Death of indigenous Brazilian ‘completes genocide of his tribe’

‘There were no signs of violence or struggle... everything indicates that the death was natural causes’

AN INDIGENOUS tribesman in Brazil, known only as “the man of the hole”, has been found dead, decades after the rest of his uncontacted tribe were killed off by ranchers and illegal miners, officials have said.

The man – whose real name was never known to the outside world – had lived in complete isolation for 26 years.

His body was found in a hammock in a hut in the Tanaru indigenous territory in Brazil’s Rondonia state, which borders Bolivia, on Aug 23, Brazil’s National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) said.

He was the last of his people, having refused all contact with the outside world, and supported himself by hunting and raising crops.

His nickname derived from his habit of digging deep holes inside the huts he built, possibly to trap animals but also in which to hide himself.

He lived in an indigenous territory in one of the most dangerous parts of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest, according to Survival International. Surrounded by cattle ranches, it was under constant threat from illegal miners and loggers.

Authorities did not comment on the cause of the man’s death, nor his age, but estimates put him at 60.

They said “there were no signs of vio- lence or struggle”. They also found no evidence of the presence of anyone else in his home or around it.

“Everything indicates that the death was from natural causes,” said FUNAI.

Local media reported that the man’s body had been covered in macaw feathers, prompting one expert to speculate that he had known he was about to die as the ritual is consistent with death.

The man was believed to have been alone since the remaining members of his small tribe were killed in the mid1990s by illegal loggers and miners seeking to exploit the tribal area.

“With his death, the genocide of this indigenous people is complete,” said Fiona Watson, Survival’s director of investigation.