An Iranian man, known to his community as Amou Haji, died on Oct. 23 at the age of 94. Referred to as “Uncle Haji,” an Iranian term of endearment for an older person, the rest of the world knew him as the “World’s Dirtiest Man.” His death occurred just a few months after he took his first bath in over 60 years.
Haji said “emotional setbacks” in his youth were his primary reason for not bathing, and he feared he would get sick if he ever used soap, the BBC reports.
A few months ago, fellow residents in his village of Dejgah, in the southern province of Fars, convinced Haji to take a bath. CBS News reported that the villagers took it upon themselves to take him inside a bathroom.
In 2013, a documentary entitled The Strange Life of Amou Haji centered on Haji and his unconventional hygiene habits.
Haji was seen roaming around the streets covered in soot, and while residents of Dejgah respected Haji’s stance on not bathing and were sympathetic to his fear of water making him sick, they still made attempts to get Haji to bathe.
CNN reported that a few years ago, a group took him to a nearby river to try to get him to bathe, but he threw himself out of the car and fled.
Photos of Haji’s conditions were captured by Iran media Twitter account @mennts.
According to Google Translate, the tweet is captioned, “Announcing the death of the man nicknamed (the dirtiest person in the world) because he had not showered in 50 years. He did not take a shower for that long for fear of illness.”
It added that Haji was a “single Iranian,” named “Amo Haji” and was a “strong smoker.” It also revealed that villagers “took him months ago to take a shower by force,” and he died at age 94 in a western Iranian village.
In a 2014 interview with the Tehran Times, Haji stated that his favorite food was a porcupine, the BBC reports.
Although community members would offer alternatives, he favored roadkill over fresh food because he believed it would make him sick. Haji would also smoke pipes filled with animal excrement, The Guardian reports.
Haji lived between a hole in the ground and a brick shack built by townspeople.
He also told the Tehran Times that he did not have any known relatives and that the townspeople often took care of him.
According to CNN, Haji was unmarried. A funeral was held for him on Oct. 25 in the nearby city of Farashband.
