The vanishing Akuntsu of Brazil

One of the world’s smallest-known indigenous tribes recently lost one of its members:

The Akuntsu tribe resides in small parcel of rainforest in the western Rondônia state and has been recognized by Brazil’s government. According to Survival International (SI), they reside in a pair of communal houses on protected land after encroaching ranchers nearly wiped them out in the 20th century. Originally numbering in the hundreds, only seven remained as recently as fifteen years ago. (One of the survivors died in 2000 due to a "freak accident").

What had been a tribe of six sadly dwindled to five after the death of the tribal matriarch called Ururú. She died of old age in her hut on October 1st and she may soon be joined by her brother Konibu who was reportedly in critical condition.

Unfortunately, the Akuntsu may soon be a relic of the past due to its own customs but also as a result of the outside world:

(…) on its own, the Akuntsu gene pool cannot allow it to survive another generation. Since tribal custom will apparently not allow outsiders to marry in, it is therefore effectively doomed.

The Akuntsu story is not unique. Even if they escape persecution, communities that have never encountered the outside world often face tragedy. Typically they lose between 50 and 80 per cent of their population in a matter of months, since they have no immunity to common diseases…

(SI’s Stephen Corry)… said: "The "Akuntsu are at the end of the road. In a few decades this once vibrant and self-sufficient people will cease to exist and the world will have lost yet another piece of our astonishing human diversity.

Online Sources- Survival International, YouTube, The Independent, Washington Post, The Australian