• paddirn@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Or you can look at the case of “Cargo cults” where some island peoples imitated the practices of colonial Europeans/Americans. They would see their weird temples that were just barren land with a tower (airstrips), men wearing ridiculous headdresses (radio headsets), and bizarre sound boxes (radios), then they tried to craft their own using coconuts and whatever else they had lying around in an effort to appease the gods and receive the same gifts that the foreigners got. It’s kind of interesting, they saw the real world benefits of technology, but then attributed it to the workings of the gods.

    An example of a Cargo Cult ritual observed circa 2022:

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    On a tropical island in the South West Pacific, a few dozen men gather in the rainforest. They are wearing long trousers but no shoes or shirts, and red paint marks the initials U.S.A. on their bare chests. Carrying thick bamboo poles painted with red stripes, the men greet each other cordially and muck around for a while.

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    Suddenly, the toll of a bell abruptly changes the mood. Everyone stands upright, looking solemn and purposeful. A frail-looking older man in a worn-out military jacket several sizes too large shouts something in Bislama, a pidgin language common in Vanuatu, and the men get in formation. They place their bamboo poles on their shoulders like rifles, and at the next command begin marching in lockstep through the jungle.

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    Their destination is a clearing in the forest that looks like a landing strip. But the only airplane present is a full-size wooden replica of a light aircraft. On one side of the strip lies a control tower made of bamboo. On the other sits a satellite dish built of mud and straw. Undeterred by the apparent lack of any actual aviation technology, some of the men light torches and place them alongside the runway. Others use flags to wave landing signals. Everyone raises their gaze to the sky in anticipation.

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    They wait. But the planes never come.