Duke inspired islander devotees
MELBOURNE: Prince Philip maintained a respectful 50-year relationship with an indigenous group in the island nation of Vanuatu that venerated him based on their shared respect for tradition, in contrast to his history of racially insensitive remarks.
The veneration of Philip, who died on Friday, by people on Tanna Island in Vanuatu was one of the more curious aspects of the life of the late husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.
The villagers’ special interest in Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, manifested itself in daily prayers for his blessing of their banana and yam crops and the posting of photos in village homes, including one from 1980 of him in a suit holding a club, made and sent to London by the islanders.
Their reverence was related to Philip’s love of custom and an ancient prophesy, according to Sydneybased anthropologist Kirk Huffman, who spent 18 years in Vanuatu, including 12 as the curator for its national museum.
“His thing was the promotion of respect for tradition and that is, I think, one of the things that really clicked with them. These people follow a very ancient philosophical tradition,” said Huffman.
“In this case, he has been incredibly
respectful, very sympathetic. He’s communicated with them, he’s sent them gifts, they have sent him gifts, really since the 1970s,” he said.
The veneration of Philip also stemmed from a local legend of the pale-skinned son of a local mountain god who ventured across the seas to look for a rich and powerful woman to marry.
Anthropologists believe Philip, who fitted the bill by marrying the queen, became linked to the legend in the 1960s when Vanuatu was an Anglo-french colony known as the New Hebrides. Villagers at the time were likely to have seen portraits of Philip and Elizabeth at government offices and police stations run by colonial officials before he visited the island with the Queen in 1974.
With his death, their honour of Philip is unlikely to cease, although it may change form, Huffman said.
Since their belief system is not tied to the monarchy, how they may take to the duke’s son Prince Charles, who two members of the group met in the capital of Port-vila several years ago, is up to them, Huffman said.
He said at the time, Prince Charles drank Kava, a highly intoxicating local beverage, with one, while the other gave him a gift for his father.