Bokononism

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Bokononism is the fictional religion practiced by many of the characters in Kurt Vonnegut's 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. The foundation of Bokononism is that all religion, including Bokononism and all its texts, is formed entirely of lies; however, if you believe and adhere to these lies, you will at least 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 and attended the London School of Economics and Political Science, only for his education to be 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 living into the jungle, supposedly hiding, thus trying to lure the population into Bokononism as a kind of forbidden fruit.

Terminology

The religion of the people of San Lorenzo, called Bokononism, encompasses concepts unique to the novel, with San Lorenzan names such as:^[1]

• karass - a group of people who, often unknowingly, are working together to do God's will. The people can be thought of as like the fingers that support a Cat's Cradle.
• duprass - a karass that consists of only two people. This is one of the few kinds of karass about which we 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.
• granfalloon - a false karass; i.e., a group of people who imagine they have a connection that does not really exist. An example is "Hoosiers"; Hoosiers are people from Indiana, and Hoosiers have no true spiritual destiny in common, so really share little more than a name.
• wampeter - the central theme or purpose of a karass
• foma - harmless untruths; lies that, if used correctly, can make one a better person
• 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 absurdity.
• 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"
• Busy, busy, busy - words Bokononists whisper upon witnessing an example of how interconnected everything 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.
• zah-mah-ki-bo - fate, inevitable destiny

Works that reference Bokononism

• Tom Robbins' Another Roadside Attraction: p 236 "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?"
• ABC's short-lived series The Unusuals mentioned Bokononism and Cat's Cradle in the fourth episode.
• Born Ruffians song "Kurt Vonnegut" quotes a Bokononist saying.
• Biologist PZ Myers references the term granfalloon in some of his lectures.
• Foma is a song and CD title from the rock band The Nixons.
• The song Nice, Nice, Very Nice by Ambrosia set the 53rd Calypso from Cat's Cradle to music.

References

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