Mother Coconut
Coconuts are “vegetal human heads, and they alone are the proper human nourishment.”
-August Engelhardt
On this episode of “I thought it was interesting….”
The name August Engelhardt isn’t one that springs to mind when you think of the great adventurers, but this guy had a vision and he went for it. In 1902 he left Germany and headed south to the tropics, where he was sure island life would be idyllic and perfect. He landed in Papua New Guinea, purchased a home, and (like you do) founded a cult.
“Paradise, he knew, existed on earth, somewhere along the equator, and the key to happiness was simple: Abandon your earthly possessions, move to a tropical island, become a nudist, and eat only coconuts.”
Followers of Sonnenorden, or the Order of the Sun, worshipped the sun and coconuts. At first glance, I think I could totally get behind this. Spending every day swimming in the sun and eating coconuts sounds pretty great. However, the cult was a bit of a failure – it turns out that man cannot live on coconuts alone, and malaria is a heck of a disease.
Still, you’ve got to hand it to Engelhardt. He went for it. And who among us hasn’t dreamed of leaving it all behind and living on a tropical island? The tradeoff for his idyllic life was a ghastly ending, but who knows. Maybe he thought it was worth it. It’s a weird kind of inspiration, but I’m happy for the dude.
Do yourself a favor and read all about the Coconut Cult on Gastro Obscura, and let me know what you think, honestly. Would you consider joining?