Then she pulled a hair from his head

FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION to the present day, every Dusun throws upon everybody else during *Mambibiag Night. This is not because it is hot, or because people are dusty. What then is the reason? Let me tell you the story from its very beginning.

    Many hundred years ago, there was a Goblin King who was terribly cruel. If it came to his mind to kill someone, he killed them. He did whatever was his whims or fancies. The earth had four regions, and he wanted to rule over all four of them. He had great abilities. When he was submerged in water, he was not drowned; when he was burned in fire, he did not die. No arrow, spear, blowpipe with poison darts, sword or dagger could wound him. From time to time he went out to plunder and to get gold, silver, slaves, and beautiful girls, and nobody dared to stop him. He already had seven wives, one more beautiful than the other; but this was still not enoughfor him, and so he kidnapped the eighth girl. He liked her very much, since she was even more beautiful than all the others.

    One night, when he was especially delighted with her, she dared to ask him, 'I have heard that you have graet abilities: that water cannot drown you; that fire cannot burn you; and that arrows, spears, poison darts, swords and daggers cannot wound you. Does this mean that you will forever on this earth?".

    "Not necessarily so," replied the Goblin King. "I, too have a weak spot." "What are you afraid of, with allyour abilities?" she further questioned him. "This I will tell only you alone." he said in alow voice. "What I am afraid of is that somebody might are not afraid of heaven or of earth. How can you be afraid of a single hair?" she asked even more daringly.

    "Do not think a hair weak. It really can strangle me," he said to her in a low voice. When she learned the sercet, she thought, "If he really could be strangled by a hair, and if thus we could get rid of the Goblin King, this would be fine. We could save many more people from being mistreated by him. I will try to do it. " Thus she waited until, after his pleasures, he fell into a sleep. Then she pulled a hair from his head, wrapped it around his neck, tied it well, and his head fell off. After this she was filled with joy.

    Very soon the head of the Goblin King began to roll by itself on the earth. Wherever it rolled, fire sprang up from the earth, and out of the flames, numerousghost arose. Then the eighth wife became extremely frightened and began to scream aloud. When the other seven wives heard her screaming, they all came running in. One of the them, a very clever girl, quikly lifted the head up. Strangely enough, once the head ceased to touch the earth, the fire and the ghosts disappeared. From then on, they did not dare to lay the head down again for a year. As long as the head was not completely dead, blood dripped from it.

    Therefore, when after the end of a year, particulary on mambibiag night, one girl would hand over the head to the next one. When she did so everybody poured water over the girl in order to wash away the blood from her body, as well as preventing the head from igniting again. So it was done once every year, but not on an ordinary mambibiag day. They poured a bucketful of water twice over the girl whohad carried the head. When every girl had carried the head once, the head finally died. From then to the present day, people pour water over one another, and this pouring of watert is done during a special Mambibiag Night only.

Note : * Mambibiag is a special festival to get rid of evil spirits in a village.