Prince Philip movement
A cargo cult venerating Prince Philip as a divine figure.
On the island of Tanna in Vanuatu, the Kastom people in Yaohnanen and Yakel follow a cargo cult known as the Prince Philip movement. They worship Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II, as a divine figure.
Quick Facts
- Location
- Yaohnanen and Yakel villages, southern Tanna Island, Vanuatu
- Deity
- Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921–2021)
- Related figure
- Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022)
- Key event
- Royal couple's official visit to Vanuatu in 1974
- Key object
- Signed official photograph sent by Prince Philip
- Key leader
- Chief Jack Naiva (died 2009)
Facts from the source article.
Origins
Ancient Yaohnanen tales spoke of a son of a mountain spirit who traveled to a distant land, married a powerful lady, and would one day return. This figure was sometimes said to be a brother to John Frum. The Yaohnanen and Takel people, observing the respect colonial officials showed Queen Elizabeth II, concluded that her husband Prince Philip must be that son, with Britain as the distant land. The belief likely emerged in the 1950s or 1960s and was strengthened by the royal couple's 1974 visit to Vanuatu, when a few villagers saw Prince Philip from a distance. The Prince learned of the sect years later through John Champion, the British Resident Commissioner in the New Hebrides.
Interactions with Prince Philip
At Champion's suggestion, Prince Philip sent a signed official photograph to the villagers. They responded with a traditional pig-killing club called a nal-nal. The Prince then sent a photograph of himself posing with the club, and another photograph in 2000. All three photographs were kept by Chief Jack Naiva, who died in 2009. Anne, Princess Royal, visited Tanna in October 2014; Charles III, then Prince of Wales, visited in 2018. In 2007, five Tanna men from the movement traveled to Britain for the reality show Meet the Natives, culminating in an off-screen audience with Philip where gifts were exchanged, including a new photograph. The sect celebrated the 2018 wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with a party featuring the Union Jack, dancing, and pigs, after a travel agent relayed news of the wedding.
Reaction to Prince Philip's death
When Prince Philip died in April 2021, the group went into mourning. Village Chief Albi said he was "terribly, terribly sorry," and Chief Yapa sent his condolences to the royal family. The Union Flag flew at half-staff at the nakamal. Chief Jack Malia noted that while the Duke was gone, they still had a link to the Queen, the "mother" of the royal family.
Media coverage
In 2010, Australian journalist Amos Roberts reported on the locals' celebration of Philip's 89th birthday for SBS's Dateline. The people of Yaohnanen village appeared in a 2011 episode of An Idiot Abroad with Karl Pilkington. The 2013 book Man Belong Mrs Queen by Matthew Baylis investigated the movement's origins. Kate Humble discussed the movement in the 2015 BBC Two documentary Kate Humble: Into the Volcano. The 2018 Australian podcast Zealot covered it in episode 13, and the 2018 TV documentary The Pacific: In the Wake of Captain Cook with Sam Neill included a segment. In April 2021, the BBC World Service podcast Heart and Soul aired an episode titled Prince belong Vanuatu. English actor Martin Clunes documented the villagers' belief in the 2022 documentary series Martin Clunes: Islands of the Pacific.
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