The Myth-dream [ii]

What has been called the Primal Myth appears to contain the first, and perhaps basic, expressions of the Cargo myth-dream. From the time when these feelings first gained consent and became lodged in a myth, until 1951 when Tangu participated in Cargo cult activities, the corpus of a variety of experiences with white men was gradually building up. It may be assumed, at least for the time being, that each separate experience was interpreted in the light of the Primal Myth, the hinge of truth in this context. If there were dissentient voices, or contradictory experiences, they were neither vivid enough, nor sufficiently compelling, to refute the principles which, enshrined in the myth, were hardening into dogma. That is, the principles accepted by general consent could have been modified only by those experiences which could command a more powerful consent. In fact, as we have already seen ¹ and shall see again in more detail, ² once principles are established, and have become axiomatic, subsequent experiences tend to reinforce, or are pulled into conformity with, those truths that already exist.