Cargo Cult
A movement first described in Melanesia which encompasses a range of practices and occurs in the wake of contact with more technologically advanced societies, where there was a belief that various ritualistic acts such as the building of an airplane runway will result in the appearance of material wealth, particularly highly desirable Western goods (i.e., cargo), via Western airplanes.
Origin
The term "cargo cult" entered anthropological literature in 1945, at the close of the Pacific War. Across Melanesia, indigenous communities had observed Allied forces receiving endless goods — weapons, food, vehicles — through rituals like flag-raising and runway maintenance. When the war ended and supplies stopped, some groups began imitating these rituals. Anthropologist Peter Worsley provided an influential 1957 analysis, framing the movements as proto-nationalist resistance to colonial disruption.