Dancers decorate their faces with stripes on their cheeks like tigers before performing the ritual of Ngagah Harimau dance. For Kerinci community, especially in the Middle Island of Kerinci – Jambi, tigers are the close friends who live side by side without disturbing each other

The spell exclaimed supernaturally from all directions. For the gods of the mountain, for the haunted one, for the Prophet Solomon. A special appeal for a friend who roar in the occult. After the spell was spoken, time seemed to stop. Mat Nasir and Saimun danced softly. The foot on the tarpaulin accompanied the weak dance. The fretfully voice of Mat Nasir singing an old song. His eyes were shut. Meanwhile the youngest Gindo Rahim sank into a thicket somewhere. 

The dance slowed down, the old bodies changed character. They crawled like tigers, eyes glazed, roaring, clawing at the ground. Gindo emerged from the bushes, sniffing the offerings, stealing grilled chicken and then hiding again. 

In the Kerinci tradition, these special people are called the Friends of the Tiger. Old traditions also know the story of the Keinci man who can turn into tigers. The myths scares many people. Culture in the Kerinci volcanic unites humans with tigers.
See the complete story on National Geographic Indonesia.