Some are convinced the cyclone that ravaged their country in March was nature's dramatic curtain-raiser to his arrival in 2016.

They believe Prince Philip will, at least, visit them and, at best, take up residence among them.

During a Royal Visit in 1974, a man named Chief Jack Naiva, was one of the paddlers of a war canoe that greeted the royal yacht Britannia at Port Vila.

He became convinced that Prince Philip was the descendant of a Tanna spiritual ancestor.

"I saw him standing on the deck in his white uniform," Chief Jack is on record as saying. "I knew then that he was the true messiah."

Prince Philip has exchanged gifts with the islanders, including sending them a signed portrait of himself.

Anthropologists say it is easy to mock the islanders' beliefs, which have commonly come to be called cargo cults.

Some scholars say is the people's way of coping the intrusion of colonisers on what for centuries was an undisturbed, traditional way of life.

Source

• telegraph.co.uk
• Image: express.co.uk

They say the cyclone, and subsequent aid, are a precursor to a major event that was foretold to take place next year.

The island of Tanna in Vanuatu is known for its peculiar set of new religious movements, including what are popularly known as cargo cults.

Cargo cult followers believe an adherence to American military protocols will bring back goods, equipment and a bountiful lifestyle that was in abundance during World War II.

Followers of the John Frum movement worship the man who promised a life of prosperity during the American military's presence on the island during the second world war.

They routinely raise a flag in the village and march with makeshift wooden rifles over their shoulders like the long-gone soldiers used to.

Tearfund worker, Andrew Finlay, came to Tanna in the wake of Cyclone Pam.

He says while the beliefs were hard for the western world to understand, their importance to the community should not be undervalued.

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
• Image: i0.wp.com/militaryhistorynow.com