So Now You Know

John Frum (or Jon Frum; John From) is a figure associated with cargo cults on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu.

He is depicted as an American World War II serviceman, who will bring wealth and prosperity to the people if they follow him.

It is not known whether the religion arose spontaneously or was deliberately created; nor is it clear whether an individual named "John Frum" existed in the first place; the name is sometimes considered a corruption of "John from (America)", which the natives heard from US GIs during World War II. Frum is an extremely rare name in the English-speaking world, appearing only four times in USA telephone directories and not at all in either the 1851 or 1901 censuses of the United Kingdom. There are no records of the John Frum religion before 1940.

The power of John Frum appeared to be confirmed by the post-war influx of tourists to the region, who brought with them a degree of material prosperity to the islands. The cult is still active today. The followers believe that John Frum will come back on a February 15 (the year of his return is not known), a date which is observed as "John Frum Day" in Vanuatu.