Prince Philip’s death is sure to be met with great grief and much “ritual lamentation” by villagers on a small island in the South Pacific – where they worship him like a god.
About 700 villagers on Tanna Island attribute to the so-called Prince Philip Movement, believing he was the son of a mountain god who would one day return to ‘heal the land’.
Philip made quite an impression on tribesmen in the tropical rainforest village of Yaohnanenon on visits there over the decades, even after the island’s archipelago gained independence from the UK in 1980.
“They were hoping he would return in person,” anthropologist Kirk Huffman said of Philip in February.
“But they’ll imagine his ghost might return to the island.”
News of Philip’s death will hit them hard, Huffman said.
“They will be in mourning,” he said. “There will be ritual wails and also a series of dances that encapsulate parts of the island’s history.”
Now the movement will continue with Philip’s firstborn, heir to the throne, Prince Charles, visiting in April 2018, Huffman predicted.