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The tribespeople on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu will mourn by dancing, speeches and the ceremonial drinking of the native plant kava, according to an expert on the culture.
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Remote South Pacific tribe who worship Prince Philip debate replacing him as their god with his son Charles in papal conclave-like ceremony and mourn their fallen deity for 100 days
Remote 400-strong South Pacific tribe are mourning the loss of Prince Philip who was revered as a god
Yaohnanen tribesmen and women live on the Vanuatu island of Tanna and harvest their own food
The tribe prayed each day to Prince Philip to protect their banana and yam crops from destruction
Since finding out about his death the group will undergo a mourning process that could last several weeks
Yapa said they were sending condolence messages to the royal family and the people of England. Anthropologist Kirk Huffman, who had studied the tribes since the 1970s, said for the next few weeks, villagers would meet to conduct rites for the Duke, who was seen as a “recycled descendant of a very powerful spirit or god that lives on one of their mountains”. They would likely conduct ritualistic dance, hold a procession, and display memorabilia of Prince Philip, while the men will drink kava, a ceremonial drink made from the roots of the kava plant, Huffman wrote. The rituals will culminate with a “significant gathering” as a final act of mourning, he said.