AN UNUSUAL VIEW OF DIVINITY
The UK and the world mourn the loss of Prince Philip, who passed awayrecently at the age of 99. But perhaps few are mourning as much as the people of Yaohnanen and Yakel, two villages in the island nation of Vanuatu, who revere the Duke of Edinburgh as a god.
The tribespeople are followers of the Prince Philip Movement, who believe the prince is a divine being.
On Monday, tribespeople gathered to remember their departed deity, and to send condolences to Queen Elizabeth. "The connection between the people on the island of Tanna and the English people is very strong... We are sending condolence messages to the Royal Family and the people of England," the tribal leader Chief Yapa said.
But how did a group of indigenous people in the South Pacific come to believe in the divinity of a man a world away?
It all stems from an indigenous legend about the son of a mountain spirit who left the island and traveled over the seas to...read more