As reporters and health officials walked onto the grounds of the mass suicide in Guayana, they were in shock over what they were seeing; hundreds of bodies face down on the ground, dead. One person who was at the site said that the amount of dead bodies was appalling, “it was depicted as not American, not religious, not sane, and ultimately not human.”1 Over 550 bodies of the 900 were unclaimed for almost six months until US Officials decided to cremate them. Once they brought the bodies back to the United States from Guayana, many Americans didn’t think it was right to have these bodies spread out on American soil because of the act they made. US Officials then decided to scatter the ashes of the dead bodies away from the United States border lines.
It all started with Jim Jones. Jones was a religious/political cult leader who had established the People’s Temple as a sect in Indianapolis in the 1950s. His cult focused on themes of communism, and the fight against racism, attracting many African Americans. He moved his cult to San Francisco in 1971, but it would not remain there for long. Soon after the group moved there, Jones was accused of financial fraud, physical abuse of his cult’s members, and mistreatment of children. After Jones was accused, in 1973, he became paranoid that someone would try to destroy his cult, so he moved his entire group to Guayana, South America, to build a socialist utopia known as Jonestown.
Once the cult moved to Guayana, people started to question even more the accusations being made against Jim Jones. Members who had left or escaped the cult were worried for the people still in the cult, so they convinced U.S. Congressmen Leo Ryan of California to fly to Guyana. “In November 1978, Ryan along with a group of journalists and relatives of cult members went to investigate the charges.”2 Jones did not like the idea of people coming to investigate, so he ordered his followers to have Ryan and his investigators assassinated. He ordered the attack on the group as they were returning to the airstrip to leave. A journalist named Charles Krause reported that that morning Ryan was attacked by a man with a knife, although he was not hurt by the incident. “Later that same day, Ryan and his party were attacked by assassins at the Port Kaituma Airstrip. Ryan and four others were killed and ten were injured.”3 While these killings were going on, Jones feared that he would lose his cult members and they would turn against him. He then proceeded to lead his people through a mass suicide, which was something the members had repeatedly practiced since the early 1970s.
These practices were called “White Nights” and consisted of members drinking a liquid that they believed was poisonous as a loyalty test to Jones.4 During these “White Nights,” people were woken up by a loud speaker, and they would assemble for the ritual of passing around a drink of kool-aid, which they were told was poison. Unfortunately, this time was not a test. Hundreds of adults and children lined up to drink this colorful, fruit-flavored punch, which contained cyanide and tranquilizers. Most of them thought they were just proving their loyalty as before, but as more people began to die, they realized that this time it was real. “Over 260 children, for example, had the poison given to them, while only about 40 adults escaped.”5 For those who died willingly though, collective suicide held a religious significance in the context of the worldview that had been established in Jonestown.
Collective suicide was a ritual that signified a purity of commitment to the community. On the night that they all drank this poison, Jim Jones announced “that the members of the community were united as black, proud socialists.”6 Collective suicide also promised release from a world dominated by what Jones perceived as American racism, capitalism, and fascism. He did not want to be captured and taken back to America, so instead he urged his followers to drink the poison, and “step out of the world.”7 Jones had told his followers that they were not committing suicide, but rather they were performing an act of freeing themselves from the harsh world that they lived in. There are later reports that when officials went to Jonestown, Jim Jones was found with gunshot wounds, raising the speculation that either he had committed suicide or someone else had killed him.
The Jonestown Massacre was the largest mass suicide in modern history and resulted in the largest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until the September 11 attack in 2001. The mass suicide resulted in over 900 deaths of innocent lives. Once the bodies were found, the Guyanese government asked the United States to take the bodies back. US Officials decided to start sending a few people over to identify bodies so they could decide what to do with them. Over 500 bodies were unclaimed and that is when the United States decided to have the US Air Force come in to take the bodies back to the United States.”8 To this day, families of loved ones are still trying to find a memorial place for the lost lives.
- Encyclopedia of Religion, 2005, s.v. “Jonestown and Peoples Temple,” by David Chidester. ↵
- Dictionary of American History, 2003, s.v. “Jonestown Massacre,” by Carolyn Bronstein. ↵
- Dictionary of American History, 2003, s.v. “Jonestown Massacre,” by Carolyn Bronstein. ↵
- Dictionary of American History, 2003, s.v. “Jonestown Massacre,” by Carolyn Bronstein. ↵
- Encyclopdeia of Religion, 2005, s.v. “Jonestown and Peoples Temple,” by David Chidester. ↵
- Encyclopdeia of Religion, 2005, s.v. “Jonestown and Peoples Temple,” by David Chidester. ↵
- Encyclopdeia of Religion, 2005, s.v. “Jonestown and Peoples Temple,” by David Chidester. ↵
- Encyclopdeia of Religion, 2005, s.v. “Jonestown and Peoples Temple,” by David Chidester. ↵
150 comments
Daniela Martinez
Its crazy to think a person can have so much influence over individuals. Even more nowadays with the help of the internet in which anyone has the chance to gain a following. To think that someone had the power to influence innocent people who trusted him is truly sad. This case goes to show that you should always be aware of others intentions regardless of how nice someone may seem.
Montserrat Moreno Ramirez
This article is incredible; it really tells a great story. Jones was a very intelligent man who was able to manipulate over 900 people into moving to another country, stay faithful to him even though he was abusive and didn’t have their best interests in heart, and still managed to kill most of his followers, in order to avoid be taken back to the US. Oppression and racism were some o the key factors that allowed Jones to manipulate all this people. If people didn’t feel that way, they wouldn’t have had the need or felling of belonging.
Megan Copeland
Stories like these sound so crazy to me. Jones managed to pull off a 900 plus person mass suicide which is insane. It is sad to think that a lot of these poor innocent people were kids that had no idea what was going on. Jones managed to brainwash everyone and executed his plan perfectly. The author used the images very well because it painted a picture of what it looked when all of the bodies were found.
Christopher Vasquez
This is awful. I can’t believe that Jim Jones was able to amass a following so devoted that they would murder reporters and a member of Congress. Jones’ constant worry of losing his following makes me wonder if he had a messiah complex, in which he believed that he would be their savior as they “freed themselves” from the world they lived in. He also strikes me as a coward; he murdered his followers through poison, but he would not end his life the same way. Instead, he was shot — which is a much quicker, more painless death than cyanide. He was truly a man with no regard for his followers, which is a disgusting mindset. What’s is the most tragic part of this scenario is that they were not given a proper burial; despite the situation, the children, at the very least, should have been laid to rest in America.
Mia Stahl
The Massacre that happened in Jamestown is one of the best examples of how humans are easily lead by strong and persuasive leaders. It can be argued that the same is happening even know in the United States. But that possibility aside, the fact that this happened means that it is possible for it to happen again. As a country that is still finding its footing in a world of ancient countries, we should be learning from the many deadly cults that have existed as well as the many productive and legitimate cults that have existed in history.
Avery Looney
I had never heard about the Jonestown Massacre until reading this article. It is sad that Jones was able to convince 900 people to follow him until their death. I do not understand how one man is able to manipulate and brainwash as many people as Jones did. It is sickening to think that he had the children participate in the mass suicide as well. This article is very well written and paints an eerie picture of what happened on that day in Guayana.
Madison Guerra
It is insane to think that one man can have so much influence on nearly 1,000 people. People can be so naive and ready to believe anything that is told to them. Due to their actions they let a single evil man lead the lives of so many innocent adults and children to their deaths. It is so tragic to hear, and it is very sad to know hundreds of people were unclaimed and unidentified leaving them to be cremated and their ashes disposed of in another country.
Pedro Gonzalez Aboyte
It’s crazy how one man can become, in some ways, like a god to people. Jones was a crazed cult leader who took advantage of people who followed him. He was undoubtedly gifted with the talent of public speaking and communication, but it is sad to see that people use that gift for evil instead of good. The idea of the “White Nights” is something that I do not understand. It might just be a test of loyalty from all of his followers. It is sad because the people who participated thought they were doing the right thing and ended up dying for what they thought they believed.
Rebecca Campos
I’ve hear this story from numerous articles and stories before. I found this one to be particularly interesting due to the chilling photos used. I also never knew that it was the largest loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until 9/11. It baffles me how cults can become so prominent and how the leaders have the ability to control the followers like they do and hopefully a disaster like this will never strike again .
Damian Jennings
I always had a basic understanding for the word “cult”, it has always had a negative connotation, with my basic understanding, but Jim Jones, in a sense, brainwashed these poor confused victims and influenced them to drink a sweet Kool Aid flavored drink. The images in this article provided a great visual aid, I would have never believed this story to be actually true. The worst part about this story is that the people of America rejected the burial of these people. They believed those that died did not deserve to be buried in American soil.