0:00:02 > 0:00:05BBC Four Collections - specially chosen programmes
0:00:05 > 0:00:06from the BBC archive.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09For this collection, Sir David Attenborough
0:00:09 > 0:00:12has chosen documentaries from the start of his career.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15More programmes on this theme, and other BBC Four Collections,
0:00:15 > 0:00:18are available on BBC iPlayer.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28VOLCANO RUMBLES
0:00:28 > 0:00:30VENT EXPLODES
0:00:38 > 0:00:40VENT EXPLODES
0:00:49 > 0:00:52VENT EXPLODES
0:01:00 > 0:01:04That cross on the top of a volcano wasn't a Christian cross.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08It was the symbol of a strange pagan,
0:01:08 > 0:01:10rather frightening, religion called a "cargo cult".
0:01:12 > 0:01:17I first heard about cargo cults in New Guinea two or three years ago.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20And then a missionary explained them to me. He put it like this.
0:01:20 > 0:01:25He said, "Imagine that you are a New Guinea man
0:01:25 > 0:01:29"and you've lived all your life in what is virtually the Stone Age.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31"You've never seen metal,
0:01:31 > 0:01:34"or any of the other strange things that Europeans have.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38"Then one day, you meet a strange white-faced man,
0:01:38 > 0:01:41"who has the most incredible things.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44"He has jeeps, he has petrol lamps,
0:01:44 > 0:01:48"he has...glasses, he has simple things...
0:01:48 > 0:01:51"like a fountain pen.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55"And you look at a thing like this, and the first thing that you say is,
0:01:55 > 0:01:57"that whatever else this is,
0:01:57 > 0:02:00"this couldn't possibly have been made by man.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04"I mean, how could you chip this, or how could you weave it?
0:02:04 > 0:02:09"And if it isn't made by man, then it must come from the gods.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11"The ancestors.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14"And if it comes from the gods, and it's come to your island,
0:02:14 > 0:02:17"why has it come to these white-faced people?
0:02:17 > 0:02:18"They've done nothing to deserve it.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21"They don't make them themselves, you can see that.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23"What's more, they don't even do any work.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27"They don't fish in the lagoon, they don't sweat in the hot sun,
0:02:27 > 0:02:29"digging their gardens and planting their yams.
0:02:29 > 0:02:34"They don't cut coconuts. In fact, they do senseless, useless things.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38"They put up great masts with wires on the top.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40"And at the bottom, they have boxes,
0:02:40 > 0:02:43"which they listen to, as they make funny noises.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46"And then they dress up people in similar uniforms,
0:02:46 > 0:02:50"and march them up and down in a senseless, useless way.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52"They certainly aren't doing any good.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56"And then it dawns on you - this is the secret.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01"The white people are doing this as a sort of ritual, designed to make
0:03:01 > 0:03:04"the gods, or the ancestors, send the goods to them -
0:03:04 > 0:03:07"the 'cargo', as you call it in pidgin English.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11"The cargo, to them. Therefore, if you want the cargo,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14"you yourself must do these extraordinary things.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18"So you put up a great mast out of bamboo
0:03:18 > 0:03:22"and sit at the bottom to it and walk and put fences round it.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24"And you clear great areas in the forest,
0:03:24 > 0:03:28"like the white men do for their airstrips.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31"And you dress up people in uniforms.
0:03:31 > 0:03:36"And, at the same time, in many of these cargo cults, you believe that
0:03:36 > 0:03:42"there is going to be one particular being, a sort of messiah, who,
0:03:42 > 0:03:46"when the apocalypse comes, when the day of judgment comes, will bring
0:03:46 > 0:03:52"all this cargo to you, in either a great white ship or an aeroplane
0:03:52 > 0:03:55"when the day of judgment comes."
0:03:55 > 0:03:59This would be strange enough, if it had happened just once.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04But in New Guinea, alone, it has happened over 30 times
0:04:04 > 0:04:05and, as far as we can see,
0:04:05 > 0:04:09many of these uprisings are quite unconnected with any others.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13And, in the Pacific, it happened in many different places.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16It happened here, in Fiji.
0:04:16 > 0:04:21It happened a thousand miles to the eastwards, that way, in Tahiti.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24It's happened up in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, up there.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27It's happened in the Solomons, up here.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31And it's also happened here, in the New Hebrides.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33And in the island of Tanna,
0:04:33 > 0:04:36such a cargo cult is going on at this very moment.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40Tanna is a place where missionaries have been working
0:04:40 > 0:04:41for a very long time.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43Over 100 years ago, they were there.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45And, up to 30 years ago,
0:04:45 > 0:04:50most of the natives of Tanna attended the Presbyterian church.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55Now, nearly all the natives of Tanna believe in this strange man,
0:04:55 > 0:04:57who will come and bring all the cargo.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59They call him "John Frum".
0:04:59 > 0:05:04And perhaps, because they have been so missionised for a long time,
0:05:04 > 0:05:08they have adopted the cross as John Frum's symbol.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12And they wear scarlet shirts, as John Frum's colour.
0:05:12 > 0:05:17We went to Tanna, and I went to try and do two things.
0:05:17 > 0:05:22First of all, to find out what John Frum looked like,
0:05:22 > 0:05:24what they believed he looked like.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26And secondly, to find out who were the people
0:05:26 > 0:05:30who were spreading these stories about John Frum.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33Tanna is a very fertile island,
0:05:33 > 0:05:37and there are quite good dirt roads linking the plantations.
0:05:37 > 0:05:42We travelled in a truck, lent to us by one of the traders.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46But you can't go far in Tanna before you see signs that there's
0:05:46 > 0:05:50something very curious indeed going on in the island.
0:05:53 > 0:05:59These gates, the palisade, and the cross were all painted brilliant red.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04The cross itself was decorated with pink flowers,
0:06:04 > 0:06:07and the fact that they were newly cut and unfaded
0:06:07 > 0:06:10proved that the worship of these crosses
0:06:10 > 0:06:12was still very active.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16The gates have no practical use, for you can just walk round them.
0:06:18 > 0:06:23'Close by, I saw a man and two women eyeing me curiously.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26'So I went across and had a talk with them.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29'From the grimy pink shirt that he was wearing,
0:06:29 > 0:06:32'I knew that he must be a follower of John Frum.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35'So I asked him what the crosses meant,
0:06:35 > 0:06:38'and what was he purpose of the gates?
0:06:38 > 0:06:40'He said that they belonged to John Frum.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43'So I said, "Have you ever seen John Frum?"
0:06:43 > 0:06:47' "No," he said. "I never seen him. I don't know anything about him."
0:06:47 > 0:06:49'I talked with this man for some time,
0:06:49 > 0:06:52'but I could get no real information at all.'
0:06:52 > 0:06:56It was clear that finding out anything about John Frum
0:06:56 > 0:06:59from his followers was not going to be easy.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03Everywhere we went on the island, we saw the scarlet crosses,
0:07:03 > 0:07:05but they were by no means all the same.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08Some were merely two small twigs.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10Others were much larger,
0:07:10 > 0:07:13and this one had its own peculiar decoration.
0:07:13 > 0:07:18But what could have been in the minds of people who sought to increase
0:07:18 > 0:07:19the significance of this cross
0:07:19 > 0:07:22by nailing onto it an old European shaving brush
0:07:22 > 0:07:26and a curious little wooden bird?
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Just beyond lay a huge field
0:07:31 > 0:07:34that had been cleared of bush by the local people.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37In the centre of it stood this tall mast.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40We later discovered that, when the John Frum people
0:07:40 > 0:07:41first put it up,
0:07:41 > 0:07:44they claimed that it was a special radio mast,
0:07:44 > 0:07:48enabling them to talk with John Frum himself.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51It was obviously still regarded as an important thing,
0:07:51 > 0:07:53for, like the crosses, it was decorated with freshly cut
0:07:53 > 0:07:55scarlet leaves and flowers.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00'Once again, I tried to discover something about John Frum
0:08:00 > 0:08:03'from the people in the little settlement nearby.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05'But, once again,
0:08:05 > 0:08:07'they professed total ignorance.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10'They claimed they knew nothing whatsoever
0:08:10 > 0:08:12'about John Frum,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15'let alone the purpose of the mast in the middle of their village.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18'It seemed to me
0:08:18 > 0:08:20'that, perhaps, we were rushing things,
0:08:20 > 0:08:24'that we were being too inquisitive, too early.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27'So I decided to change my line of enquiry.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30'On the north-western tip of the island
0:08:30 > 0:08:35'lives an Australian copra planter and trader named Bob Paul.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38'He's lived there for over ten years,
0:08:38 > 0:08:41'and we have been told that he was one of the Europeans
0:08:41 > 0:08:45'who had been on the island during the last active uprising,
0:08:45 > 0:08:47'when John Frum's prophet
0:08:47 > 0:08:49'organised the Tanna people into an army,
0:08:49 > 0:08:52'and from all accounts, it looked, for a little time,
0:08:52 > 0:08:56'as though there might be a full-scale revolt.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00'Bob Paul's house is on the coast.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03'I talked to him in his garden, by the sea.'
0:09:05 > 0:09:07Bob, tell me about this famous Tanna Army.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09Where did you first see it?
0:09:09 > 0:09:12The first manifestation I saw...
0:09:12 > 0:09:16I was down this particular area,
0:09:16 > 0:09:20picking up copra - buying copra from natives.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23I noticed them drilling, I noticed a party drilling...
0:09:25 > 0:09:27..in the square near the village.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32When I asked what was going on, they said, "This is the Tanna Army."
0:09:32 > 0:09:34And what were they wearing?
0:09:34 > 0:09:36Erm...caps...
0:09:36 > 0:09:38imitation American caps.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40And, erm...
0:09:40 > 0:09:42a singlet...
0:09:42 > 0:09:46with "TA", meaning "Tanna Army"...
0:09:46 > 0:09:49and a big "USA"
0:09:49 > 0:09:51across the chest.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54Long trousers... Sand boots with long trousers tucked in
0:09:54 > 0:09:56the sand boots.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58Something after the style of puttees or gaiters.
0:09:58 > 0:09:59And guns?
0:09:59 > 0:10:04Yes, very well-made wooden guns.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08Made mainly out of bamboo.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12Carved to resemble an American carbine...
0:10:12 > 0:10:15and they had quite a long bayonet on the end of them.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17What did they do next?
0:10:17 > 0:10:19They...got a bit adventuresome...
0:10:21 > 0:10:23..and marched around the surrounding villages.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25Scared the wits out of them.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29The other villagers were really frightened?
0:10:29 > 0:10:30Oh, my word, yes.
0:10:33 > 0:10:34They were really scared.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36Terrified.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39And then, as...
0:10:39 > 0:10:41As they noticed they weren't stopped at that,
0:10:41 > 0:10:43they went farther and farther afield.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46Finally, they did a grand march, right around the whole island.
0:10:46 > 0:10:47Did they come round here?
0:10:47 > 0:10:49Yes.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53They didn't come through my place here,
0:10:53 > 0:10:57but the Presbyterian mission has a plantation nearby.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00I was coming down the road
0:11:00 > 0:11:02which leads into there,
0:11:02 > 0:11:04and I passed through the army, marching along there.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06I had seen them before.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08The only way they could go was through the mission,
0:11:08 > 0:11:10if they continued on that road.
0:11:10 > 0:11:11So...
0:11:13 > 0:11:16..I dropped in and saw the missionary,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19who was quite a plucky little fellow, actually.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24He said, "No, they won't pass here, that's one thing."
0:11:24 > 0:11:28It was... So, that was the finale of their march,
0:11:28 > 0:11:30was to march through the Presbyterian mission...
0:11:30 > 0:11:35and terrorise the boys who were enjoying the Presbyterian mission.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37So we went up and stopped them.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39How?
0:11:39 > 0:11:41Told them to go to blazes!
0:11:41 > 0:11:43THEY LAUGH Or words to that effect?
0:11:43 > 0:11:46Yes, we actually stood in the road where they couldn't cross,
0:11:46 > 0:11:49and told them they couldn't go through here...
0:11:51 > 0:11:54And if they tried to go through, they'd be in trouble.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56'After we had been in Tanna for a week,
0:11:56 > 0:11:59'I felt that the people might have got used to our presence,
0:11:59 > 0:12:02'and have realised that we were not government officials,
0:12:02 > 0:12:06'and that, therefore, they might be more willing to talk about John Frum.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08'So, one afternoon, I drove up to the large clearing,
0:12:08 > 0:12:10'the namakal,
0:12:10 > 0:12:12'which is found outside each village,
0:12:12 > 0:12:15'where, every day, the men gather to drink kava.
0:12:15 > 0:12:16'I had to be a little careful,
0:12:16 > 0:12:20'for this is a semi-sacred ritual ground, forbidden to women,
0:12:20 > 0:12:22'and anyone who goes there during kava drinking
0:12:22 > 0:12:25'must walk very slowly and keep quiet
0:12:25 > 0:12:27'if he's not to break the taboos.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30'I was not entirely sure what sort of reception I would get.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34'The men, however, though a little suspicious, slowly gathered round.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36'I began, not by asking about John Frum,
0:12:36 > 0:12:39'but about kava, which they showed me.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42'Kava is the root of a pepper plant
0:12:42 > 0:12:45'which is made into a drink and, here on Tanna,
0:12:45 > 0:12:48'it's prepared by a young man, who chews it.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54'This unhygienic custom
0:12:54 > 0:12:57'was one of the first things forbidden by the missionaries,
0:12:57 > 0:13:00'and the mere fact it was going on in the namakal
0:13:00 > 0:13:02'was proof that these people
0:13:02 > 0:13:04'no longer belonged to the mission,
0:13:04 > 0:13:07'or "the school", as they call it.
0:13:07 > 0:13:08'Kava is drunk all over
0:13:08 > 0:13:10'the Southwest Pacific.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12'But here in Tanna,
0:13:12 > 0:13:14'it's prepared in a much more concentrated form
0:13:14 > 0:13:16'than almost anywhere else.
0:13:20 > 0:13:21'The resultant drink
0:13:21 > 0:13:23'is extremely potent,
0:13:23 > 0:13:25'and must be thrown back in one gulp.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30'The drug it contains is so strong
0:13:30 > 0:13:33'that it makes people moody and irritable when they've drunk it,
0:13:33 > 0:13:36'which is one of the reasons why no-one shouts or dashes about
0:13:36 > 0:13:38'on a namakal.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42'When everyone had drunk their kava,
0:13:42 > 0:13:44'I began talking to one of the few men in the village
0:13:44 > 0:13:46'who spoke understandable English.'
0:13:46 > 0:13:49How many people here
0:13:49 > 0:13:51belong to John Frum?
0:13:51 > 0:13:53Many people here, on this site?
0:13:53 > 0:13:56Yes, all of us.
0:13:56 > 0:13:57All of us.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02What job did you have
0:14:02 > 0:14:05before you...before John Frum came?
0:14:05 > 0:14:07We were in school.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09- Mission school? - Mission school.
0:14:09 > 0:14:10Presbyterian church.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15And you were what?
0:14:15 > 0:14:16I'm a teacher.
0:14:16 > 0:14:17- A teacher? - Yes.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19Sam,
0:14:19 > 0:14:21have you seen John Frum?
0:14:21 > 0:14:22No.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26I didn't see him, but my brother here, he saw him.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28What did John Frum say to your brother?
0:14:33 > 0:14:35He didn't talk to him,
0:14:35 > 0:14:38but he just went there at the meeting.
0:14:39 > 0:14:44What kind of man is John Frum? Is he man blong Tanna,
0:14:44 > 0:14:46or is he yellow man, like a Tonganese,
0:14:46 > 0:14:48a white man, or what?
0:14:48 > 0:14:49He is a white man.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51- He's a white man? - Yeah.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53And where did he come from?
0:14:54 > 0:14:56I don't know.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58Is he a big man or a small man?
0:14:58 > 0:15:00He's a big man. Tall.
0:15:00 > 0:15:01- A big, tall man? - Yeah.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03How many people have seen John Frum?
0:15:03 > 0:15:05Oh, more than 20 men.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07- More than 20 men? - Yes.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10When they make a meeting,
0:15:10 > 0:15:13and he came to meet them...
0:15:13 > 0:15:16he was sitting in between them,
0:15:16 > 0:15:18and they was talking with him.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24And will John Frum come again soon?
0:15:26 > 0:15:28I don't know.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32He promised them that day he would come.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36But now we don't know when he's going to come.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39What will happen when he comes?
0:15:43 > 0:15:44I don't know.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46Will it be good?
0:15:46 > 0:15:49Yes. He said when he comes,
0:15:49 > 0:15:51it will be a good living.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58The men will be happy and get everything they want.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01When John Frum first came...
0:16:02 > 0:16:04..what happened?
0:16:04 > 0:16:06What did he tell the people to do?
0:16:08 > 0:16:11He tell the people to throw all their money.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13- All their money? - All their money.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17And he...
0:16:18 > 0:16:21..told them to leave the school.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23But now...
0:16:23 > 0:16:27John Frum has told you to throw away your money?
0:16:28 > 0:16:32And to...to kill your cattle?
0:16:33 > 0:16:35So now the people of Tanna have no money and no cattle.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38How do you live, then?
0:16:38 > 0:16:40He said, by and by, when you can,
0:16:40 > 0:16:43we can get everything we want.
0:16:43 > 0:16:44Hmm.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46But how long ago was this?
0:16:48 > 0:16:50I don't know.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53How long ago was it that he came and said this?
0:16:54 > 0:16:56About, eh...
0:16:56 > 0:16:5819 years, now.
0:16:58 > 0:16:59- 19? - Yes.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01Sam...
0:17:03 > 0:17:06..you say John Frum has not come for 19 years.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08Isn't this a long time for you to wait?
0:17:14 > 0:17:16I can wait.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19There's you waiting for 2,000 years
0:17:19 > 0:17:21for Christ to come.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25And I must wait over 19 years.
0:17:27 > 0:17:28'It was a good point,
0:17:28 > 0:17:30'but nonetheless, it was clear from what Sam had said,
0:17:30 > 0:17:35'that he himself really knew very little about the origin of the cult.
0:17:35 > 0:17:36'He told us later
0:17:36 > 0:17:37'that the real leaders
0:17:37 > 0:17:40'had their headquarters in the south of the island,
0:17:40 > 0:17:41'at a village called Sulphur Bay,
0:17:41 > 0:17:43'which stood on the flanks of the great volcano,
0:17:43 > 0:17:45'whose threatening rumbles
0:17:45 > 0:17:47'could be heard for many miles around.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49'So we set out southwards,
0:17:49 > 0:17:51'to try and find this stronghold of the cult.'
0:17:58 > 0:18:00We passed many crosses on the way,
0:18:00 > 0:18:02both large and small.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04But as we approached Sulphur Bay,
0:18:04 > 0:18:08we found the most extraordinary monument we had seen so far.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10Standing by itself,
0:18:10 > 0:18:12under its own thatched shelter.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17On the right-hand side, there was a scarlet aeroplane,
0:18:17 > 0:18:19perhaps that which will bring the cargo.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21And on the other side,
0:18:21 > 0:18:24a cage containing an extraordinary winged rat.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28And in the centre, John Frum himself,
0:18:28 > 0:18:31with a scarlet coat and a white European face.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40They were pathetically childish images,
0:18:40 > 0:18:44yet somehow they seemed to have a very sinister quality.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53Scarlet gates were now as common by the roadside,
0:18:53 > 0:18:56as were the scarlet crosses.
0:18:56 > 0:18:57We were nearing Sulphur Bay.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04At last, we emerged from the bush,
0:19:04 > 0:19:07and drove out onto the wide ash plain
0:19:07 > 0:19:08which surrounds the volcano.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Here there were more gates, and sticks, stuck in lines
0:19:16 > 0:19:18across the barren ash.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Bob Paul had told me that a scarlet cross
0:19:45 > 0:19:48had been erected on the topmost lip of the crater,
0:19:48 > 0:19:49so we decided to climb the ash cone
0:19:49 > 0:19:51and have a look at it.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10The slopes up which we trudged
0:20:10 > 0:20:13were composed of dry, grey volcanic dust
0:20:13 > 0:20:15which had been spewed out from the crater,
0:20:15 > 0:20:18and which settled on us in a fine powder,
0:20:18 > 0:20:20out of the pall of smoke
0:20:20 > 0:20:22which rose high in the air above our heads.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25But the ascent wasn't difficult,
0:20:25 > 0:20:27even though it was steep,
0:20:27 > 0:20:28for the ash was so soft
0:20:28 > 0:20:31that we could easily dig our toes into it.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40VOLCANO ROARS
0:20:45 > 0:20:48'The cross had once been painted scarlet,
0:20:48 > 0:20:50'but much of the paint had been worn off by the wind
0:20:50 > 0:20:52'and the sulphurous smoke
0:20:52 > 0:20:56'which belched up from the crater 500 feet below.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58'There were nine separate vents,
0:20:58 > 0:21:01'each of which exploded at different times
0:21:01 > 0:21:04'with such titanic force that huge lumps of red-hot lava
0:21:04 > 0:21:07'were sometimes thrown 600 feet into the air.'
0:21:10 > 0:21:13VENT EXPLODES
0:21:26 > 0:21:28VENT EXPLODES
0:21:36 > 0:21:37VENT EXPLODES
0:21:40 > 0:21:42VENT EXPLODES
0:21:50 > 0:21:53VENT EXPLODES
0:22:04 > 0:22:07VENT EXPLODES
0:22:36 > 0:22:38On the southern side of the volcano,
0:22:38 > 0:22:42overshadowed by the huge clouds from the eruption,
0:22:42 > 0:22:44we came to the village of Sulphur Bay.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55'This was the critical moment.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57'How would they receive me?
0:22:57 > 0:22:59'If they were suspicious,
0:22:59 > 0:23:01'or thought I was from the police,
0:23:01 > 0:23:03'then I should learn nothing.'
0:23:06 > 0:23:08INAUDIBLE
0:23:14 > 0:23:18'The initial greetings seemed cordial enough.'
0:23:24 > 0:23:26'But this was the important man -
0:23:26 > 0:23:27'the head man, Nambas.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29'I knew that he was the leader
0:23:29 > 0:23:31'of the whole cargo cult.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33'I explained to him
0:23:33 > 0:23:36'that I wanted to learn about John Frum.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38'Would he tell me about him?
0:23:38 > 0:23:41'At first, he was a little unwilling.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44'But, finally, he agreed to sit down and talk.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49'Everyone gathered round to listen.'
0:23:49 > 0:23:52Nambas...
0:23:52 > 0:23:54Men tell me
0:23:54 > 0:23:56that you have a radio.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58John Frum has a radio. Is that right?
0:23:58 > 0:24:00HE SPEAKS BISLAMA
0:24:05 > 0:24:07Yes.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11You have a special radio belonging to John Frum?
0:24:11 > 0:24:12Yes.
0:24:12 > 0:24:13John Frum. Right here.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16And what does he say on this radio?
0:24:16 > 0:24:17He speak you.
0:24:17 > 0:24:22John Frum tells you on the radio that we will come?
0:24:22 > 0:24:26Yes, he speak on the radio. He got too many cam...
0:24:26 > 0:24:29A fast plane come, he got too many camera on board.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32Me and Master Geoffrey?
0:24:33 > 0:24:35He speak to me first time.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37How long ago he tell you that we will come?
0:24:37 > 0:24:40He been telling me a long time - two weeks. Over.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42- Two weeks ago? - Yes.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45And did he say what we would look like?
0:24:45 > 0:24:46He says...
0:24:46 > 0:24:48he got too many cameras on...
0:24:48 > 0:24:51come with you, or look anything.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54Red Cross... anything.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56That's what he told me.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59How do you know it is us that he was talking about?
0:24:59 > 0:25:01Maybe they're two other men.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03He been speaking two men will come.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05Come a long way...
0:25:05 > 0:25:08Do you hear it every night, or once a week?
0:25:08 > 0:25:12Every night, every day, every night, every summer days.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14Long morning days.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16Especially if you want to ask him anything.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18- He speaking. - On the radio?
0:25:18 > 0:25:20Mm - on the radio.
0:25:20 > 0:25:21Is the radio here in this village?
0:25:21 > 0:25:26He no got none. Why? No got anything.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31You don't have, like, a white man's radio?
0:25:31 > 0:25:32He does not have to have one?
0:25:32 > 0:25:34No have like a white man's radio.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37'I pressed him further about the radio,
0:25:37 > 0:25:38'but he was very evasive,
0:25:38 > 0:25:39'so I dropped the subject,
0:25:39 > 0:25:41'but I brought it up again the next day.'
0:25:41 > 0:25:44And where is the radio?
0:25:44 > 0:25:46It's in my place.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48- In your house? - Yeah!
0:25:48 > 0:25:49Is it possible for me to see?
0:25:49 > 0:25:51Can I see the radio?
0:25:51 > 0:25:53You can't see.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55Can I see the house where the radio is?
0:25:58 > 0:26:00No.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02Why not?
0:26:02 > 0:26:05Because my order, he not liking the white people.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07I see.
0:26:07 > 0:26:08Can I hear the radio?
0:26:08 > 0:26:10No.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13Because my order, he said no.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15- Your order says no? - Yes.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18But I think I hear of some white men
0:26:18 > 0:26:19who hear about the radio?
0:26:19 > 0:26:21No. No white men hear of that.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23- No white men hear of it? - No.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27Nambas, what does John Frum look like?
0:26:27 > 0:26:31He can speak American.
0:26:31 > 0:26:32He's American?
0:26:32 > 0:26:33Is he a white man?
0:26:33 > 0:26:34Yes, white.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37He is white.
0:26:37 > 0:26:38You've seen him?
0:26:38 > 0:26:39Yes, I see him.
0:26:39 > 0:26:40Do you hear John talk?
0:26:40 > 0:26:42- Yes, he's so kind. - You shake hands with him?
0:26:42 > 0:26:46He tell me, he got thrown down in Sulphur Bay.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48Nambas,
0:26:48 > 0:26:50you heard John talk,
0:26:50 > 0:26:52- and you shook hands with him? -Yes.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Was this during the daytime or during the night-time?
0:26:55 > 0:26:57At night-time, about seven o'clock.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59- Was it dark? - Yes.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01- Could you see John? - Yes, I see.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03What does he look like?
0:27:03 > 0:27:04Look like you.
0:27:04 > 0:27:05- He looks like me? - Yeah.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07Does he speak about cargo?
0:27:07 > 0:27:09He speak about cargo.
0:27:09 > 0:27:10What does he say about cargo?
0:27:10 > 0:27:14He says you follow for John...
0:27:14 > 0:27:17and maybe some time the cargo will come.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20Maybe a boat.
0:27:20 > 0:27:21An aeroplane?
0:27:21 > 0:27:22Aeroplane.
0:27:22 > 0:27:24- And they will bring the cargo? - Yeah.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27And what will the cargo be?
0:27:27 > 0:27:28Cargo be American.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30- American cargo? - Yeah.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34What sort of things will there be in the cargo?
0:27:34 > 0:27:36Bringing everything
0:27:36 > 0:27:38for every man.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40He bring food,
0:27:40 > 0:27:41or he bring icebox,
0:27:41 > 0:27:44- or he bring...? - Anything.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46- He bring cars? - Yes.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51All the same as the white men have now?
0:27:51 > 0:27:53Yes.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56And will the cargo John brings come to the white men?
0:27:57 > 0:28:01Come to...native boys.
0:28:01 > 0:28:02Will the white men get any?
0:28:02 > 0:28:06I don't know. He can't say the white man get it too because the white man,
0:28:06 > 0:28:07he got it.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09White man's got it? I see.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13'And then, on the last day of our visit,
0:28:13 > 0:28:15'Nambas said something which showed quite clearly
0:28:15 > 0:28:18'that he was either a rogue or a madman.'
0:28:18 > 0:28:21I see you've put a cross on the volcano.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23Why do you put a cross there?
0:28:23 > 0:28:26He got a man inside the volcano.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29I look, see he got man inside.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31- There's a man inside the volcano? - Yes.
0:28:31 > 0:28:32Just one man or many men?
0:28:32 > 0:28:34Many man.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36- Many men? - Many man.
0:28:36 > 0:28:37Men blong John Frum?
0:28:37 > 0:28:39Yes.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42What kind of men?
0:28:42 > 0:28:43Kind man.
0:28:43 > 0:28:49He's like white people, but different colour.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52What colour - dark or yellow, or...?
0:28:52 > 0:28:53- Red. - Red?
0:28:53 > 0:28:54Red and white.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57Red - just like the shirts you wear?
0:28:57 > 0:29:00Are they...
0:29:00 > 0:29:03Are they...soldiers?
0:29:03 > 0:29:05Many soldiers there.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07Many soldiers inside the volcano?
0:29:07 > 0:29:09Yes.
0:29:09 > 0:29:10Any other kind?
0:29:10 > 0:29:13Yes. Some red colour and black colour.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17Any sailors or airmen?
0:29:17 > 0:29:21Every kind, stuck inside.
0:29:23 > 0:29:29And that was the nearest answer I got to my questions about John Frum.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31Perhaps Nambas was deluded,
0:29:31 > 0:29:33but if he was,
0:29:33 > 0:29:36then the whole of the population of Tanna is deluded.
0:29:36 > 0:29:37And, anyway,
0:29:37 > 0:29:39"delusion" is a rather odd word to use
0:29:39 > 0:29:41when you're talking about religions.
0:29:43 > 0:29:44Perhaps, too,
0:29:44 > 0:29:50Tanna isn't our idea of a South Seas paradise -
0:29:50 > 0:29:51it isn't my idea, either -
0:29:51 > 0:29:53but when we left the New Hebrides,
0:29:53 > 0:29:56we travelled another 500 miles eastwards
0:29:56 > 0:29:58towards Fiji.
0:29:58 > 0:30:00There, we did find blue lagoons and palm trees,
0:30:00 > 0:30:05and paradise - but I'll tell you about that next time.