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An Iranian man known as the ‘World’s Dirtiest Man’ died at the age of 94, a few months after taking his first bath in decades
Affectionately known as Amou Haji, the elderly man died on Sunday, 23 October, at the Dezhgah village in Fars’ southern region, The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported via CNN.
The region’s district chief claimed that Haji had shied away from fresh food for decades and had a belief that “if he cleaned himself, he would get sick”.
His refusal to wash, attributed by the villagers via The Guardian was due to “emotional setbacks in his youth”.
Haji, who was unmarried, had rejected villagers’ attempts to clean him up. A group of locals even drove Haji to a nearby river a few years ago, but Haji threw himself out of the car and ran away.
According to IRNA, years of not showering had left him with skin coated in “soot and pus,” while his diet had consisted of decaying meat and filthy water drank from an old oil can.
Haji smokes from a pipe showing his uncanny lifestyle.
Image via IRNA
In 2014, Tehran Times reported that Haji would consume roadkill, smoke a pipe filled with animal waste, and believed that cleanliness would make him sick
He also stated in an interview that his favourite meal was porcupine. He lived in Dezhgah town between a hole in the ground and a brick shack built by concerned neighbours.
Locals in the neighbourhood acknowledged his fear of getting sick was the reason he avoided water. However, they successfully managed to wash Haji a few months ago, but he eventually died after that.
Haji’s funeral was held on Tuesday in the nearby city of Farashband, IRNA reported.
According to Iranian media sites, a short documentary film called The Strange Life of Amou Haji was produced in 2013 about him.
Haji laying his head on rocks while resting down on the ground.
Image via Financial Express
Following Haji’s death, the unofficial record may be given to an Indian man who had likewise not washed for a long time
The Hindustan Times reported in 2009 that Guru Kailash Singh, 77, from a village outside the city of Varanasi, had not washed for more than 30 years in an attempt to help end “all the problems confronting the nation”.
He would refuse water in favour of a “fire bath”. The newspaper reported that Singh sets a bonfire every evening where the villagers will gather, smoke marijuana, and stand on one leg to pray to Lord Shiva.
“It’s basically like taking a bath. All the bacteria and illnesses in the body are destroyed by a fire bath,” Singh was reported as saying.
Guru Kailash Singh.
Image via India Times