Although initially labelled a cargo cult, it has since been characterized as "political theatre".
[1] What Billings discovered was an elaborate soap opera, a piece of political theatre and a game of high stakes.
She found New Hanover to have a rich history of using play-acting and bluffing as a negotiation ploy that could be used in order to embarrass a foe.
Angry with these unpopular rulers, their real purpose was to embarrass them into giving them more aid, as development of their tiny island had been neglected for years.
[...] Ironically, the political gamesmanship of these so-called primitive, irrational islanders was so complex, subtle and unfamiliar that it went over the heads of both the Australian administrators and the world media.