Johnson Cult - Symbolic Aspect

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 culture 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.