Cargo Cult

Cargo Cult

A cargo cult is a Melanesian indigenist millenarian belief system in which a group of people in an indigenous society imitate the behaviors, rituals, and symbols associated with technologically advanced societies, particularly those characterized by transportation and material wealth, in the apparent hope of attracting similar benefits. The term "cargo cult" was introduced to the field of anthropology during and after World War II. More recent scholarship on cargo cults has challenged the suitability of the term for the movements associated with it, with some critics arguing that the term is borne of prejudice and does not accurately convey the nature of the movements to which it refers.

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