Did you know that the first recorded tales of were-tigers, or harimau jadian, or humans who are able to transform into tigers, were made in Ming sources, where Chinese travellers to the Malacca Sultanate in the 15th century would observe that there are tigers that can transform into human beings, walking in the markets of Malacca. If these were-tigers were discovered, the sources say, they were killed by the local population.
Who is it that is compiling these records of Were-Tigers in the Malaya?
Well, it is done by a Sabri Zain, whose page I have been following for many years now, and who now even has a YouTube page dedicated to his fascination about the history of Malaysia.
Although Sabri has recently made a video about the Were-Tigers of Malaya, he is by no means a nut or a hocus-pocus guy, who likes some of our professor kangkungs, just plucks things from the air and makes things up as he goes along.
Although Sabri humbly refers to himself as an amateur historian , the work that he produces is often meticulously researched, deeply fascinating and woven together with a skill and love that is infectious.
If you haven't been acquainted with his work, and you have a fascination for the history of our country, you should definitely check him on his webpage and his youtube channel.
In his latest episode, although Sabri would delve into the supernatural to look for documentations and citations of Were Tiger sighting in ancient and colonial era Malaysia, some of the information he dishes out in the process will invariably deepen your knowledge of Malaysia.
For example, did you know that the Kerinchi LRT station, which is named after Kampung Kerinci, is in turn named after the Kerinci people, who are an ethnic group from Sumatera, who are famed for their ability to turn into Were Tigers.
According to colonial era British administrators, like Sir Frank Swettenham and Hugh Clifford, during the colonial era, it was almost universally believed that the men of the Kerinci ethnic group, had the powers to transform by will, into Were Tigers.
Clifford, for examples, writes about a Kerinci man called Haji Abdullah from Sayong, Perak, who was caught stark naked in a tiger trap by villagers, who only set him free, after he promised to pay for the buffalo he killed, when he had allegedly marauded as a Were-Tiger.
According to Sabri’s research, in Negeri Sembilan, there was also a settlement of Were-Tigers in Gunung Angsi, who in human form, study, farm and live as ordinary people, under the leadership of a Tiger King called Datuk Paroi. Even today there is a place bearing his name between Seremban and Kuala Pilah called Keramat Tok Paroi, which is considered keramat by many Malays, Indians and Chinese.
The Paroi stadium in Negeri Sembilan, incidentally, where most of the football matches in Negeri Sembilan is held, is also named after Tiger King of Gunung Angsi.
According to myth, there was another tiger king that occupied Gunung Ledang in Johor, who was called Tok Gunung Ledang, and Tok Gunung Ledang and his tiger warriors, once had a battle with Datuk Paroi, who defeated them all single handedly.
However, Datuk Paroi would lose his tail in the battle, and the place where he lost his tail is where Bukit Putus in Negeri Sembilan is located today.
Anyway, if you find what you have read so far to be fascinating, by all means, do go to Sabri Zain’s youtube channel to hear it from his own mouth.
While you are there, don't just listen to him regaling you about the tale of Were Tigers of Malaya. Also check out his other fascinating work about the long and ancient history of Peninsular Malaysia, and maybe you will be a fan of his work as I have been for years.
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