Rumors and myths don’t appear out of a vacuum; there is always at least a kernel of truth somewhere. For years there were stories of a man that lived in a legally protected forest in Brazil. It seems that he was always digging holes, the stories went, sometimes as traps to catch large animals, but sometimes for no known reasons. He also seemed to be living in a hole because holes were found inside of little houses built of palm leaves.

In 1995 the Brazilian government’s Indian Affairs Department, called FUNAI, set out to investigate the stories, and in 1997 found him in one of his houses. The best that FUNAI can tell from their investigation is that the man is the sole survivor of a small indigenes tribe that had lived in the rain forest. The Cattle ranchers, who wanted the land to raise their cattle, had massacred the tribe in at least two raids.

Just imagine being the last surviving member of your tribe, and living in a forest where there are no other people. Studies now reveal that the man of the hole is not the only one who has this plight. There are an estimated 40,000 isolated people worldwide of which we don’t know very much about; many must be the last of their kind. Now, as part of the paradigm shift (I think), an international organization was launched this month called Survival International. Their goal is to support endangered tribal peoples, and for the man of the hole FUNAI has added 3000 protected hectares to include more areas of forest they know he uses. So where it is too late for the man of the hole, a new consciousness is growing and endangered tribal people will be treated with new dignity.

O Frank Turner
Author and Speaker
The Science of Spirit: Beyond The Bleep www.ofrank.com