Bokononism
Encyclopedia
Bokononism is a religion
invented by Kurt Vonnegut
as a fictional religion, and practiced by many of the characters in his novel Cat's Cradle
.
It is based on the concept of foma, which are defined as harmless untruths. The primary tenet of Bokononism is to "Live by the foma that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy." Many of the sacred texts of Bokononism were written in the form of calypsos
. A foundation of Bokononism is that the religion, including its texts, is formed entirely of lies; however, one who believes and adheres to these lies will have peace of mind, and perhaps live a good life.
Bokonon, a character in the novel, is the founder of the religion. He was born Lionel Boyd Johnson in 1891 and attended the London School of Economics
to study Political Science, only to have his education cut short by World War I
. "Bokonon" was the way the natives of San Lorenzo, the fictional Caribbean
island-nation where the shipwrecked Johnson started his religion, pronounced his family name in their unique dialect of English.
Bokonon established Bokononism with Earl McCabe, his partner in ruling the island, when all the duo's efforts to raise the standard of living on the island failed, as a means to help the poor islanders escape their miserable reality by practicing a simple religion. Arranging with McCabe that Bokononism be outlawed and eternally persecuted by the government, he went to live in the jungle, supposedly hiding, thus trying to lure the population into Bokononism as a kind of forbidden fruit
.
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
invented by Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
as a fictional religion, and practiced by many of the characters in his novel Cat's Cradle
Cat's Cradle
Cat's Cradle is the fourth novel by American writer Kurt Vonnegut, first published in 1963. It explores issues of science, technology, and religion, satirizing the arms race and many other targets along the way...
.
It is based on the concept of foma, which are defined as harmless untruths. The primary tenet of Bokononism is to "Live by the foma that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy." Many of the sacred texts of Bokononism were written in the form of calypsos
Calypso music
Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...
. A foundation of Bokononism is that the religion, including its texts, is formed entirely of lies; however, one who believes and adheres to these lies will have peace of mind, and perhaps live a good life.
Bokonon, a character in the novel, is the founder of the religion. He was born Lionel Boyd Johnson in 1891 and attended the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
to study Political Science, only to have his education cut short by World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. "Bokonon" was the way the natives of San Lorenzo, the fictional Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
island-nation where the shipwrecked Johnson started his religion, pronounced his family name in their unique dialect of English.
Bokonon established Bokononism with Earl McCabe, his partner in ruling the island, when all the duo's efforts to raise the standard of living on the island failed, as a means to help the poor islanders escape their miserable reality by practicing a simple religion. Arranging with McCabe that Bokononism be outlawed and eternally persecuted by the government, he went to live in the jungle, supposedly hiding, thus trying to lure the population into Bokononism as a kind of forbidden fruit
Forbidden fruit
Forbidden fruit is any object of desire whose appeal is a direct result of knowledge that cannot or should not be obtained or something that someone may want but is forbidden to have....
.
Terminology
The religion of the people of San Lorenzo, called Bokononism, encompasses concepts unique to the novel, with San Lorenzan names such as:- karass - group of people who, often unknowingly, are working together to do God's will. The group can be thought of as the fingers that support a cat's cradleCat's cradleCat's cradle is a well known series of string figures created between two people as a game. The name of the entire game, the specific figures, their order, and the names of the figures vary. Versions of this game have been found in indigenous cultures all over the world—from the Arctic to the...
. - duprass - a karass that consists of only two people. This is one of the few kinds of karass about which one can have any reliable knowledge. The two members of a duprass live lives that revolve around each other, and are therefore often married. "A true duprass can't be invaded, not even by children born of such a union." The novel cites the example of "Horlick Minton, the New American Ambassador to the Republic of San Lorenzo, and his wife, Claire." The two members of a duprass always die within a week of each other.
- granfalloonGranfalloonA granfalloon, in the fictional religion of Bokononism , is defined as a "false karass." That is, it is a group of people who outwardly choose or claim to have a shared identity or purpose, but whose mutual association is actually meaningless.-Examples:The most commonly purported granfalloons are...
- a false karass; i.e., a group of people who imagine they have a connection that does not really exist. An example is "HoosierHoosierHoosier is the official demonym for a resident of the U.S. state of Indiana. Although residents of most U.S. states typically adopt a derivative of the state name, e.g., "Indianan" or "Indianian", natives of Indiana rarely use these. Indiana adopted the nickname "Hoosier State" more than 150...
s"; Hoosiers are people from Indiana, and Hoosiers have no true spiritual destiny in common, so they really share little more than a name. Another example is a Cornellian, a student or graduate of Cornell UniversityCornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
. - wampeter - the central theme or purpose of a karass. Each karass has two wampeters, one that it is moving away from, and one that it is moving towards.
- foma - harmless untruths; lies that, if used correctly, can be useful.
- wrang-wrang - someone who steers a Bokononist away from a line of speculation by reducing that line, with the example of the wrang-wrang
' s own life, to an absurdityReductio ad absurdumIn logic, proof by contradiction is a form of proof that establishes the truth or validity of a proposition by showing that the proposition's being false would imply a contradiction...
. - vin-dit - a sudden shove in the direction of Bokononism
- saroon - to acquiesce to a vin-dit
- stuppa - a fogbound child (i.e. an idiot)
- duffle - the destiny of thousands of people placed on one stuppa
- sin-wat - a person who wants all of somebody's love for him/herself
- pool-pah - wrath of God or "shit storm"
- kan-kan - the instrument which brings a person into his or her karass
- Busy, busy, busy - what a Bokononist whispers whenever he thinks about how complicated and unpredictable the machinery of life really is.
- boko-maru - the supreme act of worship of the Bokononists, which is an intimate act consisting of prolonged physical contact between the naked soles of the feet of two persons.
- Now I will destroy the whole world. - What a Bokononist says before committing suicide.
- sinookas - the tendrils of one's life
- Zah-mah-ki-bo - fate, inevitable destiny
- Calypso - song from The Books of Bokonon. Eight such songs are cited in Cat's Cradle, some of them are presented with a title (i.e. On Dynamic Tension or The Boko-maru Calypso) and others are presented with a number (i.e. The Hundred-and-nineteenth Calypso). The Calypsos illustrate various aspects of the teachings of Bokonon.
Works that reference Bokononism
- Tom RobbinsTom RobbinsThomas Eugene "Tom" Robbins Thomas Eugene "Tom" Robbins Thomas Eugene "Tom" Robbins (born July 22, 1936 is an American author. His best-selling novels are serio-comic, often wildly poetic stories with a strong social and philosophical undercurrent, an irreverent bent, and scenes extrapolated from...
' Another Roadside Attraction: p236 "In Bokonon, it is written that 'peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God.'" - Bernard Hare's Urban Grimshaw and the Shed Crew: p238 "I think we should make Bokononism the official religion of Ashtrayland, don't you, Urban?"
- ABCAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's short-lived series The UnusualsThe UnusualsThe Unusuals is a comedy-drama television series which premiered on ABC on April 8, 2009 in the U.S. and Global in Canada. An ABC press release described The Unusuals as "like a modern-day M*A*S*H" that "explores both the grounded drama and comic insanity of the world of New York City police...
mentioned Bokononism and Cat's Cradle in the fourth episode. - Born RuffiansBorn RuffiansBorn Ruffians, formerly known as Mornington Drive, are a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2004, originally from Midland, Ontario, located near Georgian Bay. They are currently signed to Warp Records. The members are Luke Lalonde , Mitch Derosier and Steven Hamelin...
song "Kurt Vonnegut" quotes a Bokononist saying. - "Foma" is a song and CD title from the rock band The NixonsThe NixonsThe Nixons were an American post-grunge rock band, finding some commercial success in the mid-1990s.-Band history:The Nixons were founded in Oklahoma City by singer/guitarist Zac Maloy, guitarist Jesse Davis, bassist Ricky Brooks, and drummer Tye Robison...
. - The song "Nice, Nice, Very Nice" by AmbrosiaAmbrosia (band)Ambrosia is an American rock band formed in southern California in 1970. Ambrosia had five Top Forty hit singles between 1975 and 1980.-Formation and inspiration:...
set the 53rd Calypso from Cat's Cradle to music. - James TaylorJames TaylorJames Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
skats "Bokonon, Bokonon" in his live version of "Steamroller BluesSteamroller Blues"Steamroller Blues", often labelled just "Steamroller", is a song written by James Taylor, that first appeared on his 1970 breakthrough album Sweet Baby James. The song title comes from the first line: "I'm a steamroller baby, I'm bound to roll all over you..."...
". - Minimal ManMinimal manMinimal Man was an American industrial and experimental rock project, formed in 1979 in San Francisco, California. The group was founded and led by Patrick Miller, a visual and sound artist who moved to San Francisco in the late 1970s...
uses the Calypsos as the lyrics to "jungle song". - Episode 14, "On the Wagon", of ABC's My So-Called LifeMy So-Called LifeMy So-Called Life is an American teen drama television series created by Winnie Holzman and produced by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz. It originally aired on ABC from August 25, 1994, to January 26, 1995 and was distributed by The Bedford Falls Company with ABC Productions. Set at the...
has a character declare "You know, I think we could be part of the same karass." - Dave SoldierDave SoldierDave Soldier is an American composer and performer residing in New York.- Musical works :Some of his work is based on unusual collaborations. In the Thai Elephant Orchestra he built giant musical instruments on which he trained a group of elephants to improvise...
's CD Ice-9 Ballads, setting Vonnegut's lyrics to music. Includes "14th Calypso", "119th Calypso", and "Nice Very Nice". Narrator Kurt Vonnegut himself. - Norman SpinradNorman SpinradNorman Richard Spinrad is an American science fiction author.Born in New York City, Spinrad is a graduate of the Bronx High School of Science. In 1957 he entered City College of New York and graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor of Science degree as a pre-law major. In 1966 he moved to San Francisco,...
's He Walked Among Us: p395 "I believe in the foma that make you strong and brave and happy..." and "...he had flipped her Vonnegut's line about foma, useful lies that made you strong and brave and happy..." - Harlan EllisonHarlan EllisonHarlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
's Again, Dangerous Visions - Kurt Vonnegut's A Man Without a CountryA Man Without a CountryA Man Without a Country is an essay collection published in 2005 by the author Kurt Vonnegut. The extremely short essays that comprise this book deal with topics ranging from the importance of humor, to problems with modern technology, to Vonnegut's opinions on the differences between men and women...
has multiple new Bokonon quotes. - Dan Mangan (A Canadian folk singer and Vonnegut enthusiast) released his second album Nice, Nice, Very NiceNice, Nice, Very NiceNice, Nice, Very Nice is the second album by Canadian singer-songwriter Dan Mangan, released on August 11, 2009.The album was a shortlisted nominee for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize.-Track listing:...
in August 2009, featuring a very Vonnegut tone within the lyrics.
External links
- Bokononism All of the text from Cat's Cradle which refers to Bokononism (including the Books of Bokonon).
- The Books of Bokonon - a collection of all excerpts from the Books of Bokonon from Cat's Cradle