“Next time give them Nutella”: Critics call influencer’s “cannibal tribe” stunt offensive and staged after he gave them salt for views

An Irish influencer didn’t get the response he bargained for after contacting what he called a “cannibal tribe” for views. Fellow TikTokers called Dara Tah out for exploiting an indigenous people, promoting harmful stereotypes, and possibly even staging the whole thing.

Did Dara Tah really meet a cannibal tribe?

Popular TikToker Dara Tah gained 19.4 million views with a mid-August video in which he appeared to make contact with an indigenous tribe in Indonesia. The footage showed men with large bows and arrows emerging from the jungle as Tah and his guide floated down the river.

“I think they’re pointing bows and arrows at us, bro,” said someone on the boat.

@daratah Deep in the jungle of Papua… Just tried to make contact with a cannibal tribe LOL Will try again tomorrow. Wish us luck 😅 #cannibal #tribe #adventure #deadly #survival ♬ original sound – Dara Tah

“Seriously, this is terrifying,” said Tah. “They’re huge bows.”

Tah presented what he called an “offering” of salt and chocolate to the tribe. The guide, Demi, directed him to pour the salt into his hand and give it to one of them. The man who took it from him tasted it, then spat it out.

“Oh god. He doesn’t look like he likes that,” Tah said. “He doesn’t like it. Alright guys, let’s move back.”

“We have to move,” agreed Demi. “We’re not welcome, it’s really dangerous.”

In the video description, Tah promised to try again the next day. The follow-up video took two weeks to arrive.

@daratah
2nd attempt contacting a cannibal tribe… Thanks to our local guide, Demi of the Yali tribe, who is bringing us to meet the Bauzi tribe. Demi will help us to capture and document the largely unknown traditions of the Bauzi tribe.
♬ original sound – Dara Tah

This time, Tah offered tobacco, which they seemed to like better.

“Are they happy?” Tah asked Demi.

“Not really happy, but they accept us, so we go with them now,” said Demi.

One of the tribesmen then helped Tah onto the riverbank, where the influencer complimented his knives.

In this one, Tah identified the men as part of the Bauzi tribe and claimed to be there to help document their culture.

Anthropologists dispute cannibalism claims in Indonesia

Not as much is known about the Bauzi people as the Korowai, who are the primary targets of cannibalism rumors. According to West Papua Now, the most interesting tradition among the Bauzi is their crocodile hunting.

Even the idea that the Korowai (who live in a different region entirely) practice cannibalism is highly disputed. Many anthropologists suspect that the tribes they’ve contacted gave up the practice in the middle of the twentieth century, but perpetuate rumors that they eat people to attract tourists like Tah.

This isn’t the only reason people doubt that Tah actually contacted a cannibal tribe, however. According to Metro, viewers called him out in the past for his sensational “Anthrax Island” video, pointing out that this island was decontaminated in 1990, so the the hazmat suit was for nothing but clicks.

This time, some are accusing him of staging the whole video.

“This is obviously staged,” said @clayy241. “Please refrain from exaggerating the lifestyle of our remote people. You can film better community-based content and not misleading ones such as this.”

“Staged tourist trap,” wrote @Monahandle. “People believe this?”

Others simply find the latest TikTok post exploitative and offensive.

“Did you just intrude their land for content and called them scary?” asked @shekrizy.

“LEAVE THEM ALONE & THEY ARE NOT CANNIBALS!” wrote @bkool9