Every year during Ruwah, on Friday Kliwon, the residents of Padukuhan Ledok believe a spiritual tiger passes through their village. No one knows its appearance, only its roar is heard. Bu Siti, one resident who has both heard and seen the tiger, believes it will not harm anyone and is merely visiting, as the elders say. From these experiences, the story of the “Passing Tiger” (Macan Lewat) in Padukuhan Ledok was born.
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Every year during the month of Ruwah or Sha’ban, when the day and market day fall on Friday Kliwon, the residents of Padukuhan Ledok believe that a tiger comes by. To this day, no one has seen the tiger’s form or appearance. The people of Ledok do not know where the tiger appears; only its roar can be heard by those who happen to be nearby. One thing is certain—the tiger comes at night.
One resident who has heard the tiger’s roar is Bu Siti. According to her story, when she heard the tiger near her home, she told her father. Her father, who already knew, immediately said, “It’s okay. Eyang (what Ledok residents call the elder) is just passing by.” Bu Siti was no longer afraid after that, believing that the passing tiger was harmless and would not disturb anyone. According to the elders of Ledok, the tiger is only visiting.
Another true story involving Bu Siti occurred when she actually saw the tiger at a grave shelter in the Tubin Village Cemetery. This happened when she visited the grave of her father’s relative in Tubin. As dusk approached and she was about to leave, she saw a tiger relaxing at the shelter or entrance to the cemetery. Bu Siti was, of course, startled, but as before, she trusted that the tiger would not harm anyone and considered its presence normal, even if it could not be rationally explained.
Regarding the tiger that passes by every Friday Kliwon in the month of Ruwah, the people of Ledok who believe in it say that it is a spiritual tiger, not an ordinary animal. According to the elders’ stories, the tiger comes to a place that used to be the site for killing tigers in Padukuhan Ledok—one of these places being the yard of Bu Siti’s father. From these events, the story of the “Passing Tiger” (Macan Lewat) in Padukuhan Ledok was born.
