DRIBSI ZHAM: THE MYSTIC HAT

One popular story our parents nd elders would tell us as kids was about 'Dribsi Zham', the mystic hat that turns a person invisible. Actually the magic is not in the hat per se but in the piece of twig that is hidden in the hat that emanates occult to disappear a person. 

It was believed that rarely anyone could spot a crow's nest. If one did, he could probably come across the mystic twig called Dribsi Shing. But some prior effort was required. One needed to steal the crow's eggs first, cook and place them back. The mother crow would wait until her eggs hatched. Since they were boiled by human intruder, her eggs would devastate her hope.

Desperate, she would fly thousands of miles to Dhuthroe Sew Tshel, a sacred cremation ground in India, only to collect the magic twig. After months of endurance, she would fly back with the twig and place it in her nest. In a matter of days, the boiled eggs would hatch as if nothing had happened to the eggs.

The person hunting for the twig had to rob off the nest again. The entire nest made of twigs had to be taken to a river or stream and segregated. The mystic twig would float and run up against the current of the stream whilst others would be washed away down stream. There one found the twig. 

The twig was then stitched in the hat and it became Dripsi Zham. The one who owned the hat would become invincible is what elders say. It was believed that the moment he put his hat on, not only would he disappear in the eyes of humans but also in the visions of gods and spirits. Such was the power of the twig. 

Oral story also say that with the hat in one's possession, he or she could do all goods and evils on whims. Most would end up misusing the hat for stealing. 

Imagine you have oneof these hats today. What would you do?

Picture courtesy: Film Phurba Thinley.

Art by Marc Alexander