Portrait of Uncle Ba Phi.

Portrait of Uncle Ba Phi.

Meet once, remember for life

Around mid-1964, while working at Battalion D2311 (Military Region 9), Mr. Trinh Thanh Than (currently residing in Hamlet 2, Khanh Binh Tay Bac Commune, Tran Van Thoi District) was stationed at Lung Tram, near Uncle Ba Phi's house. Having heard of Uncle Ba Phi's reputation for a long time, and now being stationed right in his garden, this young soldier was even more curious and eager to get close to the "famous person".

Mr. Than said that Uncle Ba Phi was old at that time (he was born in 1884) but was still healthy and strong. He looked wise, spoke clearly and humorously. He often wore very simple "ba ba" clothes. He told "brags" so calmly that everyone laughed and wondered. But the good thing about Uncle Ba Phi was that his lies did not bother people, but on the contrary, brought joy and connection.

His stories often do not have any "introduction, body, or conclusion", they are just dialogues in daily communication and activities.

That day he said: “Oh my God, kids, go out to the pond and look for goby fish to eat. There are so many goby fish in my pond, they eat all the dried areca nuts that fall!”

The young soldiers listened and eagerly went down to the pond to clear the grass and catch fish. But... they didn't catch many.

Mr. Than said that he needed someone to help clean the pond so he "ignored" the young soldiers, but he did not take advantage. He had prepared fish sauce. When the young soldiers came ashore with disappointed faces, he pointed at the fish he was catching and told them to take it home to eat. That made the whole village happy.

Once some young soldiers asked: "I heard that turtles in this country are very fierce, Uncle Ba?"

Uncle Ba replied: “There is no need to mention turtles”. Then he said: “That day I was rowing the boat on my back, they gathered around and held onto both sides of the boat, it was so full. There was a king turtle that I couldn’t lift up, I had to tie a rope around it and bring it back, then cut it up and invited the whole neighborhood to eat. There were two drunk guys, they couldn’t cross the monkey bridge, so I took the turtle’s shell and pushed it down to make a boat for them to cross the river”.

“We all burst out laughing. He said, ‘You don’t believe me? If you don’t believe me, ask your aunt!’ Mr. Than excitedly recalled the story from more than half a century ago.

According to Mr. Than's memory, Uncle Ba Phi had a characteristic of never admitting that he was joking or lying after he finished speaking. When people laughed, he just pursed his lips and said the same old phrase: "If you don't believe me, ask your aunt!"

“But my wife and I are also very compatible. Like the story of selling pigs. He went somewhere and didn’t have a boat to come back, and when he saw two guys catching pigs, he asked them to stop and he would take them home to sell the pigs. When he got home, he told his wife that someone had come to buy the pigs. His wife knew he was lying again, mainly to be taken home, so she also “pushed” him: “You went to find someone to buy the pigs but didn’t say anything. Someone came home, I already sold them.” After that, he broke a coconut and invited them to drink water before seeing the guests off...”, Mr. Than said.

Mr. Trinh Thanh Than (sitting in the middle) excitedly told the story of more than half a century ago when he had the honor of meeting Uncle Ba Phi and listening to him tell many funny stories.

Mr. Trinh Thanh Than (sitting in the middle) excitedly told the story of more than half a century ago when he had the honor of meeting Uncle Ba Phi and listening to him tell many funny stories.

Southern people

According to Mr. Than, Uncle Ba Phi is truly a Southern old man with the typical characteristics of wanting to live in peace and do business, knowing the importance of justice, not following the enemy to harm the village and relatives. Although he was the son-in-law of a landlord, with fields stretching as far as the eye could see, and living in comfortable conditions, he still worked hard and did well; lived close to and in harmony with the people.

“He tied rice beautifully. Once we went out to harvest rice with him, and saw some soldiers confused. He showed us how to cut, compare, and tie rice beautifully...”, Mr. Than recalled.

Not only that, he loved the soldiers very much. When the army units were stationed near his house, he asked for salt, fish sauce, dried fish, etc. He gave the soldiers coconuts to break and drink, but after cutting them, the coconut shells had to be placed face down at the base, not thrown into the pond or thrown around. His garden was large, and his aunt diligently weeded them, so they were neat and clean.

Mr. Than also heard that once the commandos came to scout for soldiers of Division 21 to conduct a sweep. Knowing that there were many provincial and district agencies in the area, Mr. Ba quickly told them: "In this area there is a very big king cobra, it can swallow an entire company" to scare them. Then he told many "creepy" stories about this king cobra. Hearing that, their faces turned pale and they were very scared. Then he informed our base to withdraw.

“That is not just “bullshit”, it is also a type of folk wisdom, a wise way of protecting the resistance of farmers”, Mr. Than commented.

“He also often goes out of town to visit friends. He goes out to visit but collects information to report to me,” Mr. Than added.

Some people say that his “braggadocio” is not deceitful, but full of satire, optimism, and the spirit of a pioneering class. Uncle Ba Phi is a typical image of the Southern character: honest, generous, humorous, and resilient.

A few stories collected, with the hope of contributing a little more information to better understand Uncle Ba Phi. Surely among the people, through the elderly, there will be many stories that have not been mentioned about this "famous braggart", if you learn more, there will be more fun and interesting things.

Uncle Ba Phi left behind a priceless folk cultural treasure. That is why, in 2003, the Vietnam Folk Arts Association posthumously awarded him the title of Folk Artist. In 2015, the memorial site of Folk Artist Nguyen Long Phi (Uncle Ba Phi, in his hometown, Lung Tram Hamlet, Khanh Hai Commune, Tran Van Thoi District) was recognized by the People's Committee of Ca Mau Province as a Provincial Historical - Cultural Relic.

In a conversation, Screenwriter Trinh Thanh Vu, Chairman of the Literature and Arts Association of Ca Mau province, expressed that Uncle Ba Phi is a great figure, a typical cultural symbol of the U Minh forest land, a source of pride not only for Ca Mau but also for the whole Southern region. Currently, the relic site of Uncle Ba Phi is still simple, not really commensurate with the stature and folk cultural values ​​that he left behind. The province should consider building a large-scale exhibition space (not necessarily located in the relic site), to fully and vividly introduce Uncle Ba Phi - from biography, artifacts, stories, anecdotes... to related folk art values. This is not only a way to meet the needs of people and tourists, but also serves research and study, and at the same time contributes to promoting the image of Ca Mau tourism.

Uncle Ba Phi's grave in his hometown, Lung Tram hamlet, Khanh Hai commune, Tran Van Thoi district, includes his grave (in the middle) and his two wives' grave.

Uncle Ba Phi's grave in his hometown, Lung Tram hamlet, Khanh Hai commune, Tran Van Thoi district, includes his grave (in the middle) and his two wives' grave.

Huyen Anh

Source: https://baocamau.vn/mot-lan-gap-bac-ba-phi-a38732.html