Oku cargo cult

A cargo cult was a primitive religious practice based on the divine nature of cargo, or manufactured goods. On the remote planet Tokmia, a cargo cult developed among the primitive Oku species following the cessation of Figg Excavations' mining efforts there. During the ongoing excavating of Tokmia's mineral deposits, Figg employees often gave handouts to the Oku natives with each operation. Once the miners departed the planet, the Oku burned huge fires to resemble landing lights in belief that the magical starships of the offworlders would someday return.

Behind the scenes
The Oku cargo cult closely resembles the real-world phenomenon of cargo cults, particularly that which developed among primitive Pacific islanders post-World War II. Melanesians, for example, having witnessed the massive wartime influx of war materiel from both American and Japanese forces, lit signal fires after the end of the war to illuminate abandoned runways, believing they could compel the return of the foreigners' manufactured goods.