Amou Haji
Amou Haji smoking, pre-2014
Born20 August 1928
Fars province, Persia
Died23 October 2022(2022-10-23) (aged 94)
Dezh Gah Rural District, Fars province, Iran
Known forUncleanliness

Amou Haji (Persian: عمو حاجى, lit. 'Uncle Hajji'; 20 August 1928 – 23 October 2022), also known as the "World's Dirtiest Man",[1] was an Iranian man known for not bathing for more than 60 years.

Description

Amou Haji was not his real name, but an affectionate nickname generally given to elderly people, roughly meaning "old timer".[2][3] He lived in the village of Dezh Gah in Fars province. He did not bathe for over 60 years—from c. 1957–62 until shortly before his death in 2022—because he feared that soap and water might cause disease.[4] He claimed that he had become a hermit due to "emotional setbacks" after a heartbreak.[1][3][5][6]

Amou Hajji was celibate, ate meat from dead animals he found (especially rotting porcupines), drank water from puddles and rusty oil cans, smoked animal dung using an old pipe, donned a war helmet to fend off the cold, and lived in a hole that he had dug himself.[3][7][8] To manage his hair, he burned off the excesses with a flame. His skin was covered with soot and pus as a result of his refusal to bathe.[9]

He was photographed smoking multiple cigarettes simultaneously,[9] and refused water, food, and other basic necessities offered to him.[10] He said that these attempts to care for him made him sad.[4] Once, a few young men attempted to forcefully give him a shower, but he managed to escape.[2]

Author Claudia Hammond described Haji as having a "face and beard caked in mustard-brown earth" and that he "blends in" to the "barren landscape of southern Iran" and that, when he sits still, he "resembles a rock".[11]

His story was covered in a 2013 documentary titled The Strange Life of Amou Haji.[2][3][12]

Death

Despite his unhygienic lifestyle, he lived to the age of 94. He died a few months after bathing for the first time in 60 years, having been persuaded by the inhabitants of the village to do so.[4]

See also

  • Dirty Dick – a London merchant who refused to wash after his fiancé died on their wedding day.

References

  1. 1 2 Holmes, Oliver (25 October 2022). "'World's dirtiest man' dies in Iran at 94 a few months after first wash". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Man has gone 60 years without bathing!". Tehran Times. 6 January 2014. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "In Iran è morto Amou Haji, l'uomo più sporco del mondo. Non si lavava da oltre 60 anni" [Amou Haji, the dirtiest man in the world, died in Iran. He hadn't washed in over 60 years]. La Stampa (in Italian). 26 October 2022. Archived from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 "Iranian man who didn't wash for half a century dies at 94". BBC World News. 25 October 2022. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  5. ↑ Gleeson, Scott (26 October 2022). "'World's Dirtiest Man' dies at 94, reportedly 'not long after' his first bath in 60 years". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023.
  6. ↑ ""World's dirtiest man" dies in Iran at 94". CBS News. AFP. 26 October 2022. Archived from the original on 1 November 2022.
  7. ↑ James, Liam (25 October 2022). "'World's dirtiest man' dies at 94, months after his first wash in more than 70 years". The Independent. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  8. ↑ "Iran hermit eschews showers for 60 years". The Times of Israel. 16 January 2014. Archived from the original on 17 January 2014.
  9. 1 2 Mouriquand, David (26 October 2022). "World's 'dirtiest man' dies in Iran aged 94". EuroNews. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023.
  10. ↑ "Amou Haji, morto l'uomo più sporco del mondo: non si lavava dal 1954" [Amou Haji, the dirtiest man in the world, died: he hadn't washed since 1954]. Sky TG24 (in Italian). 25 October 2022. Archived from the original on 31 October 2022.
  11. ↑ Hammond, Claudia (2019). "7: A Nice Hot Bath". The Art of Rest. Canongate Books. ISBN 9781786892805. OL 28151455M.
  12. ↑ "Iran's Amou Haji, 'world's dirtiest man', dies at 94". SCMP. AFP. 25 October 2022. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022.
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