Tribes on a remote island in the South Pacific worshiping Prince Philip as a god were devastated to finally hear of his death.
Word spread quickly about the village of Yaohnanen – part of a tropical rainforest on the island of Tanna with mock communication – after the news was announced on Saturday by an employee of the Vanuatu Cultural Center.
The Duke of Edinburgh died peacefully at the age of 99 in his home in Windsor Castle, England, on Friday after a two-month illness for which he was admitted to hospital in February.
“The people were very sad to hear of the passing of this great man,” said Jean-Pascal Wahé, the worker who had the task of driving to the isolated area for four hours and delivering the sad message. “He was a very important man to all of us and that is a great loss.”
An estimated 700 natives attribute this to the so-called Prince Philip movement, believing that the British queen’s husband is descended from a mountain god who oversees their crops and well-being.
The former overwhelming naval officer made a great impression during decades of visits to the Vanuata archipelago – of which Tanna is an island – which caused these inhabitants to adopt him as a kind of god.
Now that their idol is dead, followers are expected to draw their attention to his eldest son, Prince Charles, who is first in line on the British throne.
First, however, they prepare for an epic “day of mourning” to celebrate and commemorate Prince Philip.
“They are sending messages through the neighboring villages so that people will hear about the plans,” Wahé told The Post exclusively. “It is impossible to know exactly how many people will come, but we expect between 100 and 500 of them.”
The event involves ritual cries, traditional dancing and ‘spiritual’ food prepared by the women in the sect. The men enjoy a celebrated narcotic drink, known as Kava, made from a root that is grown locally.
Meanwhile, blurred framed photos of the town god (some of which were donated by the Duke of Edinburgh) are displayed, as the British Union flag will flutter half-staff.
“We will share stories about Prince Philip’s life and there will be a lot of discussion about the future of the cult,” Wahé added. “But since Prince Charles is his son, he will now be worshiped.”
The sect started in the early 70’s, not unlike the ‘cargo cults’ that emerged after World War II when natives linked the delivery of goods from more technologically advanced societies to certain rituals.
Former Buckingham Palace spokesman Dickie Arbiter explained how the Duke was worshiped during a visit to Vanuatu with Queen Elizabeth II in 1974.
“One of the rowers they took ashore was a guy from Tanna named Chief Jack,” Arbiter said. “He thought Philip a long time ago was a warrior who came down from the mountains and went to England in search of a bride.”
“The bride is Mrs. Queen, so Philip is the god,” he said. Unfortunately, Prince Philip was never able to set foot on the island of Tanna himself, although in 2007 he received a delegation of five men from Yaohnanen at Windsor Castle – the royal residence where he died.
But, as anthropologist Kirk Huffman noted to The Post, members of the sect can take comfort in their belief that his soul will be “reclaimed.”
They also claim that, although Prince Philip’s body will be buried in England, ‘his spirit may return to the island’.