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 living by the untruths that make one happy, called foma. 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 live a happy life.

Bokonon, a character in the novel, is the founder of the religion. He was born Lionel Boyd Johnson. "Bokonon" was the way the natives of San Lorenzo, the fictional Caribbean island where the shipwrecked Johnson started his religion, pronounced his family name.

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[edit] Terminology

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

  • karass - a group of people who, often unknowingly, are working together to do God's will. The people can be thought of as fingers in a Cat's Cradle.
  • duprass - a karass of only two people, who almost always die within a week of each other. The typical example is a loving couple who work together for a great purpose.
  • 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 point of a karass
  • foma - harmless untruths
  • wrang-wrang - Someone who steers a Bokononist away from their line of perception
  • vin-dit - a sudden shove in the direction of Bokononism
  • saroon - to acquiesce to a vin-dit
  • duffle - the destiny of thousands of people placed on one person
  • stuppa - a fogbound child
  • sin-wat - a person who wants all of somebody's love for themself
  • pool-pah - wrath of God, "shit storm"
  • Busy, busy, busy - words Bokononists whisper when they see an example of how interconnected everything is
  • boku-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 he commits suicide.

[edit] Trivia

Bokonon is also a Brigadier Saint of the POEE.[citation needed]

Bokonon is also a term in the traditional southern Beninese Vodun religion designating 'Diviner/Healer'.[citation needed]

Bokononism is also referenced in Whirligig by Paul Fleischman.[citation needed]


Bokononism is referred to in the novel "Another Roadside Attraction" by Tom Robbins.

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