July 20, 2018

The "indigenous man in the hole" — the last survivor of an uncontacted Amazon tribe — who has lived alone for at least 22 years.

"Semi-naked and swinging an axe vigorously as he fells a tree, the man, believed to be in his 50s, has never been filmed so clearly before and appears to be in excellent health."
“He is very well, hunting, maintaining some plantations of papaya, corn,” said Altair Algayer, a regional coordinator for the Brazilian government indigenous agency Funai in the Amazon state of Rondônia, who was with the team who filmed the footage from a distance. “He has good health and a good physical shape doing all those exercises.”...

Loggers, farmers and land grabbers murdered and expelled indigenous populations in the area in the 1970s and 1980s, and the man is believed to be the only survivor of a group of six killed during an attack by farmers in 1995. He was first located in 1996 and has been monitored by Funai ever since.

Funai has a policy of avoiding contact with isolated groups and has protected his area since the 1990s. The indigenous reserve of Tanaru was legally set up in 2015. Axes, machetes and seeds traditionally planted by indigenous people have been left for the man to find, Algayer said, but he clearly wants nothing to do with mainstream society.

“I understand his decision,” said Algayer. “It is his sign of resistance, and a little repudiation, hate, knowing the story he went through.”
They read his mind, this poor man who's been alone so long. How could they know what he feels is hate and not fear and that his desire is to resist and that he is not endlessly hoping for a friend?

59 comments:

traditionalguy said...

The State Arborist will issue him a citation for tree removal without a plan to replace it that has approved by 5 bureaucrats 6 months after after paying a huge fee. Who does he thing he is?

Begonia said...

Sounds like he could just walk out of the reserve and onto a road: his reserve is surrounded by farmland.

Read the linked article: https://www.survivalinternational.org/articles/3105-the-last-of-his-tribe

You would see this:

He’s known simply as the ‘Last of his Tribe’. He builds huge holes, either to trap animals or to hide in.... Get too near and he will fire an arrow in warning. Last year he hit Tunio, who works for FUNAI, Brazil’s Indian Affairs Department. Fortunately, Tunio quickly recovered.

Sounds like he wants to be left alone to me.

traditionalguy said...

Besides that in not his land. The Pope gave it all to the King of Portugal and the Pope is the representative of the Son of God who made all land in the first place.

n.n said...

The Guardian denies the man privacy for activities that are not sanctioned by their religion.

readering said...

At least he doesn't need to pull back from twitter, unlike Maggie Haberman, who has an op-ed on the subject in today's NYT.

Meade said...

“Save the trees, save the bees, save the whales, save those snails.”

Save the vole,
save the mole.
Save that hearty lonesome last indigenous
man in the hole!

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

"Resist" is a very popular word these days.

readering said...

Haberman: "Twitter is now an anger video game for many users. It is the only platform on which people feel free to say things they’d never say to someone’s face." She has yet to discover this platform.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Someone send this guy's resume to David Streitfield, he seems an ideal candidate to cover the tech industry.

Yancey Ward said...

The poor guy was trying to get away from Trump!

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Does he know that Trump and the Russians colluded to steal the election from the Clinton Crime syndicate?

Black Bellamy said...

These people need to be monetized so they can pay for their expensive jungle paradise.

SDaly said...

Giving him an axe and machete? His people were stone-age, they did not have metal tools. Why not leave an unlocked iPhone around for him in case he wants to use it.

mockturtle said...

How would we like someone to come film us doing our yard work in our underwear? Rude!

rhhardin said...

He should take up math. Mathematicians only need human contact about once a year and even then that can seem excessive.

rhhardin said...

He probably orders from Amazon.

gspencer said...

Taking down a tree?

You have a permit for that?

ceowens said...

This is the scenario I invoke when someone opines that I don't "need" a 30 round magazine or an AR 15. This fellow has what you "need". Let me enter your home and rid you of what I think you don't "need."

bagoh20 said...

He's been heard yelling "FREEEEEEDOM!"

Paul Zrimsek said...

He's been living for Friday just like the rest of us.

Big Mike said...

Leave him an axe or a machete? How about leave him a nubile young female or two so that his genetic line will continue?

D 2 said...

Bagoh beat me to it. Looks like the "State" which presumably lays some monopoly claim of keeping the Law over the terrain the man walks (ie they would -I presume- still stop him from abducting babies if he started to venture onto a farm, say) has the freedom to not have the State tell him what to do in his pursuit of happiness. Perhaps giving him exemption from Tree Laws (in exchange for no Recreation Services) Although he is possibly not showing sufficient respect for the value of diversity in Society.

I have lost my share of arguments involving the uncontacted tribe philosophy that I am somewhat shy to opine now with my purported betters. We are all in this together then ZOOM record speed hey leave that guy out of it!

I can't keep up with the relativity.

Rob said...

Just because this near-naked man is robustly swinging that axe is no excuse for the wolf whistle.

gerry said...

Is that a metal head on that axe?

reader said...

I’m having a hard time with the semi-naked. Near naked seems ok. You are approaching naked. Semi, no. If you are half or partially naked then you are half or partially clothed. So not naked.

traditionalguy said...

With no other men around what good is it that all men are created equal. What he needs ( besides a smart woman) is at least one other man to go to war with. He looks like a Hatfield to me.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Big Mike said...

Leave him an axe or a machete? How about leave him a nubile young female or two so that his genetic line will continue?

7/20/18, 2:11 PM

Might be a hard sell. I doubt he's much of a conversationalist. OTOH, he presents a splendid opportunity for a feminist who can educate him about intersectionality and warn him against mansplaining.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Big Mike said...

How about leave him a nubile young female or two so that his genetic line will continue?

Well, if you're handing out nubile young females, where does the line start? ( Asking for a friend. ( Yes, the friend happens to be in my pants. ))

Ralph L said...

Was the rest of the tribe killed before 1995 or did they die off from contact with Europeans like most of the pre-Columbians did?

robother said...

Is this the guy who started the ridiculous tradition of yelling "In the hole!" at every tee shot in a major?

Sal said...

I'm reading Sapiens. The author suggests that our hunter-gatherer ancestors were generally healthier, happier and smarter than we are. He makes a good case.

Big Mike said...

@Ignorance, @exiledonmainstreet, find women who go for the strong, silent type.

PM said...

Maybe there's another Rockefeller we can send him.

Meade said...

rhhardin said...
“He should take up math.”

Sort of like an indigenous Unabomber but with less technology.

By the way, why are we so sure he’s feeling like ‘leave me alone’? If I were him, I’d probably take that as a micro aggression.
For all we know, shooting arrows at humans is just his way of saying ‘I love you. Can’t we be friends?’

Anonymous said...

Yeti of the South!

Meade said...

Sad-eyed Yeti of the Lowlands

Meade said...

gerry said...
“Is that a metal head on that axe?s that a metal head on that axe?”

Good eye.

So he clearly does NOT want nothing to do with mainstream society.

n.n said...

He should claim that he offers Parent Planning services in order to reclaim legal rites to his privacy. That should keep The Guardian and similar;y oriented publications from applying #Labels and indulging in #Judgment.

Not Sure said...

Another angry incel raging against nature.

D 2 said...

Get out the vote campaign digs deep for support.

gilbar said...

after they MURDERED the rest of his tribe; they considerately avoid all contact with him?

What's THE WORST THING that Amish people do? Hint, it's SO TERRIBLE, that it is considered to be inhuman, not just inhumane.
Answer: They SHUN people. Making them essentially live in solitary confinement; having no interaction with Anyone

What's THE WORST THING that the penal system does? Hint, it's considered Actually WORSE than capital punishment.
Answer: Long Term Solitary Confinement. Lack of human interaction is considered immoral


What are we doing to this guy? After we murdered all his tribe; we REFUSE to allow him entry into our tribe; making him live out his life: Shunned, and in Solitary Confinement.
Now, of course; people will say: "oh, if he wanted to surrender to the people that murdered his tribe; we'd welcome him. But, we're going to leave it up to him, since he trusts us to MURDER him.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

The author suggests that our hunter-gatherer ancestors were generally healthier, happier and smarter than we are. He makes a good case.

7/20/18, 3:35 PM

Ah, yes. Rousseau's "Noble Savage."

Maybe they were happier. We have no way of knowing that, do we? Maybe they were healthier - at least until they broke a leg or cracked a tooth or got a spear in the gut.

I question how much smarter they were than the people who created the wheel, figured out agriculture and built the Pantheon, Chartres and the Taj Mahal. OTOH, I have no doubt they were smarter than Joe Biden and Maxine Waters.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

gilbar, excellent points. And now I feel ashamed of making light of his situation.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

"After we murdered all his tribe"

What do you mean we, Tonto?

Meade said...

Yeah, what do you mean we, Ishi?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishi

n.n said...

What do you mean we, Tonto?

White European Brazilians. That said, The Guardian will deny his right to privacy unless he participates in the progressive tradition of Aztecs and liberals and sacrifice a baby to Stork.

jerpod said...

This guy could clean up on Naked and Afraid.

I'm Full of Soup said...

"They read his mind, this poor man who's been alone so long. How could they know what he feels is hate and not fear and that his desire is to resist and that he is not endlessly hoping for a friend?"

Perhaps he should start a blog and fine his Meade.

I'm Full of Soup said...

"Find" not fine.

Kevin said...

Just send him a girl. Then he doesn’t have to be the last member of his tribe. End of story.

mockturtle said...

Gilbar asserts: What's THE WORST THING that the penal system does? Hint, it's considered Actually WORSE than capital punishment.
Answer: Long Term Solitary Confinement.


If I were in prison I would do whatever necessary to get put into solitary confinement.

PuertoRicoSpaceport.com said...

Blogger reader said...

I’m having a hard time with the semi-naked. Near naked seems ok. You are approaching naked. Semi, no. If you are half or partially naked then you are half or partially clothed. So not naked.

Not "naked" at all. I forget who but perhaps Lewis Grizzard? said that nude was the state of having no clothes on.

Naked was the state of being nude AND getting up to mischief.

John Henry

gilbar said...

mockturtle said...If I were in prison I would do whatever necessary to get put into solitary confinement.

I assume I would too! *BUT* that's NOT what people do. I don't understand it, but that seems to be the real case.

gilbar said...

Naked was the state of being nude AND getting up to mischief.

so maybe semi-naked means you're about half getting up to mischief? you're semi erect?

Bad Lieutenant said...


If I were in prison I would do whatever necessary to get put into solitary confinement.
7/20/18, 8:37 PM


If the food was good, and if you could leave after a while, it would be a vacation.

mockturtle said...

Solitary confinement with plenty of books.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Thanks, mock. I didn't think if that because I can hardly imagine life without books. And they do have prison libraries, right? I'd miss the Internet but if they included that, why go home?

Eddie said...

Aboriginal Truman show

mikee said...

I'd be a bit suspicious of such stories. Decades ago, another "uncontacted tribe" in the Philippines turned out to be something like the grandkids of some city folk who went native. Hippies, essentially, living off the land.