to.
Local traders were astonished when in a day or two the natives came along with over £lOO, some of it in gold sovereigns, for many years unknown in island trade.
On Sunday, May 11, no natives at tended Dr. Armstrong’s morning service, for Nako, the most influential West coast chief had given the order that the mission was to be abandoned. The schools were likewise deserted, while cows and pigs were killed, kava drunk and in the villages round Green Point dancing went on all through the night.
On May 19, Nicol went to Green Point and found nobody but a few women and children in the villages. He had no police at his disposal, so asked a tiny force to be sent from Vila, and 20 French and English militia boys under Captain Marinacce arrived on the Germaine on May 30. With the support of Chief Kaukari of Whitesand, he then acted rapidly, surprising and arresting the lead ing natives concerned in the movement, who were brought in, handcuffed, to Lenakel. They came in followed by men, women and children from their villages, some of whom menaced the force, crying, “Hold firm for Jonfrum!” There was danger of a fight, but, says Father O’Reilly, the captain of the Germaine, Father Martin, and M. Henin (a New Caledonian Frenchman) helped to calm the mob, who were fortunately unarmed.
After the Court had been in session for
some days Mr. Nicol finally succeeded in identifying Jonfrum. He proved to be a painted native in his thirties, named Manehevi, who refused to say where he had got his gold-buttoned coat. Though illiterate, he had pretended to consult a big book, and Mr. Nicol had him tied to a tree and exposed as an impostor for a day. Five of the chiefs signed a state ment that they had finished with Jon frum, and as a sign of good faith they agreed to pay a fine of £lOO. Manehivi
and nine other natives—Kamti, Kuinil lamaga, Nokves, Kahu, Ncklam, Manuig, Nampas, Nikiau and Nakounaha —were sent to Vila where Jonfrum (or Manehivi) was sentenced to three years’ internment and five years’ banishment from Tanna and the rest to a year’s imprisonment.
(To be continued in February)
Before leaving for England at the end of December, Mr. C. I. Campbell, of Raua
Plantation, Bougainville, New Guinea, paid a visit to Canberra to interview the new Minister for External Territories, Mr.
P. C. Spender, and to put before him the views of the Planters’ Association of New Guinea and the Bougainville Associa tion, in regard to shipping, supplies and matters concerned with employment of natives, Mr. Max Babbage, secretary of the Bougainville Association, has also gone to Sydney and will also interview the Minister about Territories matters.