A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
Two tigers agree that one will enter a hut while the other takes whatever falls down its steps. Inside, two men play a bamboo instrument; one happens to begin the tune that makes tigers drowsy. The intruder falls asleep and tumbles down the ladder. Its companion invokes their agreement and eats it despite its objections. Skeat records the name Lāgu rīmau mĕngántok but explicitly doubts whether the tune exists outside popular imagination. The account therefore supplies a narrative power, not a verified means of controlling wildlife.
Origins & earliest records
Malay Peninsula; East-coast Malay narrative; individual teller unnamed
Records & interpretation
Complete relevant tale and attached scholarly notes directly read.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Fables & Folk-Tales from an Eastern Forest
X, The Tune that makes the Tiger Drowsy, pp. 24–25; note p. 79
- 02
Fables & Folk-Tales from an Eastern Forest — X The Tune That Makes the Tiger Drowsy
Fables & Folk-Tales from an Eastern Forest, collected and translated by Walter Skeat; Cambridge: University Press, 1901. Original title leaf13 visually checked. Complete selected named tale, conclusion, footnotes and corresponding source notes read from Elfinspell historical transcription; individual page ranges in this batch are host body labels, not independently scan-collated. Introduction states collection during1899 expedition with some limitation of original phraseology; no unedited original-language transcript claimed.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Primary records and illustrations
Walter Skeat, Fables & Folk-Tales from an Eastern Forest (Cambridge: University Press, 1901)
X, The Tune that makes the Tiger Drowsy. X, The Tune that makes the Tiger Drowsy, pp. 24–25; note p. 79
Complete tale and associated notes directly read. Regional spellings and differing accounts retained; commentary does not establish present-day practice or biological facts. Individual teller not named here.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
Fables & Folk-Tales from an Eastern Forest
Fables & Folk-Tales from an Eastern Forest, collected and translated by Walter Skeat; Cambridge: University Press, 1901. Original title leaf13 visually checked. Complete selected named tale, conclusion, footnotes and corresponding source notes read from Elfinspell historical transcription; individual page ranges in this batch are host body labels, not independently scan-collated. Introduction states collection during1899 expedition with some limitation of original phraseology; no unedited original-language transcript claimed.
- Two tigers overhear two men making music in a forest hut and agree to divide prey: one takes what it seizes inside, while the other takes anything escaping down the steps. As the entering tiger reaches the top rung, a man begins the drowsy-making tune on a bamboo instrument. It falls asleep and drops down the stairs. Its companion takes the falling tiger as its promised portion and devours it despite objections. Skeat says the tune’s name is known in eastern states but considers that the tune itself may exist only in popular imagination.
X The Tune That Makes the Tiger Drowsy, complete hosted page labels 24–25; note79
CompleteX24–25 and note79 read. Fatal victim is the attacking tiger, not either musician. Claimed tune efficacy remains a tale, and collector expressly doubts its actual existence. No melody, invocation, practical instrument-making instructions or ritual formula reproduced.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical collected narrative with locality and editorial notesSkeat, Fables & Folk-Tales (Cambridge University Press, 1901), X, The Tune that makes the Tiger Drowsy, pp. 24–25; note p. 79Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.