Gunung Ciremai Habitat “Baru” Harimau Jawa (Panthera tigris sondaica)

oleh: Didik Raharyono.

Steidensticker & Soejono (1976) luput mencantumkan Gn. Ciremai sebagai habitat harimau jawa dalam bukunya The Javan Tiger and The Meru Betiri Reserve. Diantar Pak Deddy Kermit Petakala Grage (PG), penulis menjumpai specimen kepala harimau jawa dari Gn. Ciremai. Banyak informasi ilmiah dapat ‘dibaca’ atas temuan spesimen ini. Walaupun sudah dianggap punah, usaha mengendus eksistensi harimau jawa selalu mengantarkan bagi tersingkapnya ‘tabir pengetahuan baru’.

Syukur tiada terkira Atas Limpahan Rahmat dari Tuhan Alam Semesta.

Bagaimana tidak, semula kami Peduli Karnivor Jawa (PKJ) hanya mendiskusikan strategi riset, mekanisme pengumpulan dana pergerakan, menggagas pemikiran kreatif manajemen habitat kedepan bagi satwa dan masyarakat sekitar hutan berkarnivor besar di Petakala Grage (PG). Lalu Pak Deddy dan Pak Athok menyinggung kemungkinan masih adanya specimen ‘tubuh’ harimau jawa di tetangga desanya.Kronologis

Saya tertarik ingin berkunjung guna melihat opsetan loreng jawa, tetapi pada dua atau tiga hari kedepan. Pak Deddy menegaskan supaya tidak ditunda, maka saat itu juga kami meluncur ke rumah yang dimaksud. Benar adanya, sesampai lokasi kami diterima terbuka oleh tuan rumah, lalu kami memperkenalkan diri, menyampaikan maksud tujuan melakukan penelitian harimau jawa yang sudah dianggap punah. Setelah berdiskusi hampir 4 jam, Bapak yang sederhana itu menunjukkan koleksi beliau spesimen harimau jawa.

Beliau seorang tokoh masyarakat, kolektor barang-budaya warisan leluhur, memperkenankan saya memotret kepala harimau jawa. Walau kondisinya hampir dipenuhi jala laba-laba, benakku berkeyakinan pasti akan ada segudang informasi ilmiah yang akan terkuak. Jikalau harimau jawa di musium, tentulah membutuhkan prosedur administrasi rumit seperti pengalaman pribadiku tahun 2000 di MZB dulu –jauh-jauh dari Jember ingin ‘belajar’ opsetan harimau jawa di tolak mentah-mentah karena saya dari perorangan dan bukan atas nama organisasi. Selain itu kekuatan ilmiah harimau jawa koleksi masyarakat tentulah bernilai baru dan penting, sebab memberikan gambaran vareasi pola, diskripsi ukuran tubuh, asal lokasi dan sejarah yang belum pernah terungkap apalagi tercatat.

Bapak pemilik tersebut mengungkapkan: bahwa dulu, opsetan harimau jawa itu utuh –dari kepala hingga ekor, namun banyak kenalan beliau dari Jendral hingga Kyai meminta sesobek demi sesobek untuk “cindera mata” akibatnya sekarang tinggal bagian kepala. Beliau mendapatkan hadiah specimen tersebut dari petinggi TNI kala baheula. Kemudian dijelaskan panjang kepala hingga pantat 200 cm, belum termasuk panjang ekor. Bahkan dulu sering dijadikan alas untuk istirahat beliau. Berdasar keterangan petinggi TNI yang dijelaskan kembali Beliau kepada penulis, harimau loreng ini berasal dari lereng Gn. Ciremai Jawa Barat. Ditembak sekitar tahun 1961 -bekas pelor sekitar 5 lubang di pipi, dekat hidung dan jidat depan, masih terlihat jelas. Ditambahkan lagi: harimau jawa ini jantan tua dan telah membunuh 5 orang -maka dieksekusi.

Luput dari Steidenstiker

Informasi ilmiah terpenting dari uraian temuan spesimen kepala di atas adalah tentang Gn. Ciremai sebagai habitat harimau jawa. Dalam bukunya (1976) Steidenstiker & Soejono menyampaikan sebaran distribusi habitat harimau jawa tahun 1940 dan 1970, walaupun untuk Gunungkidul dilabeli 1930 (?) dengan tanda tanya dibelakangnya, tapi Gn. Ciremai luput dari pencatatan beliau. Berarti kawasan Gn. Ciremai dianggap bukan habitat harimau jawa, meskipun terjadi pembunuhan tahun 1961 -mungkin informasinya tidak terdengar Pak Steidenstiker. Padahal telah berdampak terhadap “penisbian” informasi dari penduduk sekitar kawasan tentang terjumpainya harimau loreng yang oleh masyarakat sekitar disebut maung siliwangi, lodaya atau macan tutul turih tempe.

Jangankan Gn. Ciremai, bahkan di Gn. Arjuno, Gn. Argopuro dan masih banyak lokasi lain yang juga luput dari pencatatan Steidenstiker (1976) sebagai habitat harimau jawa. Penulis berani mencantumkan nama-nama lokasi habitat “baru” harimau jawa (di buku Berkawan Harimau Bersama Alam, 2002) berdasarkan keterangan dari Pemburu lokal, Pecinta Alam, Pendarung, Perbakin dan Pensiunan TNI. Seperti misalnya saat silaturohmi ke pengurus Yayasan Salsabiil Faros di Cirebon (2009), penulis bertemu dengan seorang pensiunan TNI yang dulu pernah menembak seekor harimau jawa di lereng Gn. Arjuno. Beliau menembak seekor dari empat ekor harimau loreng yang diincarnya. Penembakan tersebut terjadi tahun 1967, hal itu diingat dengan cermat karena beliau ditugaskan di Koramil sekitar Gn. Arjuno 2 tahun setelah Gestok. Dan dari Wonogiri diinformasikan bahwa harimau jawa masih terlihat. Artinya: masih banyak lokasi-lokasi habitat “baru” harimau jawa yang luput dari catatan ilmuwan harimau dunia.

Oleh karena itu, sebagai penghuni Pulau Jawa, hendaknya kita peduli terhadap kawasan yang ada disekitar kita, utamanya hutan yang menjadi habitat satwa liar. Dengan kandungan maksud: jadilah peneliti ahli yang menguasai “halaman” rumah sendiri. Bolehlah kita berpikir global, namun aksi kita haruslah dimulai dari lokal. Sebab ancaman dan tekanan tinggi pada habitat-habitat alami di Jawa, tentulah akan mengancam kelestarian satwa-satwa endemik Jawa yang tersisa.

Diawetkan Dengan Garam

Semula saya agak ragu memegang spesimen kepala harimau jawa tersebut. Bukan apa-apa sebab berdasarkan keterangan pengopset satwa tradisional biasanya menggunakan Arsenik sebagai bahan utama pengawet opsetan, selain formalin dan alkohol. Untuk menegaskan informasi yang beredar seperti itu saya memberanikan bertanya: dulu opsetan ini diawetkan dengan apa Pak? Beliaunya tersenyum menjelaskan kalau pengopsetan kala itu hanya menggunakan ‘garam krosok’ dan dijemur terbalik di sinar matahari (kulit bagian dalam dipampang langsung, sedang bagian berambut tidak terpapar sinar matahari).

Informasi ilmiah tersebut penulis buktikan dengan kenyataan, dimana beberapa bagian rambut telah lepas. Bahkan bagian atas daun telinga kiri telah robek dimakan tikus. Artinya pengawetan opsetan ini memang menggunakan garam, tidak menggunakan racun arsenik. Sifat garam yang hipertonis dan hygroscopis jelas akan mempercepat terhisapnya kandungan air ditingkat seluler, maka garam dijadikan bahan pengawet tradisionil. Beda nyata jika menggunakan arsenik: opsetan tampak utuh, mulus dan tidak cacat rambutnya, sebab serangga pemakan rambut akan mati jika kontak dengan arsenik, seperti opsetan harimau sumatra yang pernah saya jumpai di Rumah dinas Bupati Temanggung tahun 2001, utuh dan bagus –pastilah menggunakan racun dalam pengawetannya.

Penulis lalu teringat keterangan Pak Karno Jember yang juga mengkoleksi opsetan harimau jawa ditembak tahun 1957. Setelah beliau menunjukkan foto harimau jawa dari Kendeng Lembu, saya bertanya masih adakah sisa opsetan hewan di foto itu. Beliaupun tersenyum lalu menjelaskan bahwa opsetannya tidak bagus (namun beliau tidak menjelaskan bahan penyamakannya), sejak tahun 1970-an rambutnya telah banyak yang rontok maka kemudian disimpan di gudang dan tahun 1980-an banyak dimakan ngengat. Oleh karena itu pada sekitar tahun 1990-an, opsetan harimau jawa itu dimusnahkan dengan di bakar dan dibuang di halaman belakang. Sedangkan saya berkunjung kerumah beliau sekitar tahun 1999.

Merasa aman dengan opsetan yang diawetkan dengan garam, maka penulis memegang, mengambil sedikit rambut untuk dianalisis menggunakan mikroskup cahaya guna menjadi ‘rambut pandu harimau jawa’ jikalau nanti ditemukan rambut dari hutan. Berkolaborasi dengan Pak Deddy, maka berbagai pose kepala opsetan harimau jawa itu kami abadikan, meliputi : kepala secara utuh, pola loreng tersisa di jidat, pipi samping kiri, dagu bawah, bekas surai dan landasan kumis. Hal itu saya lakukan untuk membantu pendiskripsian secara ilmiah perihal kenampakan fisik harimau jawa dari Gn. Ciremai. Saat memotret bagian landasan kumis, sempat terabadikan sisa kumis sepanjang 1 cm dua helai, cukup untuk memberikan wacana tentang model dan warna kumis harimau jawa.

Membongkar Sepenggal Kepala Berumur ½ Abad

Dulu potongan kepala itu sering dipakai anak-anak untuk bermain dengan teman-temannya, berkejaran, bergurau dan sebagainya. Penulis bergumam, wah sumber pengetahuan sangat penting ternyata menjadi hal ‘biasa’ bagi masyarakat. Mungkin karena masyarakat merasa bahwa sepenggal kepala loreng jawa itu sebagai barang lumrah, mudah dijumpai dan masih banyak di hutan, jadi sederhana saja cara memperlakukannya.

Tak mau terlambat, maka saya dengan cermat memperhatikan bekas-bekas sidik jidat harimau jawa itu. Tetapi tak menemukan bekas coretan-coretan garis hitam, karena sebagian besar rambutnya telah rontok mengelupas. Perhatian kemudian saya alihkan dibagian atasnya, syukur masih ada sisa rambut yang utuh dengan garis hitam. Tebalnya tak lebih dari selebar jari telunjuk lelaki dewasa. Pola coretan garis hitam itu cenderung longgar (jaraknya renggang), tidak seperti milik harimau sumatra yang tebal dan rapat ‘ndemblok’(Jw). Kondisi ini juga diperkuat foto harimau jawa 1957 sebagai pembanding, dimana tulang tengkoraknya masih terbalut kulit dan merekam bentuk utuh satwa saat masih hidup –karena diabadikan sesaat setelah mati ditembak.

Meski sepenggal kepala opsetan harimau jawa ini telah terlepas dari tulang tengkorak sebagai landasan kulit yang membentuk raut muka tiga dimensi, tetap dapat terlihat rekam-bentuk tentang ‘pesek’nya hidung yang sempit, dengan pangkal jidat sedikit di atas mata cenderung cembung –membentuk kesan moncong memanjang. Sisa coretan ornamen di pipi juga mencirikan sebagai milik harimau jawa yang jarang, tipis dan cenderung cerah. Berbeda dengan coretan ornamen pipi harimau sumatera kebanyakan tebal, rapat sehingga memberi kesan agak gelap.

GAMBAR 01. KARAKTER WAJAH HARIMAU JAWA & SUMATERA. Berdasar pola coretan pipi dan sidik jidat, dapat dibedakan antara karakter wajah harimau jawa dan sumatera. Pola coretan pipi harimau jawa cenderung tipis dan jarang sedangkan harimau sumatera tebal dan rapat. Sidik jidat harimau jawa renggang dan tipis, sedangkan harimau sumatera rapat cenderung membentuk blok hitam. Akibatnya wajah harimau jawa cenderung cerah dan harimau sumatera cenderung gelap.

Bahkan saya sempatkan untuk menghitung lubang bekas landasan kumis harimau jawa, jumlahnya baik yang besar maupun sedang sekitar 29 lubang untuk satu pipi kiri dan sekitar itu juga di pipi kanan, total 58 lubang. Hanya sekitar 10 landasan lubang berdiameter 3 mm di pipi kanan-kiri dan 14 lubang berdiameter 2 mm, lainnya 1 mm atau bahkan kurang. Landasan lubang kumis tersebut membentuk enam baris dengan komposisi jumlah baris dari bawah ke atas: 3; 6; 6; 5; 5; dan 4. Menggunakan pijakan kajian pembanding foto harimau jawa 1957 terlihat bahwa ujung kumis hingga surai di dagu, prediksi saya panjang rambut kumis harimau jawa mencapai 25 cm.

Rambut dibagian dagu berwarna kuning pucat (kemungkinan dulunya putih), sedangkan rambut yang menjadi warna dasar pipi yang masih sempat terlihat berwarna kuning tembaga terang. Blok rambut berwarna putih yang dikelilingi warna hitam dibelakang daun telinga masih terlihat jelas, walau hampir samar.

Setelah pengamatan secara mikroskopis di laboratorium Biologi SMA Mandiri Cirebon, terdiskripsikan bahwa medula rambut opsetan ini bertipe intermediet pola reguler, sedangkan sisik bertipe corona serrata pola irreguler wave. Hal ini semakin memperkuat data temuan kami tigabelas tahun yang lalu perihal rambut harimau jawa, dulu temuan dari TN Meru Betiri dan sekarang opsetan asli dari Gn. Cermai.

Medula rambut harimau jawa dari Gn Ciremai

GAMBAR 02. STRUKTUR MORFOLOGI RAMBUT HARIMAU JAWA GN. CIREMAI. Detail bagian medula rambut harimau jawa dari Gn. Ciremai ini menunjukkan tipe intermediet pola reguler. Ciri utama pada bagian medula ini membedakan dengan macan tutul yang bertipe discontinous pola cresentic. Keidentikan pola rambut harimau jawa dari Gn. Cermai dengan rambut temuan dari TN. Meru Betiri menunjukkan eksistensi harimau jawa. Morfologi medula rambut harimau jawa ini di foto menggunakan mikroskup cahaya dengan perbesaran 40 x 5. (foto: @didik R’10).

Seperti Apa Ekosistem Gn. Ciremai?

Gunung Ciremai merupakan gunung tertinggi di Jawa Barat (3.078 mdpl), dikelilingi hutan dengan koordinat 108020’ – 108040’ BT dan 6040’ – 6058’ LS. Tipe iklim kawasan Gn. Ciremai berklasifikasi tipe iklim B dan C (berdasar Schmidt dan Ferguson) dengan rata-rata curah hujan 2000 – 4000 mm/tahun. Temperatur bulanan berkisar antara 18o – 24o C. Sistem hidrologi didominasi sistem akuifer endapan vulkanik dari Gn. Ciremai. Berdasarkan geomorfologi dan litologi, karakteristik akuifer dikelompokan menjadi 3 bagian yaitu: kurang produktif pada lereng puncak; sangat produktif pada lereng badan gunung; dan produksi sedang – rendah, pada kaki gunung (RPK TNGC, 2009). Keberadaan air ini sangat penting bagi eksistensi karnivor besar, sebab harimau jawa suka berendam di air jika kondisi siang hari sangat panas, namun adanya kisaran suhu yang hangat dan dingin di kawasan Gn. Cermai sepertinya harimau jawa mampu beradaptasi khususnya di lereng badan gunung.

                        Gunung Ciremai

GAMBAR 03. PENAMPANG TIGA DIMENSI GN. CIREMAI. Kenampakan tiga dimensi Gn. Ciremai memberikan informasi bentang lahan dan topografinya. Hal ini dapat dijadikan sebagai acuan untuk mencari daerah ideal bagi kelangsungan hidup harimau jawa dengan memperhatikan kebutuhan syarat hidup khususnya ketersediaan sumber-sumber air alami dan prey. (Sumber Gambar: Rencana Pengelolaan Kawasan Taman Nasional Gunung Ciremai 2009).

Luas hutan di Gn. Cermai sekitar 15.500 ha dan merupakan hutan sekunder tua pasca letusan tahun 1832. Sebagian besar penutupan lahan berupa vegetasi hutan alam primer yang dikelompokan ke dalam tiga jenis yaitu: hutan hujan dataran rendah (200-1000 m dpl); pegunungan (1000-2400 m dpl); pegunungan sub alpin (> 2400 m dpl). Beberapa flora hasil inventarisasi oleh berbagai pihak di wilayah Kawasan Gn. Ciremai meliputi : 32 jenis vegetasi pohon pada ketinggian antara 1.200 – 2.400 m dpl; 119 koleksi tumbuhan terdiri dari 40 anggrek dan 79 non anggrek (RPK TNGC, 2009). Keberagaman vegetasi sangat tinggi tentunya menunjang sumber pakan satwa prey karnivor besar.

Kawasan Gn. Ciremai selain kaya keanekaragaman flora, juga memiliki tingkat keanekaragaman fauna yang tinggi, dan beberapa jenis termasuk kategori langka. Daftar spesies satwa liar di kawasan ini meliputi 12 mamalia; 3 reptilia; 77 burung dan beberapa jenis ampibi serta serangga yang belum diteliti. Kompleksitas jenis hewan terutama golongan prey sangat menunjang bagi kestabilan populasi dan demografi karnivor besar. Berkaitan dengan luas kawasan berhutan, maka keragaman jenis prey dan populasinya jelas akan sangat penting sebagai faktor penunjang Carrying Capacity kawasan Gn. Cermai terhadap fluktuasi dan kelestarian harimau jawa kedepannya (perlu dikuatkan dengan riset menggunakan kamera trap secara permanen minimal 6 bulan).

Penutup

Berbekal hasil pendataan koleksi satwa liar yang dilindungi pada tahun 1992 yang telah pernah dilakukan BKSDA di seluruh Jawa, seharusnya dapat dijadikan landasan untuk mencermati berbagai kawasan yang diduga sebagai habitat satwa liar, bahkan mungkin melakukan refisi terhadap buku-buku referensi yang telah beredar. Tetapi sepertinya saat ini telah terjadi kerancuan wilayah kerja antara Balai Taman Nasional, KSDA, dan Perhutani di Jawa akibatnya tak ada sering data, informasi dan pensinergian bidang kajian khususnya satwa liar dilindungi ataupun yang terancam punah, bahkan yang sudah diklaim punah –karena habitatnya yang berupa hutan telah disekat-sekat secara administrasi.

Ditilik dari hanya sebuah temuan sepenggal kepala opsetan harimau jawa berumur 49 tahun, masih berpeluang ditemukan ‘habitat baru’ satwa yang telah dianggap punah. Kami dari PKJ dan PG sebagai masyarakat biasa hanyalah didorong oleh rasa kepedulian yang tinggi terhadap keselamatan hutan Jawa dari tekanan dan ancaman destruktif. Dimana hutan alami tersisa di Jawa kami anggap sebagai gudang plasmanutfah sumber bagi daya kehidupan antar-lintas generasi, oleh karena itu harus ‘dibaca’, dikaji dan dijaga sekuat tenaga.

Cirebon, 9 Juni 2010.

Didik Raharyono, S.Si.

Wildlife Biologist

SEKRETARIAT PKJ.

BATU TULIS JABRANTI

Kabupaten Kuningan menjadi salah satu icon sejarah dunia sejak terjadinya peristiwa ‘Perundingan Linggarjati’. Eksistensinya semakin kukuh ketika para pakar sejarah menemukan situs purbakala di Cipari pada tahun 1972. Situs purbakala yang ditemukan merupakan peninggalan zaman Megalitikum (batu besar), seperti menhir, dolmen, punden berundak, sarcophagus, kapak batu jenis beliung, gelang batu, dan peralatan batu lainnya. Upaya para pakar sejarah tidak berhenti sampai di situ, beberapa tahun kemudian ditemukan pula peninggalan zaman Megalitikum lainnya di 8 tempat, yaitu di Desa Cibuntu Kecamatan Pasawahan, Desa Patalagan Kecamatan Pancalang, Desa Rajadanu Kecamatan Japara, Desa Ragawacana Kecamatan Kramatmulya, Kelurahan Cirendang Kecamatan Kuningan, Pagerbarang Desa Citangtu Kecamatan Kuningan, Panawar Beas Kelurahan Cigugur Kecamatan Cigugur, dan Kelurahan Cigadung Kecamatan Cigugur (Dinas Pariwisata dan Kebudayaan Kab. Kuningan, 2003). Penemuan prasejarah yang cukup banyak di berbagai tempat ini oleh pakar sejarah Kuningan K. Rusman disebut dengan ‘Sebaran Megalitikum di Kabupaten Kuningan’.

                      Batu Tulis Banjaran Jabranti

Penemuan prasejarah yang mengagumkan di atas ternyata tidak terputus begitu saja. Pada tahun 1974-an Drs. Bejo, guru Sejarah SMAN 1 Kuningan, dan penduduk Dusun Banjaran Desa Jabranti Kecamatan Karangkancana berhasil menemukan batu tulis di Gunung Banjaran yang letaknya masuk ke dalam wilayah daerah Salem Provinsi Jawa Tengah. Penemuan batu tulis ini menunjukkan dimulainya peradaban zaman sejarah yang memasuki tahun Masehi. Dengan demikian bukti ini merupakan salah satu mata rantai sejarah yang jelas mulai zaman prasejarah Megalitikum sampai dengan zaman sejarah hingga kini.

Berdasarkan informasi yang ada, di tempat ditemukannya batu tulis tersebut ditemukan pula peninggalan prasejarah yang terkubur. Terungkapnya peninggalan tersebut bermula dari penemuan peta batu oleh Drs. Bejo. Setelah ditelusuri peta tersebut menunjukkan beberapa peninggalan prasejarah yang terkubur. Peninggalan tersebut berupa sarcophagus, kapak batu, peralatan pertanian dari batu, dan alat yang mirip dengan ‘balencong’ sekarang. Untuk menjaga keutuhan benda-benda tersebut, penemuan itu dikuburkan kembali. Sudah pasti tempat tersebut telah menjadi saksi sejarah di mana terjadinya pergantian masa dari zaman prasejarah menuju zaman sejarah.

Batu tulis yang ada di Gunung Banjaran jumlahnya ada 3, dari mulai tingginya kira-kira 45 cm hingga mencapai 167 cm. Masing-masing batu memiliki bentuk dan pictograph yang berbeda. Batu tulis terkecil mirip sebuah kerucut dengan pictograph yang sudah tidak jelas, berupa gambaran kehidupan manusia pada masa itu. Batu kedua bentuknya membulat dengan pictograph menyerupai peta. Batu ketiga tingginya hampir sama sekitar 167 cm dengan bentuk menjulang tinggi layaknya sebuah menhir. Batu ketiga ini letaknya di tepi jalan setapak yang mirip dengan gapura. Pictograph pada batu ketiga didominasi oleh dua ekor naga dan pemburu.

Bila dilihat dari pictograph yang mendominasinya, diduga batu tulis tersebut merupakan batas dari suatu daerah yang ada pada awal masehi. Daerah yang dimaksud kemungkinan daerah yang akan menjadi cikal bakal Kuningan yang pada waktu itu dipimpin oleh Prabu Seuweukarma. Saat itu agama Hindu dan Budha berkembang pesat dan banyak menceritakan kehadiran sang naga dan para punakawan pewayangan. Akan tetapi ada juga dugaan lain, yaitu adanya pengaruh agama Islam dari Cirebon yang mulai masuk ketika Kerajaan Luragung berjaya. Hal tersebut diperkuat dengan adanya guci air dari Cina yang berada tidak jauh dari lokasi tersebut. Penyebaran agama Islam di wilayah III Cirebon saat itu dibarengi dengan kedatangan Putri Ong Tin dari Campa.

Keterbatasan di atas diharapkan dapat disempurnakan lagi melalui penelitian lanjutan oleh para pakar sejarah dan ahli kimia agar diketahui pasti kapan batu tulis itu ada melalui uji karbon dan literatur. Pelapukan batuan yang nyata akan menjadi kendala pada penelitian selanjutnya. Oleh karena itu diharapkan sekali segera dilakukan penelitian agar terselamatkan aset sejarah bangsa yang sangat berharga.***

Penulis adalah guru SMAN 1 Cigugur dan Pembina KIR yang membimbing penelitian langsung ke Batu Tulis Banjaran

HARIMAU JAWA DI TEMBAK DI GUNUNG CIREMAI 1961

Alhamdulillah, baru dua hari riset(28-30/05),  sudah didapat tanda keberadaan harimau jawa dari cakar dan suaranya, perlu pembuktian lebih lanjut dengan gambarnya dan harus pasang kamera trap dibeberapa titik...

Terima Kasih gusti Allah, Engkau telah memberikan kemudahan dalam riset Harimau Jawa, kemaren 02/06 dapat motret kepala harimau jawa yg ditembak thn 1961 di gunung Ciremai. Buat A Malik haturnuhun atas ijin motretnya, Thanks juga kepada Saudaraku (Facebooker, Blogger dan Pecinta Alam) semua atas bantuan semangat kalian...

 Penulis dan Pemilik Opsetan Kepala Harimau Jawa, K. Abdul Malik Cirebon

Opsetan kepala Harimau Jawa, ditembak tahun 1961 di Gunung Ciremai, Proferti Pribadi K. Malik Cirebon, Foto diambil 02/06/2010 oleh Mas Didik Raharyono

Katanya : punah pada tahun 1994.

The Javan Tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica)

In the early 1800’s tigers ranged over the whole island of Java in Indonesia, but they were considered a nuisance. By the end of the Second World War they had been hunted out in all but the most remote mountainous and forested areas.

In the 1960’s many conservationists feared that the Javan Tiger was extinct. Investigations of periodic 'tiger' sightings usually proved to be leopards. In 1971, however, an isolated population was confirmed in the Gunung Betiri, a magnificent, rugged mountain complex in the SE part of the island. When the Javan tiger was re-discovered, the area was declared a nature reserve by the Minister of Agriculture.

The few forest guards assigned to Gunung Betiri could not adequately protect the entire reserve.  The reserve itself was fragmented by plantations in the river valleys and the coffee and rubber plantation owners continued to shoot tigers as pests. By 1980 it was estimated that the population of Javan tigers was down to fewer than 5 individuals, with only 3 animals confirmed in a rapid assessment survey carried out by John Seidensticker and Ir. Suyono who recommended a detailed management plan to save this subspecies, published in 1980.

This, however, was too little too late and the tiger is thought to have gone extinct some time in the 1980’s. A detailed search for the tiger by WWF of the Meru Betiri National Park failed to find any remaining signs of the Javan Tiger. 

They officially pronounced it extinct in 1994.
The loss of a tiger subspecies in such recent history is an incredibly powerful call to action. We have learned from the Javan tiger lesson, that tigers need large contiguous protected core areas to survive. These core protected areas need to be large enough to provide food and a safe haven for female tigers to raise their cubs. Core protected areas need to be surrounded by human-tiger friendly habitats such as multiple-use forest areas that can act as buffer zones. The core areas also need to be connected to eachother by corridors of tiger-friendly habitat so that young adult tigers can disperse into unoccupied territories.

Historically, tigers have traditionally been regarded as a dangerous nuisance species in many tiger landscapes. This paradigm has completely changed as people have been made aware of how endangered the tiger is. Save The Tiger Fund works to mitigate human-tiger conflict outside protected areas. Where we have been successful, local attitudes towards tigers have changed from one of fear and disdain to that of respect and tolerance. With these changes in attitudes accompanied by reduced demand for illegal tiger products in international markets we can ensure that viable tiger populations will remain in human-tiger-friendly landscapes for future generations.
B. Gratwicke

Harimau Jawa Punah, Masa Iya ?

Tigerhomes.org adalah tempat perlindungan hewan eksotis yang dikelola swasta yang berusaha untuk merangsang minat global dalam konservasi satwa liar, pendidikan dan perlindungan habitat melalui Internet. Mereka bilang Harimau Jawa berstatus  Extinct since the 1970's.

The Javan tiger, Panthera tigris sondaica, formerly ranged on the Indonesian island of Java and was last seen in 1972 and has become extinct in the last 30 years. Three tiger subspecies have been declared to be extinct in the past 70 years, the Bali, Caspian and Javan tigers.

Scientific Name: Panthera tigris sondaica

Range: Indonesian Island of Java

Average Weight:

  Female: 75-115kg (165 - 253 pounds)

  Male: 100-141kg (220 - 310 pounds)

Size (Length):

  Female: Unknown

  Male: 2480mm (8'-3")

Diet: All tigers are carnivorous. Tiger prey consists mostly of pigs, deer, antelope, buffalo and other large mammals, although tigers have been known to hunt smaller mammals and birds.

Gestation Period: 100-100 Days (Averaging 103 Days)

Cub Maturity: 18 months - 2 Years

Cubs Per Litter: (Usually 2-3 cubs) Cubs are born blind and weigh 2-3 pounds.

Lifespan: Tigers live for 10-15 Years

Predators: Unknown, Man

Social Structure: Solitary (except during Mating Season)

Territory Size: Unknown. Today tigers occur in parts of India, Manchuria, China, Indonesia and Russia (Siberia).

Conservation Status: Extinct since the 1970's.

Orang Belanda pun bilang : yang terakhir telah ditembak di Jawa Timur. Coba simak makalah dari, ROBERT WESSING, TheHague,Netherlands The Last Tiger in East Java: Symbolic Continuity

in Ecological Change :

THE Javan tiger (Panthera tigris sondaicus) is for all practical purposes

extinct, the last one having been shot, it is said, by either

President Suharto of Indonesia, Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands,

or the late Shah of Iran. In East Java, however, this fact is not

generally acknowledged, and many people remain cbnvinced that, rare

though it may be, the tiger still roams the forests.

The present paper examines beliefs about tigers among the Javanese,

Osing, and Madurese peoples of East Java, detailing how the animal

continues to function as a symbolic construct in the midst of the changing

social and ecological reality that has brought about its biological demise.

One central question raised here is what happens to a symbol when

its antecedent object disappears; although, as I have discussed elsewhere,

the significance of a symbol consists of the intersection of meanings read

into it by its users, these meanings are usually interconnected with the

symbolic object itself (see WESSING1 978b).

TIGERASND PEOPLEIN NATURE

In the past the tiger was a rather common animal in Java (VAN BALEN

1914, 384-61). In 1822 the area between Panarukan and Banyuwangi in

East Java abounded with them, making some areas unsafe for livestock

(KERN1 941, 295; BAERVELD1T9 50, 20). The ecological niches of tigers

and humans overlapped considerably: both evolved on the forest edge,

where they hunted essentially the same game, humans possibly scavenging

on the tiger's leavings (SUNDQUIS1T98 3, 50; SAUER19 52, 23; LEWIN

1984).

The tiger's preference for hoofed animals brought it into close contact

with humans, since hoofed creatures not only form part of the village

livestock but are among the wildlife attracted to feed on the village fields

(SEIDENSTICKaEnRd SUYONO19 76, 66-67). Originally tigers protected

the fields by preying on this wildlife, rarely molesting humans and their

cattle (BAERVELD1T95 0, 80; PERRY1 965, 170-71; SCHALLE1R9 73, 6).

Tigers, humans, gardens, wildlife, and livestock, then, constituted "an

integral and fragile web. . . molded and bound by the nature of their

resource base and the forces of their environment" (SEIDENSTICKaEnRd

SUYONO19 76, 60). Both tigers and humans adapted to an environment

that included each other's presence, the tiger's adaptation being biologic

while man's was symbolic and cultural.

The opening of the forests for plantations in the mid-nineteenth

century resulted in the in-migration of thousands of laborers from Central

Java and Madura. The ecological impact of this population shift was

"of a greater magnitude than all the past influences of man on Java combined"

(SEIDENSTICKaEnRd SUYONO19 76, 73). Forest products and the

local game were quickly exhausted (BRYANT19 73, 87; WHITMOR1E9 84,

266), and the use of guns allowed hunters to kill both the tiger and his

prey more efficiently than ever before (compare RAMBO1 978, 213-14).

As a result the number of tigers declined drastically. The dynamic balance

described above came to an end, its place taken by a predatory

relationship in which tigers, deprived of their prey, began to raid villages

(BAERVELD1T95 0,82). With this shift the tiger's image changed to that of

a ruthless killer and "rapacious tyrant," who devoured cattle and killed an

average of 2,500 people a year (ROBINSO1N9 66; KERKHOVE1N87 9, 503,

510; KARTOM1I9 76, 12; MCNEELEYan d WACHTEL19 88, 189).

In 1822 the government started employing tiger hunters (KERN

1941, 295). By the early 1940s, with only about two to three hundred

Javan tigers left (PRIYOS M and TOTOKHA RTOYO19 91, 3; PRIYO

SOEMANDOY19O8 8, 58), there was talk of creating nature reserves for

them (BAERVELD19T5 0, 35). SMITw, ho was incarcerated near Sukamade

during the early Japanese occupation, mentions seeing only one tiger

during this time (1982, 129). After WWII the tiger's numbers declined

even further. One informant, who used to catch a tiger a year in his steel

trap, claimed to have caught his last one in 1962. As late as the end of the

1960s tigers could still be shot in the Banyuwangi Residency of East Java,

but after that they rapidly disappeared. The Javan tiger now appears to

be gone forever, though its extinction has been difficult to confirm owing

to the animal's retiring nature.

Efforts to protect any specimens that might possibly remain in the

Meru Betiri nature reserve have been hampered by an ever-growing human

population and by competition for funds from important national

development schemes (MCNEELEaYn d WACHTE1L9 88,195; GREENBERG

et al. 1991, 45). Complicating the situation is the fact that protecting the

tiger involves preserving its entire habitat and ecosystem; this includes

dealing with the often neglected human factor, making it a social as well

as an ecological problem (MCNEELEaYn d Wachtel 1988, 328).

Media reports have raised the general awareness of ecological problems,

and popular playwrights such as RENDRA(1 980) and IKRANAGARA

(n.d.) have argued against overexploitation of Indonesia's natural resources

(activities that have not, incidentally, always been kindly viewed

by the government [compare FOLEY 19871). Nevertheless, the tiger's

plight remains poorly understood by the Indonesian public. City people,

including those involved in conservation and the search for tigers in

Meru Betiri, are sometimes surprised that the animal is not seen more

often - people expect them to just jump out of the woods (ANONYMOUS

1991a; 1991b). The belief that tigers remain in the wild is common even

among villagers (DINAHS USIT . 1991, 15).

The confusion about the tiger's status is partially linguistic in origin.

The two types of big cats on Java, the panther (Panthera pardus) and the

tiger (Panthera tigris), are commonly referred to by the same Javanese

word, macan (compare TIMP ENYUSUKNA MUS1 990,298-99). The spotted

panther is called macan tutul and the black panther macan kumbang,

while the tiger is known, among other things, as macan loreng. The name

macan loreng also applies to one of the three folk categories into which the

tiger is classified: macan loreng (the ordinary striped tiger), macan sruni (a

tiger whose stripes are said to run mainly on its rump), and macan

gembong (a grayish, lighter-colored animal) (HADI EKO Y.Y. 1991, 11). In

the Indonesian language the tiger is known as harimau, and in East Java

it is also called singa (lion), showing up as simo in place-names (AYIEK

SYARIFUDD1I9N9 2a, 26; KAYAM19 92, 33).

The word macan is also applied to other felines. Macan dahan refers

to the cat Neofelis nebulosa, while macan reng-reng (or rem-rem) denotes a

type of tiger cat and macan tapes a striped wildcat. Macan garambis is the lion.

In common usage, then, there is no distinction between tigers and

panthers: if one asks whether a certain cat was a panther (macan) or a

tiger (harimau), one might be told that it was a harimau tutul (spotted

tiger), i.e., a panther (compare KAYAM1 992, 3). Thus, though in the

popular mind there are many tigers (macan) in East Java, newspaper

reports of possible tiger sightings are very difficult to evaluate.

THET IGEIRN POPULABRE LIEF

Traditional beliefs about the tiger may be divided into two major categories:

beliefs held mainly by the villagers, and beliefs relating to the

Javanese courts. A third category, beliefs held by modern urbanites, is in

a sense a combination of the two, with an admixture of European ideas;

this will be dealt with later.

In brief, villagers saw the tiger as an incarnation of the ancestral

spirits who protect and monitor the behavior of those who live in the

village, while the Javanese courts saw the tiger as the wild, uncontrolled

aspect of the ruler, an aspect necessary for the defense of the realm but

inimical to the civilized life of the court (WESSING19 92). These differing

views paralleled the differences between the court and the village, or

between the court and the forest (DOVE 1985, 12-14). Basically, though,

the differences were mostly a matter of emphasis - beliefs about the

tiger are fundamentally those of the village, and are rooted in the abovementioned relationship between people, tigers, gardens, and wildlife.

The Origin of the Tiger

In Southeast Asia it is often said that man and the tiger (along with the

latter's putative forebear the cat) descend from a conimon ancestor

(WESSING19 86, 10-12). The Naga of mainland Southeast Asia say that

tiger, man, and spirit were brothers living together in a village together

with their mother (HUTTON 1921, 529), an idea that also occurs in

IKRANAGARpAla'yS The Great Anger of the Forest (n.d.). A Javanese tale

relates that long ago vegetarian tigers lived together with equally vegetarian

people. Their diet consisted of daun kentut leaves (Paederia foetida),

and ripe durian (Durio zibethinus). One day, when preparing the tigers'

food, a person cut his finger, thereby adding a morsel of flesh to the

tigers' lunch. The tigers liked the taste, and thus became wild animals

(ANONYMOlU9S8 8,47).

According to an informant on the north coast of East Java, tigers and

crocodiles descended from the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law Syeh

Sayyidina Ali, who symbolizes Islam's strength. It is from him that the

tiger derives its power.'

Thus the tiger is thought to be at least symbolically related to humans

(WESSING19 86, 21-22; ANONYMOUl9S8 8,47). As the above informant

said, "The tiger has a human soul" (WESSING19 86; MCNEELEaYn d

WACHTE1L9 88, 133-34). This relationship is reflected in the words used

for the tiger. In the forest, for example, where the word macan is avoided

for fear that it will cause the tiger to appear, one of the terms applied to

the animal is nenek, "grandparent" (from nenek petua, "apical ancestor";

compare NEILL 1973, 84).2 Yet another name for the tiger is kiai or kiaine,

a term often used for persons or things with magical or religious

powers. This comes from the belief that tigers too possess such supernatural

sakti (supernaturally empowered) kiai gembong who talked and walked on

two legs.

The Forest and the Tiger

In Southeast Asia the forest is seen as a dangerous, mysterious place

filled with supernatural forces, a place that should be avoided but that

possesses rules similar, though not identical, to those of human society

(BAERVELD1T9 50, 80; SCHEFOLD19 89). The tiger is believed to have

special powers relating to this forbidding place, where it is said to hold all

in its control; one informant depicted the tiger as the steward of the

forest, where it gains kesaktian (special powers) by fasting and meditating

for forty-day periods in caves.3 One aspect of the tiger's kesaktian is the

ability to disappear in the forest. In fact, it is believed that for a tiger it is

taboo to be seen by a per~ont;i~ge rs that are observed are punished by

having to fast for another forty days, possibly to regain their special

powers.

CRAWFURreDla tes a Javanese tale in which "a tiger and a forest had

united in close friendship, and they afforded each other mutual protection.

When men wanted to take wood or leaves from the forest, they were

dissuaded by their fear of the tiger, and when they would take the tiger he

was concealed by the forest." Although the tale ends sadly in an ecological

catastrophe that destroys both, it nevertheless illustrates the essential

unity of the two (1820, vol. 2, 32-33).

With the increasing exploitation of the natural environment, the silent,

forbidding (angker) woodlands near the villages have disappeared.

People now conceive of "real forests," filled with tigers and dhanyang

(guardian spirits),' as existing some vague distance away (WESSING

1978a, 71). One of these is the Alas Purwo forest in Blambangan, regarded

by many as a forbidding place whose dhanyang confuses people,

preventing some who enter from returning home. The forest at Baluran

is said to be guarded by a huge, wild-looking black figure that leaves tiger

tracks. AYIEKS YARIFUDDwINrit es of a shaman meditating in a cave in

Central Java who was tested by the local dhanyang in the form of a tiger

(1989, 13). There is also talk of tigers roaming the Baluran National

Forest and Mt. Malang near Mt. Argopuro, though residents in the

vicinity of Argopuro say that tigers live in the distance toward the east;

locally only a few panthers are found.

To insure one's safety in the forest one should show proper respect

for the tiger, asking its dispensation by saying, "Embah [a term of respect],

please do not hurt me. I am Adam's descendant - please step

aside and do not bother me." This is followed by a short prayer (salawat).

The reason for invoking Adam's name is the supposed common ancestry

between tiger and man, the hope being that the tiger will not attack

someone it realizes to be a descendant of the same progenitor. For similar

reasons some people claim that it helps to take a cat along into the forest

- the tiger, it is thought, is reluctant to attack those accompanying

his putative kinsman (ANONYMOU19S8 8, 47).

One elaboration of the idea that people and tigers have similar

souls - or, as one informant put it, that all nature has essentially one

soul - is the notion that people may somehow turn into tigers and vice

versa. This notion finds expression in a cluster of beliefs concerning the

relationship of tigers with dhanyang spirits, shamans, kings, and weretigers.

Ancestors, Shamans, and Other Guardians The dhanyang, as mentioned above, are spirits who guard or own the forest, and who also embody the fertility of a particular area. These

tutelary spirits are often localized in large trees or stone^,^ and frequently

manifest themselves in the form of tigers. Every village, according to

informants in Sumberwaru (Jember Regency) has a dhanyang that

guards its welfare. The dhanyang tends to merge with the spirits of the

village ancestors, especially the one who opened the area to human settlement

(but compare TRIYOG19A91 , 55-56).' The area controlled by a

dhanyang is usually coextensive with the village established by the founding

ancestor, although it may vary in extent from a single house site to an

entire region depending upon the spirit's power.

Founding ancestors are thought to have had extraordinary capabilities,

and, though dead, to retain something of those powers. Among these

powers is the capacity to deal with tigers, believed to be incarnations of

the natural forces of the locality. The ancestor of the Singa patrilineage in

Lumajang, for example, is said to have transformed a tiger into a person

in order to help him clear the forest (this tiger-person later married, and

his descendants are were-tigers). In East Java and Madura it is believed

that the soul of an ancestor who has mastered the magical arts may

incarnate as a perhaps quite dangerous tiger unless his ilmu (spiritual

power or knowledge) is transmitted to his descendants at the time of

death (WESSING19 86, 49, 106-107); this notion has a firm foundation in

the Islamic belief that people's deeds live on and may take physical form

(SMITH 1979, 34, 36, 49, 60). It is said of Singa's male descendants that

they became tigers at death unless their fingers were cut off - this no

longer happens, a female descendant informed me, since the male line

has died out.

The dhanyang-spirit of the founding ancestor, guarding the village

in his tiger-form, may give aid to those who request it. Thus the

dhanyang of Sumberwaru is said to accompany home those detained in

the evening at the home of the village head, a descendant of the village

founder (compare AYIEKS YARIFUDD1I9N9 2a, 87; 1992c; 1992d, 23). Tigers

also guard the founding ancestor's grave. Such is the legend concerning

the tomb of Embah Surgi, who came from Yogya (Mataram) and

opened the area around Puger - this grave once had so much power, it is

said, that birds flying over it would fall from the sky and passing thieves

would stumble. The guardian tiger disappeared some years ago.

Founding ancestors are often religious leaders as well, since the person

who pioneered a certain area is quite often the same person who

introduced Islam there. Thus it is perhaps natural that tigers - or, more

properly, macan in general - are often associated with the spirits and

deeds of religious figures. There is, for example, a spotted panther said to

protect the late kiai As'ad's pesantren (Islamic school) at Asem Bagus;

when the founder of the school, kiai Samsul Arifin, cleared the forest in

1900 there were many macan in the area, but since these wanted an

Islamic school to be built they willingly moved, one staying to guard the

place. A tiger said to watch over Tanjung Keraksaan, an Islamic boarding

school near Probolinggo, is identified in local legend as the incarnation

of the ilmu of the school's founder (this particular tiger, unlike the

ilmu incarnations mentioned above, is benign in nature since it is a manifestation of the founder's holy powers). Tigers may also guard the graves

of religious leaders (AYIEKS YARIFUDD1I9N9 2e, 27); one example is the

pasarean (shrine) of Syeh Maulana Isak, whose spiritual essence is said to

live on today (compare EKAN URCAHY1O99 2).

Some claim that the supernatural tigers guarding Islamic schools

may be created by a kiai, who does so using a doa isim (an incantation

employing the name of God) found in the Qur'iin book of Samsul Muarif

(SS, EIR and SJS 1992, 39). The kiai must fast a certain number of days

and follow other rules before pronouncing the formula. Strictly speaking

the tigers so created are not supernatural animals but manifestations of

the guardian angels associated with the Qur'-m and the Hadith (the traditions

of the pr~phet).

Many of these beliefs come together in stories centering on a white

tiger named Kopok, who watches over the area of Mt. Gunung Agung

(or Gunung Ringgit) near Situb~ndoS.o~m e say that this tiger is associated

with Kanjeng Raden Candrakusumah, whose grave he guards on

Gunung Agung; the Kanjeng's descendants need not fear tigers, it is

claimed, because Kopok chases them all off. Others explain that Kopok

protects the grave of Syeh Abdurrachman Rama Agung, who pioneered

the area.'' Kopok is the Syeh's gift; because of him, thieves are afraid to

operate in the area. Every year during the month of Ruwah offerings are

made to the guardian tiger;" meat may not be included, however, since

this would make the tiger wild.

The name Kopok, or Kopek, is linked to other tigers as well, such as

one near Puger associated with Mt. Gunung Ringgit or Mt. Gunung

Kapur (said to once have been a boat filled with coins). It is claimed that

the mountain is guarded by a large snake and three tigers, of which

Kopek, a white or gray animal, is the familiar of Embah Jirin, one of the

area's pantheon of guardian spirits. AMAR(I1 990, 30) writes of a certain

Sultan Agung of Mataram (r. 1614--46), who had a snake (naga) familiar

named Kyai Kasur and two tiger familiars, Kyai and Nyai Kopek. These

he rode when going to investigate the Muslim saint Ki Ageng Gribig,

from whose body a mysterious glow was said to emanate. He then gave

his familiars to the saint. Others say that the Situbondo Kopok was an

actual white tiger, a familiar of the local female shaman Embah Yo. The

tiger died of old age around the mid-1970s and may have been slightly

deaf (kopok: Mad., hard of hearing; Jav., a runny ear); he would cross

roads in front of cars, paying them no heed.

As Kopok's relation with Embah Yo shows, it is not solely with the

spirits of ancestors or religious leaders that tigers are associated - they

may also be linked with living shamans. There is a connection, of course,

between shamans and the spirit world; indeed, it is a common belief in

Southeast Asia that the prosperity of society depends on shamans who

can contact the dhanyang and the souls of the dead. Shamans, in addition,

are said to be in spiritual harmony with or have power over forests.12

Throughout East Java shamanistic powers are believed to descend

either from parent to child or from grandparent to grandchild (WESSIKG

1986, 59-60, 83). A person with tiger-ilmu is said to have a menacing

face, although his nature may be gentle. One shaman told me that it is

unnecessary to change into a tiger physically - the ilmu is sufficient to

make one's enemies perceive one as a tiger (although other people reported

that this particular shaman could suddenly appear near one in the

forest, an acknowledged tigrine quality).

The shaman is often helped by a tiger familiar (macan g~dungan),'~

the physical manifestation of the shaman's ilmu and often the incarnation

of the shaman's spirit or of the magic of his ancestors (WESSING1 986,

63-74). According to most informants the role of familiar can only be

filled by a striped tiger (macan loreng), although now - perhaps because

of the scarcity of tigers - it is occasionally taken by a panther. Some say

that such tigers can walk on two legs. People often speak of shamans

sending their tiger familiars on errands or using them to ride on (FURY

AFRIANTO1 990, 39); the above-mentioned Embah Yo, among others,

was said to travel in this way, A final type of spirit-tiger is that which reincarnates from the soul of a person who has died of unnatural causes, or of a person being punished

for some transgression (A. SAEROZ1I9 81, 81). In May 1991 there was a

commotion in the Bondowoso Regency when reports circulated that a

recently deceased woman - who was thought to have become rich on

"sinful money" (uang haram) - had risen from her grave with the face of

a tigress. She was eating chickens, it was said, and making a nuisance of

herself around the neighborhood. Tigers of this type are generally seen as

benign, however, and are often said to help their descendants; this

woman may have become a tiger in expiation for the sins she had committed

(compare MCNEELEYan d WACHTEL1 988, 136). According to

informants, such transformations occur forty days after death: between

the first and seventh days the soul becomes a ghost, after which it turns

into a tiger (though, if the person was evil, it may also become a pig or

wild dog). In Situbondo such tigers are called forth by burning incense,

making an offering, then throwing a pebble (the pebble is said to turn

into the tigrine incarnation of the person's soul). Shaman familiars, similarly,

may be conjured up by simply burning incense. Either being may

serve as a guardian.

Such incarnations are known as macan onjangan (tigers who can be

called) and are only visible to those who have evil intentions or have

transgressed the village rules of conduct. Throughout East Java people

claim to use both tiger familiars and ancestral tigers in order to protect

their houses and crops.14 Thieves who defy these guardians find themselves

in all-night fights, and can only leave with the householder's permission.

This introduces another important role of the supernatural tigers,

particularly those associated with ancestors and shamans: that of guardians

of the moral order. This role derives from the fact that both ancestors

and shamans are themselves responsible for the moral welfare of the

community (compounded by the fact that the two figures are often the

same - as an informant in West Java pointed out to me, most people in

these small communities are related and thus share a common shaman

ancestor not too many generations back). The ancestral spirit-tiger is

eminently suitable as a guardian of virtue, since it is the ancestors who

laid down the adat, a set of near-sacred principles that regulates the

conduct of the village. Among the tigers said to watch over the moral

well-being of the village (especially the purity of its women) are Kopok in

Pacaron and Kasur in Wonorejo (Baluran). They know who is guilty and

will not look at ordinary people; a favorite prey is illegitimate children,

who can be seen by tigers through a special lens (KARTOM1I9 76, 13).

Behavior in the forest is regulated as well, the tiger being the guardian

of the forest and the manifestation of the forest's owners, the

dhanyang. Several informants mentioned how a tiger picked a "naughty

woman" out of the middle of a group of men with whom she was spending

the night in .the jungle. One is not supposed to show pride in the

forest, eat directly from a pan, or wash one's dishes at a water source -

one is expected, in other words, to be polite, considerate about sharing

food and clean water, and orderly in one's behavior.

Tigers are also deeply angered by direct injuries. They are said to

search for mates that have been captured (ANONYMOU19S9 1a), and to

otherwise defend themselves as a community. A story is told of four men

who were in the Blambangan forest when a tiger cub appeared at their

campsite. Three of the men caught the cub and ate it despite the protests

of the fourth, who remonstrated that "he owns the forest." That night

two dozen tigers appeared and killed the three men. The fourth man,

when showing the remains to the authorities, said that he had been

guarded by a pair of tigers who had licked him.

The tiger's powers serve not only for purposes of protection, however.

As an informant from Gunung Agung explained, the tiger's human

soul gives it curative powers as well. These powers can be evoked by

calling the tiger in Sayyidina Ali's name, although to do so one must have

ilmu acquired through fasting and meditation. The literature contains

many references to medicinal uses of the tiger involving either its image

or parts of its body (AYIEKS YARIFUDD1IN99 0, 21; MCNEELEYan d

WACHTEL19 88, 219; WESSING1 986). Tiger teeth are said to possess a

power that can protect one from ilmu sihir (black magic, a constant worry

in East Java), and the whiskers to comprise a potent poison; the latter,

when carried, are supposed to make one appear ferocious and not to be

trifled with.

Another part of the tiger's body, little reported in the literature but

known throughout East Java, is the tiger's star-shaped sengkel bone,

which only the striped tiger is said to have. This rare bone, containing

the tiger's strength, is allegedly located in the animal's left shoulder and

disappears within an hour of its death. The bone is used as an amulet that

is supposed to make the owner very strong, invincible in fights, and able

to lift great weights with ease. It also lends a person authority

(kewibawaan).

Finally, the tiger's very essence is felt to have power. In a poorly

interpreted episode described by JUNGHUH(N19 75, 119-20), a group of

villagers literally tear the body of a dead tiger apart and bathe themselves

and their weapons in the tiger's blood (which they may even drink).16

Similar things happened after the rampok macans (WESSING1 992), the

ceremonial tiger killings described by Ruz~us(1 905), who claimed that

the mutilation of the tiger's body and the taking of amulets from it were

evidence of the degree to which people feared this animal (compare

NIEUWENHU1Y9S8 4). One may also see it, however, as an imbuing of

oneself and one's weapons with the essence of the tiger's power. Like

bullets that have tasted tiger's blood (VAN OSSENBRUGG1E9N1 6, 240),

such weapons or amulets are thought to have very special qualities.

Royalty

The tiger, as king of the jungle, is closely associated with the royalty,

although in East Java kings are not reported to have become tigers after

death, as was the case with the last King Prabu Siliwangi of West Java

(r. ?-1579) (WESSING19 93). In contrast with the abundant data concerning

village beliefs on tigers, however, specific information on the link

between tigers and the royalty is quite scarce. Below I present a few of

the legends I have found.

Kings rule over relatively large areas, and thus their associated

dhanyang are relatively powerful too. Panembahan Senopati (r. 1575-

1601) and his descendants, the rulers of Mataram, are said to have such

a spirit counterpart in the person of Nyai Roro Kidul, the Queen of the

Southern Ocean. Legend claims that Senopati married this spirit, who

guarded the welfare of his realm and will continue to do so as long as each

of Senopati's successors marries her in turn. It is said that Nyai Roro

Kidul may appear in the form of a white tiger or send a striped tiger to do

her bidding (AYIEKS YARIFUDD1I9N9 1b, 29; SEMARSU WITO1 992, 42).

Another legend concerns King Tawang Alun of Macan Putih (circa

17th c.), who, after meditating in the forest, heard a voice directing him

to go southeast. Doing so, he met a white tiger whom the voice instructed

him to mount and ride to the location of his new capital (SRI ADI

OETOMOn. d., 3941). The voice (which may be seen as that of a nature

spirit, the tiger, an ancestor, or all three) called him "grandchild," indicating

a relation of kinship between them. A present-day descendant of

Tawang Alun, a respected gentleman living in Rogojampi, told me that

Tawang Alun's descendants are still guarded by this tiger spirit, which is

the embodiment of the shamanistic powers of his line. The spirit follows

them on their travels and can be called upon in need. If challenged on the

street, their voices sound like tigers' growls. The white tiger also is said to

appear at certain places sacred to the dynasty.

FURYA FRIANTO(1 989, 15) writes that the Candi Lor shrine of the

ancient East Javanese Sanjaya dynasty is guarded by a dhanyang who

incarnates as a white tiger. Similarly, in Puger on the south coast a white

tiger appears at the grave of the hero (or prince) Sutaji, while in Nganjuk

several white tigers guard the grave of the princess Dewi Ragil Kuning of

Kediri (AYIEKS YARIFUDD1I9N9 1a).

In contrast to these close links between tigers and the crown are the

annual rampok macans (ceremonial tiger killings) that used to take place

in the courts of Central and East Java until the beginning of the twentieth

century. In these ceremonies, which I have elsewhere interpreted as a

ceremonial cleansing of the realm (WESSING19 92), the tiger personifies

the disturbances that inevitably arise and upset the cosmic alignment of

the realm. By killing the tiger - here seen also as the wild aspect of the

ruler's nature - these disturbances are cast out and social order restored.

The ambiguity of the tiger's position, representing both an aspect of the

ruler's essential nature and the chaos that threatens the realm, reflects the

ambiguity of the relation between the ruler and his village subjects (DOVE

1985).

The opposition between the court and the powers of the forest can

also be seen in the story behind the reog performances of Ponorogo,

which commemorate the defeat of the singabarong in the Roban Forest.

The story goes that the patih (chief minister) of Bandarangin had to

arrange a marriage between his king and the princess of Kediri

(HARTONO19 80, 44-45), to do which he was required to capture 150

tigers in the Roban Forest. This he did, including among them spirittigers

and were-tigers. After delivering these to the palace at Bandarangin

he and the king headed for Kediri to fetch the princess, accompanied by

their entourage and an army. The singabarong, the protective tiger-spirit

of the forest, was understandably upset at the abduction of 150 of his

charges. Accompanied by many fierce tigers, he attacked the courtly procession.

A battle royal ensued, the singabarong shifting his shape between

that of a man and a tiger. In the end the singabarong and his troops were

defeated and the king went on to marry his princess. The singabarong was

not killed, however, but remained to serve the king, symbolizing the

ruler's wild aspect as discussed above.

Were- Tigers

Another tigrine being that looms large in the East Javanese tradition is

the were-tiger. Were-tigers are people said to physically transform them

selves into tigers through the use of magic. This magic is quite different

from the power by which a shaman incarnates a spirit-tiger - the results

may look similar, and in popular lore were-tigers and shaman-tigers are

often confused, but the social contexts of the two are entirely different.

The tigers described thus far, the incarnations of ancestral souls and

shamanic power, are honored guardians regarded by the people with fear

and reverence; the transformations are beneficial, and take place in an

approved and regulated context. Were-tigers, on the other hand, use

their magic outside of this approved context and are generally regarded

as antisocial individuals who are dangerous to the community. In

strongly Islamic East Java both shamanism and magic tend to be regarded

as evil; the confusion between benign spirit-tigers and magic

were-tigers is, perhaps, the result of this."

The idea of shape-shifting is a common one in Southeast Asia, as it

is throughout the world (WESSING19 86; MCNEELEaYn d WACHTEL19 88,

138). Books and films about were-tigers are very popular, and when

something unusual occurs involving a macan there is almost invariably

speculation about were-tigers. Some years ago, for instance, a black panther

got into the Situbondo Regency offices at night. Talk of were-tigers

was rampant, as it was thought that only a spirit-tiger could have entered

the locked building. The beast was shot, and the regent had it stuffed and

displayed in order, he said, to quell such talk.

I have on several occasions tried to follow up on reports of weretigers,

but, as MCNEELEYan d WACHTELco mment, looking for one of

these beings is "like trying to find the end of the rainbow - it's always

just over the next hill" (1988, 141). Many appointments to watch weretiger

transformations came to nought, but I was nevertheless assured that

were-tigers are all around, in Lumajang, Puger, Jember, Banyuwangi,

and Situbondo. The reluctance to show too concrete a knowledge about

were-tiger magic may be due in part to the negative image associated

with its adepts. To be known as a magician is to run the risk of getting

killed (ANONYMO1U9S9 2a; 1992b; 1992c).

Were-tigers, it is said, may be recognized by the lack of a philtrum,

the groove in the upper lip. They are also believed to be "backwards" in

many respects: their heels are reversed, and in the process of transformation

the person's head becomes the tiger's tail. People say that practitioners

of were-tiger magic seldom eat and never become rich, but

because of their ilmu they live for more than one hundred years.

The actual shift to tiger form is accomplished by burning incense

and making an offering of kembang gaddhing (cempaka mera; PENNINGA

and HENDRIK19S1 3, 131),19f ollowed by the recitation of a magic forT'EIE

mula. The man then throws off his clothes and becomes a tiger. The

throwing off of the clothes, which contain the essence of the practitioner

and symbolize his civilized nature, is reminiscent of the above-mentioned

throwing of a pebble, the essence of the earth (Mus 1975, 7-19).

Another method is for a man, his wife, and sometimes a shaman to

go into a room with a lighted oil lamp. The man or the shaman then

performs magic, and the man becomes a were-tiger. His body remains in

the room, shrouded in a white sheet, while his spirit wanders about in

tigrine form. The flame of the oil lamp must be closely watched, since if

it wavers as if blown by the wind it indicates that the were-tiger is in

trouble. Extinguishing the lamp causes the tiger to disappear and returns

its spirit to the body. If this is not done the man could die. Should a

were-tiger die and its bones be found, it can be brought back to life by

the shaman; if no bones can be found, it is gone for good.

Returning to human form often depends on the help of someone

who knows the counter-magic. If that person should die or be unable to

apply the counter-magic the were-tiger is stuck. This appears to have

happened in the Jember Regency during the 1970s to an old man named

Grida who was reportedly able to change into a tiger. One day he remained

in tiger form and stayed that way until he disappeared in the

1980s (compare WESSINC1 986, 77).

Just as real tigers are said to have communities with dwellings, a

social organization, and a leader who makes rules and dispenses justice

(WI.:SSING1 986, 9+100), were-tigers are rumored to inhabit settlements

of their own. There are persistent whispers that a certain village on

Madura is a were-tiger community, though no one will state its precise

location. Its inhabitants are said to jump about and use magic to effect

the change. Local people guard the bodies of their deceased for three

days, as the were-tigers are said to eat corpses.

It is said that people with a natural ability to change into tigers

inhabited the East Javanese villages of Prata and IJodoyo (or Gadungan;

compare macan gadungan) near Blitar. The ability was heritable, but the

people have now died out. Some say that nowadays people are just not

strong enough to.acquire the necessary ilmu, though if the ability was

natural this does not make sense. All were-tigers in East Java are said to

descend from these villagers (WESSINC1;9 86, 100-103). Such "were-tigers,"

however, should probably be regarded as shaman- or spirit-tigers

instead - the shape-shifters of IJodoyo, being natural, were different

from the reputed were-tiger villagers of Mad~ra.

The Madurese villagers are indeed the inverse of the inhabitants of

IJodoyo, representing a reversal of the natural order in which humans

become beasts (this reversal is also reflected in the above-mentioned

"backward" physical features of the were-tigers). Were-tigers are socially

dead, as symbolized by the shroud in the magic ceremony and the reported

eating of corpses. In this unregulated reversal lies the main difference

between were-tigers and protective tigers, whether shaman, ancestral,

or dhanyang: as mentioned above, the latter are socially sanctioned

and spiritually controlled, while were-tigers operate for their own selfish

purposes outside of society's ken.

The man-tiger and spirit-tiger communities remind one of KRUIJT'S

descriptions of villages inhabited by the souls of suicides, those who have

suffered sudden death, and the victims of certain illnesses (1916, 245).

This idea is grounded in the Islamic belief that the souls of those who

died in similar ways are grouped together, awaiting judgment day

(SMITH1 979, 42). It is only a short step from that notion to the concept

of communities of souls with similar affinities, such as were-tiger spirits.

In these East Javanese beliefs about tigers, then, the tiger is a materialization

of the powers of the forest and the earth. It has an ambiguous

relationship with humans, living near the village and protecting the fields

yet sometimes devouring livestock. This ambiguity is echoed in its dual

role as guardian of morality and the adat and the personification of the

darker, antisocial aspects of man. In the former role the tiger is respected,

while in the latter it is stigmatized.

The Tiger as Symbol in the City

In the cities today the tiger has a high profile. Stories featuring the big cat

regularly appear in the news, and advertisements favor it as a symbol of

speed and strength. Tiger emblems and amulets are seen on vehicles and

above the doors of shops. Many city folk are concerned about whether

the tiger still exists in Java; two-thirds of the letters to the newspaper

Surabaya Post reprinted in PRIYOS M (1991) expressed the belief that it

does. In the mid-1980s a prize of US$500 was offered for a substantiated

recent photograph of a Javan tiger; several expeditions were mounted,

but none succeeded in seeing a tiger.

As mentioned earlier, the reputation as a vicious killer that the tiger

acquired in the wake of the opening of the forests seems to have been

largely due to ecological pressures. The butchery of livestock reported by

KERKHOVE(1N8 79, 503) took place in a densely populated district where

the forest was almost completely cleared, while a man-eating tiger reported

by ROBINSOoNpe rated in sugarcane fields with high human population

densities and dispersed prey (1 966). Tigers, furthermore, appear to

be feared out of proportion to the number of people they actually kill.

More lives are taken by elephants every year, and there were nearly as

many murders as killings by tigers in Riau, Sumatra during 1979

(MCNEELEYan d WACHTEL1 988, 190). Yet neither elephants nor the

people of Riau are known as vicious killers; in fact, elephants are regarded

as the most likable of Southeast Asian animals (SAVAGE19 84,

196).

The reason for the inordinate fear of tigers is the tiger's new position

as a symbolic other vis-a-vis human society. Where once it was a stern

protector and ally, in the new situation it has been redefined as a force

antithetical to ordered civilized life: a wild, chaotic counterpart to man

that dwells in the forest (compare SCHEFOLD19 89). In many cases this

forest is actually a jungle of the imagination (SAVAG1E9 84, 50, 54, 272).

European hunters in particular contributed to the tiger's bad reputation,

writing of spotted robbers and infamous man-eaters whose death was

sometimes rewarded with a prize (PRIYOS OEMANDOY1O98 8, 58). Yet

man-eaters are rare when the tiger is left undisturbed - the animal's bad

reputation is largely undeserved (CORBETT1 978; SCHALLE1R9 67, 277).

The postcolonial era has also seen a social differentiation between

the Western-educated elite in the urban areas and the estate workers and

farmers who inhabit the villages and lack access to Western education

(KAYAM19 92). There are corresponding differences in the belief systems

of these two groups. Whereas most modern urban Southeast Asians

would claim that "people are people and animals are animals," rural

dwellers tend not to draw such sharp distinctions, maintaining that humans

and animals have similar souls (MCNEELEYan d WACHTEL1 988,

133-34). We must keep in mind, however, that the expression of such

views, especially today, is influenced by the context of the interaction and

the audience addressed.

In 1990 sixty students at the Universitas Jember were given a classroom

assignment to write a short essay on the topic "Tiger" (harirn~u).~~

These essays were then analyzed for the concepts expressed in them.

Words like "conservation" (pelestarian), "rare" (langktz), and "extinct"

(punah) were used regularly, although it was not always clear whether the

authors really understood their meaning: 51.7% mentioned that the tiger

was rare, but only 13.33% mentioned extinction. While 38.3% of the

Javanese respondents indicated that the tiger was to be feared, only

21.3% mentioned specific dangers such as attacks or man-eating (4.26%).

This survey also yielded a few responses relating to the mystical

aspect of the tiger. Although most village beliefs about tigers are present

in the students' responses (see table I), the percentages are rather small,

a reflection, perhaps, of the perceived inappropriateness of this knowledge

to the context of the intera~tion. Lebih lengkap lihat di :

http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/afs/pdf/a1071.pdf