The people of the tribe on a remote island in the South Pacific, who worship Prince Philip as a god, were disappointed when they finally heard of his death.
The word spread quickly around Yaohnanen village – part of a rainforest on the island of Tanna, with inappropriate communications – after the news was broken by an employee of the Vanuatu Cultural Center on Saturday.
The Duke of Edinburgh died peacefully at home at Windsor Castle, England, at the age of 99, after a two-month illness for which he was hospitalized in February.
“People were very sad when they heard about the passing of this great man,” said Jean-Pascal Wahé, the worker tasked with driving for four hours in the remote area and conveying the sad message. “He was a very important man for all of us and he is a great loss.”
An estimated 700 natives attribute the so-called movement to Prince Philip, believing that the British queen’s husband descended from a mountain deity who watches over their crops and welfare.
The former fast naval officer made a pretty big impression during his decades-long visits to the Vanuata archipelago – whose Tanna is an island – prompting its inhabitants to adopt him as a type of god.
Now their idol is dead, the followers are expected to turn their attention to his eldest son, Prince Charles, who is the first in line to the throne of Great Britain.
First, however, they are preparing for an epic “day of mourning” on Monday to celebrate and commemorate Prince Philip.
“I send messages to neighboring villages so that people can hear about the plans,” Wahé told The Post exclusively. “It is impossible to know exactly how many people will come, but we expect 100 to 500 of them.”
The event will involve ritual complaints, traditional dance and “spiritual” food prepared by the women of the sect. A famous narcotic drink known as Kava, made from a locally grown root, will be enjoyed by men.
Meanwhile, faded, framed photographs of the villagers’ idol (some of which were donated by the Duke of Edinburgh) will be on display, as the British Union flag will fly at half-staff.
“We will share stories about the life of Prince Philip and there will be many discussions about the future of the cult,” Wahé added. “But since Prince Charles is his son, he will now be revered.”
The sect began in the early 1970s, not unlike the “cargo cults” that formed after World War II, when the natives linked deliveries of goods from more technologically advanced societies to certain rituals.
Former Buckingham Palace spokesman Dickie Arbiter explained how the duke came to be revered during a visit to Vanuatu with Queen Elizabeth II in 1974.
“One of the oarsmen who took them ashore was a guy from Tanna, named Chief Jack,” Arbiter said. “He thought Philip was a long-time warrior who had come down from the mountains and gone to England in search of a bride.”
“The bride is Mrs. Queen, so Philip is the god,” he said. Unfortunately, Prince Philip never set foot on Tanna Island itself, although he received a five-man delegation from Yaohnanen to Windsor Castle – the royal residence where he died – in 2007.
But, as anthropologist Kirk Huffman pointed out to The Post, members of the sect can comfort their belief that his soul will be “recycled.”
They also claim that while Prince Philip’s body will be buried in England, “his spirit could return to the island”.