The “Man of the Hole” the last surviving member of an Amazonian tribe has died, human rights organization Survival International said on Sunday. The man was the sole inhabitant of the Tanaru indigenous territory in the Brazilian state of Rondonia. The London-based human rights organization that runs the global movement for tribal peoples said the remainder of the tribe was killed in the 1970s.
Man from the hole
The man was named after his habit of creating deep holes as traps, some with sharp pins, the human rights body said. He lived alone in a small patch of forest bordered by soybean farms and cattle ranches. “He endured appalling violence in which everyone close to him was killed. For many years he lived completely alone and resisted all attempts to contact him. He is now dead and the genocide of his people is complete,” Survival International said. FUNAI, Brazil’s government agency for tribal peoples, filmed the man in 2018.
The documents say he always insisted on being left alone and did not wish to make contact with the outside world. Very little was known about the tribe because they refused contact with outsiders.
Around 1990, FUNAI discovered its presence after discovering evidence of demolished houses – the kind of houses that people build. He was able to live thanks to FUNAI’s efforts to legally defend his territory despite a targeted attack by militants in 2009.
