He sees the world as a very dangerous place
We don’t know the name of his tribe or what language he speaks
It’s a mess of greens and browns, a bird calling out in the distance as the camera hunts for its subject. Zoomed in from a safe distance, the entire frame shutters with the slightest movement, tightening and then widening on a tan, fleshy form chopping rhythmically into a tree. Having spotted the man, the shooter takes a few cautious steps forward, filming the ground immediately ahead, crunching tangled vegetation beneath.
In under a minute-and-a-half of grainy, motion sick video, we receive just enough visual information to identity the back of a man captured from a far enough distance to create a slight sync disconnect between the sight and sound of the axe head breaking the tree. It’s the barest possible minimum of video required to offer a sign of life. It telegraphs that the man is still around, still reasonably healthy, still capable of fending for himself, in spite of it all.
The name of his tribe is not known, and so little information exists that his observers have not bothered to bestow one upon it. In the decades since he was first spotted, however, the man has earned a handful of nicknames – most notably, “The Man of the Hole.” Adopting a semi-nomadic lifestyle, he has abandoned several homes, leaving a deep hole in each. Precisely what role these serve, too, is unknown. Animal trapping, spiritual worship and hiding have all been proposed. The latter seems especially plausible for a man with much to hide from.
“The Lone Survivor” tag has been applied, as well, and more poetically, “The Loneliest Man on Earth,” both references to the commonly accepted belief that he is the last of his tribe. A 1995 land conflict killed a half-dozen fellow tribe members. It was the culmination of centuries of encroaching modernity, with the 80s and 90s seeing a dramatic uptick in farmers, loggers and other signposts of late-20th century progress with little use for his kind.
"He has undergone such a violent experience,” notes Fiona Watson, a member of a tribal peoples advocacy group, “he sees the world as a very dangerous place.” Her group adds, “His people were probably massacred by cattle ranchers who invaded the region.”
The video, released in 2018, served as both evidence that the man was still alive and seemingly well in his 50s (or thereabouts). His continued existence drives home the necessity to protect what remains of his surroundings. But such documentation is the closest interaction his observers have will likely ever have, but for the occasional indigenous tool left behind at his huts when he’s gone for the day – including the axe capture in the video. Such gestures serve to keep him alive and, perhaps, offer the slightest bit of goodwill in an existence largely devoid of such things.
The distance is at the man’s behest. In 2004, he fired an arrow as a warning shot, connecting with an observer in the process. First documented in 1996, in a forest preserve now surrounded on all sides by farms and clearings, he has resisted all attempts at direct contact, out of fear or anger.
Both are warranted.
“Some of the ranchers have their eye on his land,” Watson writes, “and there are plenty of trigger happy gun men who would think nothing of bumping him off for the cost of a night on the town.”
At the video’s 1:20 mark, the man abruptly ceases swinging his axe, appearing to have finished the job. He collects what he needs, before disappearing into a mess of rainforest foliage and digital noise.
Sources:
The Last of Hist Tribe https://www.survivalinternational.org/articles/3105-the-last-of-his-tribe
Footage of sole survivor of Amazon tribe emerges https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/19/footage-sole-survivor-amazon-tribe-emerges-brazil
Last survivor: The story of the 'world's loneliest man' https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-44901055
Índio Isolado da TI Tanaru - O sobrevivente que a Funai acompanha há 22 anos https://youtu.be/kvfJBijV4XQ