Prince Philip: Island tribe will wail for the man they worshipped

By Michael Holmes
Published 10th Apr 2021, 11:30 BST
Updated 10th Apr 2021, 11:32 BST
A person holds a photograph of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh outside Windsor Castle, Berkshire, following the announcement of his death at the age of 99. Picture date: Friday April 9, 2021. Picture: PA Wire/PA Images/Victoria JonesA person holds a photograph of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh outside Windsor Castle, Berkshire, following the announcement of his death at the age of 99. Picture date: Friday April 9, 2021. Picture: PA Wire/PA Images/Victoria Jones
A person holds a photograph of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh outside Windsor Castle, Berkshire, following the announcement of his death at the age of 99. Picture date: Friday April 9, 2021. Picture: PA Wire/PA Images/Victoria Jones
A tribe in the remote island nation of Vanuatu who saw Philip as a god will greet his death with ritual wailing and ceremonial dancing, an expert said.

The group, based in villages on the island of Tanna in the former Anglo-French colony, revered the Duke of Edinburgh and believed him to be a reincarnation of an ancient warrior who left the island to fight a war.

The heavily spiritual group in Yaohnanen and surrounding villages felt the leader of the fighters would return to the islands with a rich white wife.

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Kirk Huffman, an authority on what is known as the Prince Philip Movement, told the Daily Telegraph: “I imagine there will be some ritual wailing, some special dances.

“There will be a focus on the men drinking kava (an infusion made from the root of a pepper plant) – it is the key to opening the door to the intangible world.