An earlier version of this paper was presented at the K.I.T.L.V. 6th International Workshop on Indonesian Studies, Madurese Culture and Society: Continuity and Change, Leiden 7–11 October 1991.1 would like to thank Mr. A. Latief Wiyata, Mr. Bambang Samsu, Mr. Budiyono, Mr. Dominikus Rato, Mr. Edy Sriono, Mrs. Herowati Poesoko, Mr. Kusnadi, Mr. Made Suryantara, Mr. Mahfudz Sidiq, Mr. Markus Apriono, Mr. Maulana Sk., Mr. Misrawi, and Mr. Sutjitro for the help they have given me in gathering some of the data for this paper and Dr. Huub de Jonge and Ms. Jet Bakels as well as an anonymous reader for their comments on the previous version.

¹ Wessing, R., “The Place of Symbols in Human Interaction”, in Anthropology for the Future, ed. Shimkin, D.B. et al. , Research Report No. 4 (Urbana: Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, 1978), pp. 171–80.Google Scholar

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¹⁵ Cf. Robinson, T., “Voorwoord”, in Langs Tijgerpaden, ed. Stelling, Lex Denninghoff (Den Haag: Tong-Tong, 1966)Google Scholar; Kerkhoven, E.J., “Het vergiftigen van verscheurende dieren door middel van wali kambing”, Tijdschrift voor Nijverheid en Landbouw 23 (1879): 503–517.Google Scholar

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¹⁸ McNeeley, J.A. and Wachtel, P.S., Soul of the Tiger Searching for Nature's Answers in Exotic Southeast Asia (New York: Doubleday, 1988), p. 92.Google Scholar

¹⁹ Savage, V.R., Western Impressions of Nature and Landscape in Southeast Asia (Singapore: Singapore University Press, 1984), p. 196.Google Scholar

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²¹ Priyo, S M. and Hartoyo, Totok, “Mungkinkah Hijrah Kantong Habitatnya”, in Harimau, Kumpulan Artikel dan Opini Surabaya Pos, ed. Priyo, S M (Surabaya: SCiDS, 1991), p. 3.Google Scholar

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²³ Smit, H., Van katjong tot rijksambtenaar. Uit het leven van een (ver)indischte jongen (Den Haag: Moesson, 1982), p. 129.Google Scholar

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²⁶ Tim Ekspedisi Harimau Jawa 1990, “Makalah Seminar Hasil Ekspedisi Harimau Jawa 1990”, Jember, 2 Februari 1991. SEKBER PIPA se Eks Karesidenan Besuki.

²⁷ McNeeley and Wachtel, Soul, p. 195.

²⁸ McNeeley and Wachtel, Soul, p. 328; Cf. Panwar, H.S., “What to do When You've Succeeded: Project Tiger Ten Years Later”, Ambio 11, no. 11 (1982): 332.Google Scholar

²⁹ Seidensticker and Suyono, The Javan Tiger, p. 78.

³⁰ Anonymous, “Robohnya”, p. 49; Seidensticker and Suyono, The Javan Tiger, pp. 61, 65.

³¹ Susi, Dinah, “Bisa Berenang dan Makan Ikan”, in Harimau, Kumpulan Artikel dan Opini Surabaya Pos, ed. Priyo, S M (Surabaya: SCiDS, 1991), p. 15.Google Scholar

³² Kamus, Tim Penyusun, Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (Jakarta: Balai Pustaka, 1990), pp. 298–99.Google Scholar

³³ Penninga, P. and Hendriks, H., Practisch Madurees-Nederlands Woordenboek, 2nd. printing (Semarang: G.T.C. van Dorp, 1913), p. 186Google Scholar; Safioedin, Asis, Kamus Bahasa Madura-Indonesia (Jakarta: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa, Depertemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, 1977), p. 144.Google Scholar

³⁴ Cf. YY, Hadi Eko, “Sulit Detebak Keberadaannya”, in Harimau, Kumpulan Artikel dan Opini Surabaya Pos (Surabaya: SCiDS, 1991), p. 11.Google Scholar

³⁵ Cf. Kayam, Umar, Para Priyayi. Sebuah Novel (Jakarta: Pustaka Utama Grafiti, 1992), p. 3.Google Scholar

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³⁷ Cf. Schefold, R., “De wildernis als cultuur van gene zijde, tribale concepten van ‘natuur’ in Indonesie”, Antropologische Verkenningen 9, 4 (1989): 5–22.Google Scholar

³⁸ Wessing, R., The Soul of Ambiguity: The Tiger in Southeast Asia, Special Report no. 24 (DeKalb, IL: Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illinois University, 1986), pp. 10–12.Google Scholar

³⁹ Anonymous, “Robohnya”, p. 47.

⁴⁰ Tim Penyusun Kamus, Kamus Besar, p. 420.

⁴¹ East Javanese Islamic sensibilities prevent me from telling this story in full detail. A very similar tale from the Gayo of North Sumatra tells how two newly-weds went to their field to plant rice. Being newlywed, however, they decided to make love in a little hut there. Suddenly they were disturbed by a noise and the bride exclaimed, “someone is coming”. The groom withdrew but could not stop from ejaculating. Some of his sperm fell to the floor and turned into a cat while the rest fell outside on the earth and became a tiger. The people and the cat then went into the kitchen, but the tiger was outside and thus went into the forest (R. Wessing, The Soul, p. 11). Martin van Bruinessen has pointed out to me that in Middle Eastern tradition Sayyidina Ali (Our Lord Ali) is associated with the lion (Ar. Asad). This lion symbol is transferred to Indonesia as a tiger and appears, e.g. as Macan Ali in both the flag and the coat of arms of Cirebon. Furthermore, in earlier tradition, both the tiger and the crocodile are manifestations of Siva, on land and in the water respectively (Skeat, W. W., Malay Magic. Being an Introduction to the Folklore and Popular Religion of the Malay Peninsula [New York: Benjamin Blom, 1972], p. 91). It is probable that this association was transferred to an important Islamic figure when Islam became the dominant religion in the area. The Prophet is furthermore said to have been fond of cats, which is why one should not hurt them. Calico cats (belong telori) are said to have magical and curative powers, and hurting them may bring rheumatism.Google Scholar

⁴² Wessing, The Soul.

⁴³ Baerveldt, Edelwild, p. 80.

⁴⁴ Schefold, “De wildernis”.

⁴⁵ Ikranegara, “The Great Anger of the Forest”, Wayang Rimbu Magazine (1978).

⁴⁶ Foley, K., “The Tree of Life in Transition: Images of Resource Management in Indonesian Theatre”, Crossroads 3, nos. 2–3 (1987): 66–77.Google Scholar

⁴⁷ Compare the daily newspaper Surya of 14 Aug. 1991, p. 9.

⁴⁸ Sutoko, “Mengapa Harimau Disebut Kiai”, in Laporan tentang Penelitian Sastra Lisan Madura, ed. Peneliti, Tim (Jember: Universitas Negeri Jember, Fakultas Sastra, 1976), pp. 79–80.Google Scholar

⁴⁹ Cf. Djabarudi, Slamet, “Dari Kiai untuk Kiai”, Tempo 20, no. 24 (1990): 5.Google Scholar

⁵⁰ Mus, P., India Seen From the East: Indian and Indigenous Cults in Champa, Monash Papers on Southeast Asia, no. 3, ed. and tr. Mabbett, I.W. and Chandler, D.P. (Clayton: Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, Monash University, 1975), pp. 7–19Google Scholar; F.D.E. van Ossenbruggen, “Over het primitief begrip van grondeigendom, getoetst aan de hieromtrent heerschende begrippen bij de Chineezen, Inlanders en eenige andere volken en volksstammen”, De Indische Gids 27, nos. 1–2 (1905): 161–92, 360–92.

⁵¹ Cf. Hefner, R.W., Hindu Javanese. Tengger Tradition and Islam (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985), pp. 58–59.Google Scholar

⁵² Compare Syarifuddin, Ayiek, “Makam Jowongso tak Boleh Dibangun?”, Liberty 39, no. 1773 (1992): 26–27.Google Scholar

⁵³ Cf. Rato, Dominikus, Buju' dan Asta': Persepsi Masyarakat Madura Sumenep Terhadap Kuburan Keramat. Seri Kertas Kerja No. 18 (Jember: Bidang Kajian Madura, Universitas Jember, 1992), pp. 49–52Google Scholar. See also Woodward, M.R., Islam in Java. Normative Piety and Mysticism in the Sultanate of Yogyakarta (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1989), p. 99.Google Scholar

⁵⁴ This book is one among several books of Islamic magic the validity of the use of which is currently under dispute in Indonesian Islamic circles and which “may be of greater influence in shaping popular religious attitudes than … more serious [religious] works.…” The history of this particular one goes back to the twelfth or thirteenth century. van Bruinessen, M., “Kitab Kuning: Books in Arabic Script used in the Pesantren Milieu”, Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 146, nos. 2–3 (1990): 226–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

⁵⁵ Cf. Ghozaly, Imam et al. , “KH Mas Mansur: Pasukan Jin Bisa Membelot”, Surya 6, no. 108 (29 Feb, 1992): 1, 14.Google Scholar

⁵⁶ Kopok disappeared around the mid-1970s. According to informants, he may have been slightly deaf (kopok: Mad. hard of hearing; Jav. a runny ear).

⁵⁷ Wessing, The Soul, pp. 63–74.

⁵⁸ Compare McNeeley and Wachtel, Soul, p. 136.

⁵⁹ Kartomi, “Tigers”, p. 13.

⁶⁰ Wessing, The Soul; McNeeley and Wachtel, Soul, p. 138.

⁶¹ The spelling varies. Gaddhung: an intoxicating plant; Asis Safioedin, Kamus, p. 90. Penninga and Hendriks, Practicsh, p. 94 add cheated to the idea of intoxication. Gadung: to cheat, unreal, mock; Th. Pigeaud, Javaans-Nederlands Woordenboek ('s-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff, 1982), p. 114. Macan gadung: disguised or mock tiger; Bezemer, T.J., Beknopte Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch Indië ('s-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff, 1921), pp. 609–610.Google Scholar

⁶² Note the phonetic similarity between gaddhing and gaddhung. The cempaka flower (Michelia champak) is one of the flowers used in offerings and is further connected with ancestral spirits through the campaka kemboja (Plumaria acuminata), according to Dr. Mien Rifai a recent substitute for the nagasari (Mesuqferia ferrea), the kemboja tree that is often planted at graveyards (cf. Tim Penyusun Kamus, Kamus Besar, pp. 160, 415).

⁶³ Wessing, The Soul, pp. 89–103.

⁶⁴ This is in fact what happened to many of the supernatural entities. Cf. Saerozi, A., Harimau Hantu (Jakarta: Balai Pustaka, 1981), p. 49Google Scholar; Fathoni, “Takhayul dalam Budaya Jawa”, Liberty 37 no. 1710 (1989): 28–29. A man in Puger pointed at the offshore island Nusabarongan and said, “that is where the spirits are now. It became too ramai (lively, noisy) around the villages. The notion of ramai includes noise, people, and civilization, and is something that people try to achieve. The forest on the other hand, with its magic and spirits, is sepih (quiet, lacking in ramai). The village is ramai and inimical to the tiger. H. Page Stephens of Cleveland Ohio notes in a letter that “Ghosts in an Eastern European village all disappeared after they put in lights and a highway. The explanation the local people gave was that the ghosts were run over by the cars.”Google Scholar

⁶⁵ McNeeley and Wachtel, Soul, p. 193.

⁶⁶ Watson, C.W., “Perceptions from Within: Malign Magic in Indonesian Literature”, in Understanding Witchcraft and Sorcery in Southeast Asia, ed. Watson, C.W. and Ellen, Roy (Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press, 1993), pp. 191–211.Google Scholar

⁶⁷ O'Flaherty, W. Doniger, Other Peoples' Myths (New York: Macmillan, 1988), p. 7.Google Scholar

⁶⁸ O'Flaherty, Other Peoples' Myths, p. 16.

⁶⁹ Wessing, “The Place”.

⁷⁰ Cf. Dominikus Rato, Buju' dan Asta'

⁷¹ Schefold, “De wildernis”, p. 13.

⁷² Wessing, The Soul, pp. 111–16; cf. O'Flaherty, Other Peoples' Myths, p. 81.

⁷³ O'Flaherty, Other Peoples' Myths, p. 35.

⁷⁴ Panwar, “What to do”, p. 332.