A tribe living on a remote South Pacific Island who believe Prince Philip is their god and the incarnation of a volcano spirit are devastated over his death and have started a ritualistic mourning process that could last for weeks.
The Yaohnanen tribesmen and women on the Vanuatu island of Tanna had been asleep when the Duke of Edinburgh’s death was announced to the world on Friday night and were up early to harvest yams the following morning. 
They were not aware of the tragic news until a woman from a nearby resort told them when they returned from their work on Saturday afternoon.
The tribe’s sorrow was immediately evident as women burst into tears and heartbroken men fell silent as they tried to comfort their children.
Mary Niere, who works as an accountant at the White Grass Ocean Resort and Spa, told Daily Mail Australia the village was mostly empty when she arrived but there was an elderly man sitting at the nakamal – where the men meet and drink cava.
Ms Niere said ritualistic wailing is a traditional custom on the island for those dealing with immense grief and could last for weeks.
For decades, the 400-strong community has worshipped Prince Philip, praying everyday that he would protect their banana and yam crops.
It’s not entirely clear how the Prince, who never visited the island, came to be seen as a deity.
It’s believed tribesmen had seen large portraits of him with Queen Elizabeth when they visited Port Vila in the 1960s, and impressed that he had married a ‘powerful white queen’ on the other side of the world, started to believe he was the incarnation of a volcano spirit who would one day return to Tanna.