They say that all the tigers springing from these graves are saints (Harimau Kĕramat) under the more saintly lordship of the great Dato Paroï whose abode is Gunong Angsi, as opposed to Gunong Ledang which has its own army of tiger-warriors and settlers. Fancy and superstition have associated endless tales and legends with these two leading personalities—the Dato Paroï and Dato Gunong Ledang. Of them as of a few other tiger-tales I propose to speak in some future article.
Belief in were-tigers whose transformation takes place during life, is general all over the Peninsula. But, as a rule, the power is ascribed to people of the Korinchi tribe from Sumatra. The possession of the power by a person is said to be indicated by the absence of the furrow (alor) which ordinary men have on their upper lip immediately below the nose. Tigers of this sort are called harimau chěnaku, or harimau jadi-jadian. They change back into man just as the man changes into tiger. Sir Hugh Clifford in his book "The Further Side of Silence" relates a case of a Malay were-tiger.
