Man of the Hole facts for kids

The Man of the Hole (Portuguese: índio do buraco, lit. 'Indian of the Hole'; c. 1960s – c. July 2022), also called the Tanaru Indian (Portuguese: Índio Tanaru), was an indigenous person who lived all by himself. He lived in the Amazon rainforest in the Brazilian state of Rondônia. He was the only person living in the Tanaru Indigenous Territory. This is a special protected area set aside by the Brazilian government in 2007.

We do not know what language the Man of the Hole spoke. We also do not know what his people called themselves or what his own name was. He was the very last person left from his community. His people were sadly lost due to actions by Brazilian settlers between the 1970s and 1990s. He lived alone from the mid-1990s until he passed away in 2022.

Since 1996, a Brazilian group called Fundação Nacional do Índio (FUNAI) watched him from a distance. They sometimes left him gifts. But he chose to stay isolated and not have direct contact with anyone. He mainly lived by hunting and gathering food. He moved often and left a deep hole in each of his homes. This is how he got his nickname. The Man of the Hole survived another attack by an armed rancher in 2009. In 2018, FUNAI shared a video of him. This video helped show the world the dangers faced by uncontacted people in Brazil. He was found dead in his home in August 2022.

The Last of His People

The Man of the Hole did not choose to live alone. He was forced to be by himself after his people were lost. Most of his community is thought to have been killed by settlers in the 1970s. Around the same time, other nearby groups like the Akuntsu and Kanoê also faced similar tragedies.

The remaining people from his group, except for the Man of the Hole, were killed in an attack by illegal miners in 1995. FUNAI, Brazil's government agency for indigenous people, later found what was left of their village. It had been bulldozed in 1996. His people had stayed isolated until this point. So, we do not know their name, their language, or the Man of the Hole's real name.

His Life in Isolation

FUNAI first learned about the Man of the Hole living alone in 1996. They noticed that he moved his home from time to time. He built simple straw huts for shelter. He hunted wild animals, collected fruits and honey. He also grew some maize (corn) and manioc (a root vegetable). Over the years, FUNAI found more than 50 huts he had built.

His nickname comes from the deep hole found in every home he left behind. At first, people thought these holes were for trapping animals or for hiding. But some people also think they might have been important for his spiritual beliefs. The holes were narrow and more than 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) deep. FUNAI found 14 similar holes in the ruined village from 1996.

Under Brazil's constitution, indigenous people have rights to the lands they have always lived on. In 2007, FUNAI officially marked off 31 square miles (8,000 ha) of his land. This became a protected indigenous territory called the Tanaru Indigenous Territory. After this, FUNAI watched him and tried to stop people from entering his area. Even so, the Man of the Hole was attacked by armed men in November 2009. Luckily, he managed to survive.

Even though he avoided direct contact, the Man of the Hole knew he was being watched. FUNAI sometimes left gifts like tools and seeds for him. This helped build some trust. He sometimes signaled to the FUNAI teams to help them avoid pitfalls he had dug. These were either for defense or to trap animals. In 2018, FUNAI shared a video of him. This was to make people around the world aware of the dangers faced by uncontacted people in Brazil. In the video, the man, who was thought to be in his 50s, looked healthy.

His Passing

On August 24, 2022, the Man of the Hole was found dead in his last home. FUNAI agent Altair José Algayer found him. He was "lying in his hammock, decorated with macaw feathers, as if waiting for death." There were no signs of violence or anything unusual before his body was found. It was believed he had died in July and was about 60 years old.

His body was taken to the capital city of Porto Velho for an autopsy. This was to find out the exact cause of his death. On August 27, Marcelo dos Santos, an expert on indigenous peoples, said the man should be buried where he lived and died. He also said a memorial should be built by the state. The territory should be protected right away, as it might be invaded. Groups that support indigenous rights agreed with this request.

See also

In Spanish: Hombre del Agujero para niños

• Demasduit and Shanawdithit, the last members of the Beothuk people of Newfoundland and Labrador
• Ishi, the last known member of the Yahi people, in North America