Post #713542 by Rum Dog on Thu, Apr 10, 2014 7:31 AM

THE STORY OF KAPU

THE CONCLUSION:THE KAPU CANNIBAL COCKTAIL

You read about it, you heard about it, but never in your wildest dreams did you believe it to be true. But there it will be in two days staring you square in the eye. Yes, the Cannibal Cocktail of Kapu is about to be unleashed. This concoction which originated in the south-eastern section of Papua New Guinea with the Kapu tribe is renowned for its high alcoholic content as well as its reported use of actual human brains extracted from the cannibal’s victims. The beverage was first discovered by Westerners in 1914 by Hermann Detzer , a German surveyor, who was sent to German New Guinea on a mapmaking expedition by Kaiser Wilhelm prior to WWI. He later contracted Kuru disease which was the 1900’s version of Mad-Cow disease. (It was reported that he contracted the disease from his consumption of the Kapu cocktail). To satisfy the public curiosity about his adventures, Detzner wrote Four Years among the Cannibals which was well received back native Germany.

Hermann Detzer and the book "Four Years among the Cannibals"

Detzner described the native cannibals in his book as the the “skirted ones”

This pre-war German postcard from New Guinea depicts the exotic locale of the German protectorate. Widely distributed cards such as this, whether sold as post cards or in cigarette packages, often intensified interest in the colonial enterprise by offering an exciting and evocative visual image. As a result many Germans, especially in Hamburg, began decorating their homes with exotic Kapu New Guinea items that were brought back. This started the style craze in Germany that later became known as “pre-mid-century modern”.

Towards the End of World War I in 1918, Detzer was run out of Papua New Guinea by Teddy Roosevelt along with a Gatling Gun and some of his old Rough Riders pals and a younger regiment.

It is reported that the former president and his men celebrated their accomplishment by drinking some Kapu Cannibal Cocktail that was left behind by Detzer. Roosevelt died a few months later on January 6, 1919 from “health complications” at the age of 60.

Roosevelt, seated to the right, and his men celebrating with some of the Papa New Guinea Kapu Cocktail.

Come enjoy the beverage that was worthy of a president on Mount Rushmore.

The Cannibal Cocktail available this Saturday only at Kapu Jungle & Village during the Tent & Trailer Crawl at Mojave Oasis.