This has to be my favorite obscure fact! They would go all out too, they’d make fully decked out mock runways, complete with mock airplanes out of straw, a landing strip, and even mock air traffic control towers with torches mimicking the lights. They would build them as high up as they reasonably could.
They would also ritually perform drill instructions with wooden mock guns!
If I remember correctly the whole religion started from the abrupt arrival of U.S troops, who shared some of their canned food with the locals, they viewed it as literal mana from heaven!! The craziest thing is that this was going on in the 70’s (and I believe to a lesser extent still to this day!)
This is such an obscure, bizarre, and captivating topic, I’d highly recommend watching a YouTube video on the subject!
Successful-Cash5047 t1_j6no1j4 wrote
Reply to TIL about cargo cults, where indigenous people of small tropical islands would perform elaborate rituals to mimic air traffic control and marching patterns after witnessing airplanes drop supplies on airforce bases during world war II. by sciencedit
This has to be my favorite obscure fact! They would go all out too, they’d make fully decked out mock runways, complete with mock airplanes out of straw, a landing strip, and even mock air traffic control towers with torches mimicking the lights. They would build them as high up as they reasonably could. They would also ritually perform drill instructions with wooden mock guns! If I remember correctly the whole religion started from the abrupt arrival of U.S troops, who shared some of their canned food with the locals, they viewed it as literal mana from heaven!! The craziest thing is that this was going on in the 70’s (and I believe to a lesser extent still to this day!)
This is such an obscure, bizarre, and captivating topic, I’d highly recommend watching a YouTube video on the subject!
Video on cargo cults:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qmlYe2KS0-Y&t=5s