A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
At Kándang Bālok the tigers swim through one pool before journeys to become human and another on returning to resume animal form. Inside the fold they remain beasts, while their chief appears as a man. When he brings a sorcerer to his unusually high house, the hungry tigers prowl beneath it but fear attacking their chief’s guest. The sorcerer escapes after seven days and nights. A footnote separately reports accounts of tiger government and houses framed with human bones and thatched with women’s hair; those materials are not explicitly assigned to the chief’s house in this main episode. Skeat notes that tellers also place the fold on other prominent mountains.
Origins & earliest records
Malay Peninsula; Ūlu Sĕtiu, Trenggānu; alternative mountain settings noted
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
XI, The Tigers’ Fold, pp. 26–27; note p. 79
- 02
Fables & Folk-Tales from an Eastern Forest — XI The Tigers’ Fold
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)
XI, The Tigers’ Fold. XI, The Tigers’ Fold, pp. 26–27; 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.
- At Ulu Setiu in Trengganu, a tiger enclosure contains two pools. Passing one on departure changes tigers into humans; passing the other on return restores tiger form. Inside the enclosure they remain beasts except their chief, who consistently looks human and is associated with possession of sorcerers. He carries an entranced sorcerer into the enclosure and keeps him in his own elevated house. Hungry tigers prowl below, but fear of the chief prevents attack. After seven days and nights the sorcerer escapes and recounts what he saw. A footnote separately reports tiger-town variants with houses of bone and hair; source note discusses alternative mountain placements.
XI The Tigers’ Fold, complete hosted page labels 26–27; note79
CompleteXI26–27, footnotes and note79 read. Two pools have different directional roles. Chief’s human appearance is an exception to the enclosure rule, not proof every resident remains human. Escape method unspecified. Bone-and-hair town is a separately reported variant, not automatically this enclosure’s architecture.
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), XI, The Tigers’ Fold, pp. 26–27; 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.