Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock
Topics: Social Media, TikTok, Travel, World News
Britt Jones
A TikToker has been slated online for an online stunt involving a ‘cannibal tribe’.
Irish travel influencer, Darah Tah, has been called tone deaf for his videos involving a tribe in New Guinea.
He created a video for his nearly 18 million followers, explaining how he had ‘just tried to make contact with a cannibal tribe.’ In the TikTok clip, he bestowed the trip with an unusual gift to sweeten the deal, but people online were not too please with his attempt.
Of course, we all know that contacting tribes can be a dangerous venture.
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For example, when those living on the North Sentinel Island met a young man attempting to spread the word of God, it went as expected.
US evangelist John Allen Chau visited the island in 2018. Sadly, a fisherman claimed to have seen the tribe dragging his body and burying it on the shore after his last visit to the people.
For Tah, while his meeting went a lot better, people still were wary at the chance he was taking on his life.
The Irishman filmed his visit to an unknown tribe in Papua, where he and a group of tourists, and a local guide named Demi traveled via wooden boats.
As they arrived to the island, one of the tribesmen pointed his bow and arrow at the group, with one tourist stating: “I think they’re pointing bows and arrows at us, bro.”
“Seriously, this is terrifying…they’re huge bows,” said Tah, as he waved to them.
He then decided to throw them a gift in the form of a bag of salt.
“I’ve got salt,” Tah said as he put it into his hands and offered it to the tribe.
One of the tribes people tasted some granules before spitting them out, clearly displeased.
“He doesn’t look like he likes that,” said Tah in the clip. “Alright, guys, let’s move back, maybe.”
“We have to move,” the guide said. “We’re not welcome. It’s really dangerous.”
As the boat sailed backwards, Tah admitted: “Not gonna lie, that is absolutely terrifying.”
“I’m sorry I took you here,” said Demi.
Even though Tah exclaimed he was scared of the encounter, he vowed he ‘will try again tomorrow’ in the caption.To this, people were pretty annoyed that he had disturbed the tribe.
“Leave them alone, they are not bothering you” said one person.
Others were angry that Tah had declared them cannibals, stating: “They are not cannibal[s], they are just people living a peaceful life.”
Contacting tribes is often frowned upon, and not just because of the danger they pose on visitors, but the danger we pose upon their way of life.
For example, the Marubo people, who live in a remote Indigenous village around the Ituí River in the Amazon rainforest, have had their lives changed by technology since Elon Musk gave them access to antennas from Musk's Starlink company.
Now that they’re online and have access to the internet, they’ve become ‘lazy’.
Tsainama Marubo told The New York Times that when the internet arrived 'everyone was happy' but 'now, things have gotten worse'.
"Young people have gotten lazy because of the internet," she said. "They're learning the ways of white people."
So, maybe just leave them be?