Tiki Tak Tribe

"Tell those Tikis to keep it down! I'm an old ape, and I need my rest."

- Cranky Kong

The Tiki Tak Tribe, shortly referred to as Tikis, are the main antagonists of Donkey Kong Country Returns and its Nintendo 3DS remake, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. All of them are made up of wood. Similar to the Kremling Krew from previous Donkey Kong Country series titles, there are higher and lower-ranked members of the Tiki Tak Tribe. The higher-rank members are capable of hypnotizing other characters, such as other animals and a boss in each world. The lower-rank members make up the recurring enemies throughout the levels. The Tiki Tak Tribe has a wooden mask for their emblem, as shown on the Snaps' ship's sails and flags and in the image gallery icon.

Both the higher and lower-rank tikis resemble a musical instrument; all of the lower-ranked ones resemble a drum. The particular instrument that a higher ranked tiki resembles is played in the background music of the associated boss fight.

Traditionally, Tikis are associated with Polynesian culture, however the Tiki Tak Tribe seems to draw more influence from African tribal culture instead. This is because of the patterns and vibrant colors each Tiki has.

History
In the opening of the Donkey Kong Country Returns, when the giant Tiki Tong Tower rises out from the volcano of Donkey Kong Island, it erupts and the tikis emerge from the rocks blasted out of the volcano. Moments later, the tikis hypnotize the animal inhabitants and control them to steal the Banana Hoard supply. Kalimba goes into Donkey Kong's Treehouse and unsuccessfully tries to hypnotize Donkey Kong. He punches Kalimba out of his house and begins his quest against the tikis.

At the end of every world, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong go up against a higher-ranked tiki, who hypnotize a boss to fight both of them. For example, in the Cave world, the tikis employed Mole Miners to transport the stolen bananas. In the Factory world, it is revealed that the bananas are used to bring the tikis to life. After the Kongs defeat the boss, the tiki dizzily re-emerges from behind the boss. Donkey Kong goes up to the tiki and punches it repeatedly to send it flying away.

After a long journey, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong reach the end of the eighth world, Volcano, where they bump into the Tiki Tak Tribe's leader, Tiki Tong. Using the last of the Banana Hoard supply, Tiki Tong transforms his lieutenants into a large pair of hands, which he uses during the final battle against the Kongs.

The Kongs manage to defeat Tiki Tong, but he causes an explosion that launches Donkey Kong into space. However, Donkey Kong uses his entire strength to knock the moon out of its orbit and land it on Tiki Tong Tower. The moon's pressure causes the tower to release the stolen bananas, and it presumably seals all the tikis back into the volcano, marking the end of the Kongs' adventure.

Physical appearance
Most of the Tiki Tak Tribe resemble floating wooden tiki masks, and many are adorned with colored feathers. However, they come in a variety of colors and shapes, such as the Tiki Goons that resemble s or drums and Tiki Buzzes that resemble birds with wooden wings to their sides. The main servants of Tiki Tong have a pair of skinny, twig-like arms.

Powers and abilities
The Tikis have a variety of abilities. The higher ranked members are agile, have the ability to float in midair, and can hypnotize other creatures. Their hypnosis does not work on all characters, as Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong are mysteriously unaffected by it. The lower rank members have more distinctive traits from each other. For instance, the Tiki Buzzes can fly, Flaming Tiki Buzzes and Tiki Torches can produce fire (even though they are made up of wood), and Tiki Tanks wear a steel helmet to protect them from direct attacks.

The Tikis use bananas as their primary source of power. In the Factory world, it is shown that a Tiki can come to life when a mashed-up banana is incorporated into its body. This is further demonstrated in the final battle against Tiki Tong, where he spits juice on the seven high-ranked tikis to turn them into his own pair of hands.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U trophies
Red indicates exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS version. Blue indicates exclusive to the Wii U version.

Trivia

 * In Treacherous Mansion of Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Strong Greenies have spears with a Kalimba mask on them.
 * Screaming Pillars are notable for appearing separately from the rest of their tribe in several games, such as Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. They also appear alongside Tiki Goons in the Mario Kart series course, DK Jungle.