Set in the 1930s, and narrated like a ballad from the past, The Tiger from Tjampa tells of how a young man, Lukman, seeks to avenge his father's murder by learning pencak silat, a traditional form of self defence, based on the movements of animals. The pencak silat seen in the film is regionally specific to West Sumatra. Silat in many other Indonesian films is often mixed with the kung fu of Hong Kong cinema.