They’re Shy
In EarthBound, the shy tribe of creatures that lives beyond the Deep Darkness is called the “Tenda Tribe”.
In MOTHER 2, they’re actually called the “Gumi Tribe”. “Gumi” is the Japanese word (probably adopted from German I assume) for “gummies”, as in the type of candy.
Why they made the name change, I’m not sure. There’s nothing wrong with “Gummy Tribe” that I know of, but maybe there’s a trademark or some other legal-related thing behind it that we don’t know about.
A few people have suggested that “Tenda” is a play on “Tender”, which is a similar concept.
Incidentally, this is also why in some Japanese gag manga, you might see some of the characters trying to eat members of this tribe.