Divine duke
Prince Philip, the late husband of British monarch Queen Elizabeth II, lived behind the shadow of his eminent wife. But there are other
people who give the Duke of Edinburgh higher regard.
In Sri Lanka, Prince Philip had been a symbol of one of the oldest hotels in the island, though not through his person, but his car. The Galle Face Hotel in Colombo will continue to display his 1935 Standard Nine, the first car he ever bought for 12 pounds in 1940 when, as a member of the Royal Navy, he was stationed in Ceylon, as the island then under Britain’s control was called. Prince Philip, a car lover, was said to have bought the silver-and-black sedan in two installments.
The car that had been driven for not more than 93,000 kilometers remains functional, but is no longer used because its motor insurance is so prohibitive. Galle Face owner Sanjeev Gardiner, who inherited the car from his memorabilia collector father who acquired it in the 1950s, made a museum piece out of it as an attraction of the hotel.
Meanwhile, two native tribes in Vanuatu are more than big fans of Prince Philip. Villagers of Yakel and Yaohnanen in the island of Tanna also keep memorabilia of the Duke. They mostly have photos of the Duke, which they brought during recent gatherings and rituals meant to mourn his death last week at the age of 99.
The two tribes had a close affinity with Prince Philip that dates back to the British-French colonial rule of Vanuatu when the Pacific island was still named New Hebrides.
According to anthropologist Kirk Huffman who has studied the said tribes since the 1970s, the belief started when they saw a photo of the Duke and the Queen on the walls of British colonial outposts since she was considered the leader of the British empire. The belief was reinforced during the Royal Couple’s visit to the island in 1974 and their participation in the locals’ custom of drinking kava, a root crop-derived liquor.
Prince Philip and tribe leaders even exchanged letters and gifts afterwards. In 2007, five tribesmen also visited the Duke at Windsor Castle, where he was buried on Saturday, bringing him gifts.
With his death, there is the belief among the Yakel and Yaohnanen villagers that the dead Prince Philip will travel to Tanna to be with them. Of course, his remains will not be physically transferred to the island. What they think is that his soul will journey across the oceans to reach Tanna and live with them in spirit, Huffman explained.
Huffman further said the reverence of the tribes for Prince Philip is based on the villagers’ belief that he is one of them who left the island and was prophesied to marry a powerful wife overseas. They believe he was a reincarnation of an ancestor who lives in the Tanna mountains. In other words, to them, Prince Philip is a god.