‘Absolutely terrifying’: Social media influencer meets cannibal tribe, offers them salt: Check what happens next

DARA Tah is facing heavy criticism after posting a controversial video. The Irish social media influencer shared his encounter with a so-called “cannibal” tribe in Papua.

“Deep in the jungle of Papua... Just tried to make contact with a cannibal tribe LOL Will try again tomorrow. Wish us luck,” Tah wrote on Instagram while sharing the video clip.

The clip begins with his group approaching a riverbank. Indigenous tribesmen are seen pointing bows and arrows at their boat.

Tah nervously remarks about the “huge bows” but continues filming. Following his guide’s advice, he offers salt to one of the tribesmen. The man tastes it but immediately spits it out.

Tah reacts awkwardly, saying the man “doesn’t look like he likes that.” Soon after, his group decides to retreat, with one member warning, “We’re not welcome. It’s really dangerous.”

Tah admits the situation was “absolutely terrifying”. The video ends with the guide apologising for taking them there.

Social media reactions

Many online users slammed Tah for sensationalising Indigenous communities and risking lives for content. Some accused him of being insensitive and disrespectful toward local traditions.

“Isn’t it illegal to try and contact them?” asked one of them.

“Of all the things you got, you gave them salt? Nice that you didn’t get seasoned with it and grilled for dinner,” commented another.

One user asked him to “leave them alone”.

“You guys brought your own seasoning?” quipped another.

“Cocaine isn't for everyone,” came another sarcastic reply.

One suspicious user said the “cannibals” were “paid actors”. “It's 21st century yall... ppl be doing anything for money,” the user added.

“This is how you took our ancestors and land by offering them salt, biscuits and coke,” commented another.

Another wrote, “Do white people not know how to leave people alone?”

“Your daily food may be poison to them. Don’t feed them, don’t touch them, leave them alone, go away, please!” came from another.

One user raises a valid question, “Why are they a CANNIBAL tribe? They're just a tribe, respect them and respect their culture and privacy, you just appear there and judge them.”

Cannibalism in the Fore tribe

In the late 1950s, medical anthropologist Shirley Lindenbaum studied a funeral custom among the Fore tribe in Papua New Guinea. When someone died, instead of burial, the body was cooked and eaten as an act of love.

The belief was that being eaten by loved ones was better than worms or insects consuming the body. Women usually prepared and ate the body, especially the brain. They mixed it with ferns and cooked it in bamboo.

Children sometimes received small portions as “snacks” from their mothers. But, boys stopped once they joined the men.

As per reports, the tribe stopped this custom more than 50 years ago.

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