‘Best a human can be’: indigenous Amazonian Karapiru dies of Covid

Karapiru Awa Guaja, among the last of the hunter-gatherer Awa tribe, survived a massacre and a decade alone in the forest, inspiring others with his resilience and extraordinary warmth'

He survived a massacre that killed most of his family in the Brazilian Amazon and lived for 10 years alone in the forest, but Karapiru Awa Guaja could not escape the pandemic.

Karapiru, one of the last of the hunter-gatherer nomadic Awa of Maranhao state, died of Covid-19 earlier this month. With only 300 Awa thought to remain, they have been called the earth's most threatened tribe".