Bokonon

SPOKEN BY

Bokonon is spoken by those who practice the religion of Bokononism.

DOCUMENTED BY

Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) wrote about Bokononism in Cat’s Cradle (1963).

BEHIND THE WORDS

The protagonist of Cat’s Cradle, John, is working on a book describing what people were doing on the day the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. While researching the project, John ends up on San Lorenzo, a Caribbean island ruled by a mad dictator. Bokononism is a powerful religious movement on the island, one that John learns was created in order to control the island’s people, though it is now illegal.

A TASTE OF THE LANGUAGE

boko-maru (noun)—the supreme act of worship

duprass (noun)—a karass of two people

foma (noun)—harmless lies

granfalloon (noun)—a false karass

karass (noun)—a group working to do God’s will

pool-pah (noun)—wrath of God

saroon (verb)—to acquiesce to a vin-dit

sin-wat (noun)—someone who is selfish when it comes to love

stuppa (noun)—a fool

vin-dit (noun)—a sudden introduction to Bokononism

wampeter (noun)—one of two themes every karass has

Zah-mah-ki-bo (noun)—fate

PHILOLOGICAL FACT

Kurt Vonnegut published a collection of essays under the title Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons (1974). In the introduction he says, “Dear Reader: The title of this book is composed of three words from my novel Cat’s Cradle. A wampeter is an object around which the lives of many otherwise unrelated people may revolve. The Holy Grail would be a case in point. Foma are harmless untruths, intended to comfort simple souls. An example: ‘Prosperity is just around the corner.’ A granfalloon is a proud and meaningless association of human beings. Taken together, the words form as good an umbrella as any for this collection of some of the reviews and essays I have written, a few of the speeches I have made.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Review the works listed above, the resources listed in the bibliography, and the web pages: “Bokononism” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokonon), “Kurt Vonnegut” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Vonnegut), and “Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wampeters,_Foma_and_Granfalloons).

SPEAKING OF LANGUAGES

The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.

—Ludwig Wittgenstein

Live by the foma that makes you brave and kind and healthy and happy.

—From The Books of Bokonon